John Shinn
When asked if Allen Patrick was a little rusty a few weeks ago, Oklahoma running backs coach Cale Gundy seemed amused.
“He didn’t look that way to me. You think he was?” Gundy replied.
It was a relevant question considering the senior running back spent the better part of three weeks recovering from an ankle injury, missed the season opener against North Texas and only had seven carries against Miami due to second half cramps.
He might have looked like the edges needed a little sharpening then. But last Friday at Tulsa there was nothing dull about Patrick.
Nineteen carries produced 145 yards. Each carry was almost a carbon copy. An explosive burst of speed through holes that had him blowing by linebackers in the blink of an eye.
That burst, those first couple of steps, is the trademark for nearly every carry the senior gets in the Sooners’ well-rounded offense. Wherever Patrick is going, he tends to get there in a hurry.
It’s a style that’s served him well. But he hasn’t had the opportunity to explore many other options.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson is always quick to remind inquisitors the senior running back is far from cagey at the position. He’s still just a little over two years removed from being a defensive back.
“He still hasn’t played a lot of games,” Wilson said. “Playing junior college ball on defense, coming here and starting on defense, he still has some upside because he hasn’t been over there since high school.”
In a lot of ways, Patrick still plays with the wild abandon of a head-hunting safety. He’s broken a lot of tackles, but rarely avoids the contact.
Against Tulsa, he took a hand-off from Sam Bradford, blew threw a small hole and sought out Tulsa safety Randy Duncan like a heat-seeking missile. The collision ended the 11-yard gain, but Patrick’s emotional outburst after the play seemed to ignite the Sooners.
They were down 7-0 at the time; their first deficit of the season. One play later Patrick raced in from 29 yards out. The wheels of OU’s fourth straight rout to start the season were in motion.
“That’s how I’ve been my whole life,” Patrick said. “Middle school, high school, I’ve always been the same way. I’ve always been the guy that tries to keep everybody up. I came here with the attitude and tried not to change in that area.”
It doesn’t go unnoticed.
One of the reasons OU’s offense seemed out of step in the preseason was Patrick was standing on the sidelines wearing a medical boot. While the Sooners practiced under the blazing August sun, Patrick was in tent a few yards off the practice field lifting weights.
“I wanted to be out there so bad,” he said. “When I got my chance, l limped around a few days just to be out there with the team. I was just happy to be out there with the guys.”
And they were happy to have him back.
Patrick’s gritty runs were one of the main reasons the Sooners thrived after Adrian Peterson’s collarbone injury last season. He fought for 110 yards on 35 bruising carries last season against Colorado. It was the first of three straight games Patrick had 30 or more carries.
That’s something he likely won’t have to do again. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown are sharing time with Patrick in the Sooner backfield. It’s doubtful the workload will ever reach that point for any of the three.
The third-ranked Sooners (4-0) face the Buffaloes (2-2) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Folsom Field. It’s been nearly a year since Patrick first introduced his explosive running style to fans the last time the two teams met.
He doesn’t expect anything different Saturday. The injured ankle is healed. The rust … it’s gone, too.
“I feel like I’m back full go,” Patrick said. “The last two weeks I’ve felt like I’ve been my old self.”
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
