Since Adrian Peterson left for the NFL, Oklahoma’s running back position has featured more of a committee than a specific depth chart. Last season Allen Patrick, DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown shared the carries. All had more than 120, while none received more than 173.
Unlike quarterbacks, three is undoubtedly better than one. The Sooners will continue to use that mixture this season at the running back spot.
The depth will likely come into play. It has been every year since 2004, the last season OU didn’t have a running back miss a game due to injury.
The surgical scars on the knees of Murray and Brown paint the picture. Both underwent surgery in the offseason and missed spring practice. Both have returned to form in the preseason and OU will rely on them heavily, particularly Murray.
“We have had to manage with him through two-a-days with how much he’s been out there,” OU coach Bob Stoops said following Monday’s practice. “You don’t want to over-do it just to get him tired. He has no trouble with it, except for the occasional fatigue just because of the number of snaps. He had three days off and he said he felt great, and he looked good.”
Murray will be the closest thing to a feature back OU’s had since Peterson. He doesn’t quite have Peterson’s size at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. But he’s the most elusive runner on OU’s roster.
He likely would have rushed for 1,000 yards last season if he hadn’t gone down with a dislocated knee cap against Texas Tech in the 11th game of the season. But he still scored a team-high 13 touchdowns.
Murray believes he’s physically ready to go.
“The knee is good, 100 percent now. I feel better than I ever felt before,” Murray said. “I weigh in at 215, which is 15 or 20 pounds more than I weighed last year. That should help me stay between the tackles more than I usually do.”
Murray is more physical than he’s been given credit for. Perhaps it’s because he’s skilled enough to be a receiver and might be used occasionally as a slot receiver. But when it comes to running between the tackles, Brown has carved out that niche.
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior has been the Sooners’ between the tackles specialist for the last two seasons. He’ll keep banging away this season.
“Chris is an exceptional back who is to often overlooked, but never by us,” Stoops said. “That guy has been as consistent and good as we have had, but he just doesn’t have the flashiness or the size of an Adrian (Peterson) or a DeMarco with some of the moves. However, down-in and down-out, he is right there as good as they are.”
Madu will be the wild card this season.
He played sparingly last year, but still averaged 5.8 yards per carry. The former Norman High standout has skills similar to Murray’s. He’s great in the open field and is a very elusive runner.
“If Mossis played all the time for us and carried the ball 20 times a game, he would be a 1,500-yard rusher,” running backs coach Cale Gundy said. “But all of our running backs can do that. Mossis is going to get his chance to show what we can do and we are going to play a number of running backs this year, but tell the fans not to worry because DeMarco is going to get plenty of carries. And, yes, we are going to play Chris Brown a lot as well.”
True freshmen Justin Johnson and Jermie Calhoun could also see some time. Odds say, at least one of OU’s running backs will suffer some sort of injury this season. When it comes to running backs, there’s always a need for another one.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
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