Bob Stoops Calls Samaje Perine’s Run at OU Rushing Record ‘Special’
By Chip Rouse
Sometime this season, running back Samaje Perine should become the Oklahoma career rushing leader, and head coach Bob Stoops says that’s “pretty special.”
Perine has 3,062 career rushing yards in just two seasons in an Oklahoma uniform, and with 1,057 more he will pass an impressive list of great Sooner ball carriers and become the school’s all-time rushing leader.
Stoops spoke about Perine’s record ascent with OU beat reporter Ryan Aber of the Oklahoma City Oklahoman at preseason training camp this past week.
“You just go down the line from Joe Washington, Steve Owens, back to Billy Vessels…not just the Heisman Trophy winners…Billy Sims, on down through. There’s a million of them,” Stoops said. “To have Samaje in that company is pretty special just going into his third year.”
Offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley told Aber he frankly is a little surprised that Perine is as close to the OU career rushing record as he is after just two seasons.
“The history here us obviously as good as it is anywhere for running backs in the history of this game,” Riley said. “But this guy (Perine) has been so consistent. It’s awesome to see a guy who is having this happen, this humble. The fact that he’s still got a lot left is so special.”
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is also aware that his teammate is closing in on the record and says he plans to feed the beast a lot this fall and do everything he can to help Perine break the record.
Entering the 2016 season, Perine sits 10th on the Oklahoma career rushing list. To date, only four Oklahoma running backs have exceeded 4,000 rushing yards in their career.
Two of the four are former Heisman Trophy winners and another was a Heisman runner-up and a three-time winner of the NFL rushing title. Sims tops the list with 4,118 career rushing yards while at OU. He is closely followed, in order, by Washington (4,071), Adrian Peterson (4,045) and Owens (4,041)