Oklahoma football: Can Sooners stay strong in Rodney Anderson’s absence?

Two games into the 2018 season, Oklahoma football has an adjustment to make.

Some would call it a major adjustment. Homerism notwithstanding, we’re not willing to take it quite that far.

No question that Rodney Anderson is a prime contributor to Oklahoma’s high-octane offense. On a somewhat innocuous running play that gained 10 yards on Saturday, however, the hard-running Sooner running back didn’t bounce back to his feet after the play ended. Instead, he remained on the ground clutching his right knee. A play that earned OU a first down at the UCLA 10-yard line on the final play of the first quarter ended up costing the Sooners much more.

As OU’s No. 1 running back — and arguably the best running back in the country over the second half of the season a year ago — was helped off the field, Sooner fans hoped for the best, but feared the worst.

Anderson emerged from the locker room midway through the second half on Saturday, obviously done for the day, dressed in street clothes with an ice pack and heavy brace on his knee. The other shoe dropped Sunday evening, when it was learned that the knee injury he suffered was going to keep him on the sidelines the remainder of the season and for the third time in his Oklahoma career.

This is Anderson’s fourth season at Oklahoma, but only his second on the field because of season-ending injuries in 2015 and 2016. He didn’t earn a starting role until the sixth game of the 2017 season, but his 1,079 rushing yards over the final eight games of the season were the most by any FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) player in the country over than span.

Anderson’s 2018 season is definitely over, but that doesn’t mean Oklahoma’s is as well. There’s no question that the services and on-the-field leadership of the redshirt junior from the Houston area will be missed. Anytime you remove a10.8 yards-per-play rushing average from the lineup, which is what Anderson was delivering through the first five quarters in two games this season, it’s bound to hurt some.

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The good news out of a bad news situation is that the Sooners are blessed with talent, as usual, at the running back position, but with even more depth this year than they’ve had in recent years. Running back may be the strongest skill position on the Oklahoma roster this season.

The Sooners were five deep at running back with Anderson. The next man up behind Anderson is sophomore Trey Sermon.

Sooner fans need to be reminded that Sermon was the lead running back, as a true freshman, through the first five games last season. He gained 744 yards on the ground last season and averaged over six yards per carry t complement Anderson. Sermon also caught 16 passes out of the backfield for an additional 139 yards from scrimmage.

The 6-foot, 224-pound running back from Marietta, Georgia, gained 62 yards and caught a touchdown pass in OU’s huge win over Ohio State last season, in just his second collegiate game.

Senior Marcelias Sutton, used last season primarily on kickoff returns, has shown some pop at running back in the first two games this season and has scored a touchdown in both games. The Sooners also have redshirt freshman Kennedy Brooks and true freshman T.J. Pledger, both of whom have looked good in limited duty in the first two games.

And lest we not forget, one of the fastest men on the team and a very talented runner in his own right is the quarterback Kyler Murray, who was the team’s leading rusher in the win over UCLA. It wouldn’t surprise me to see more of Murray in the run game along with the Sooner running backs moving forward as part of the offensive adjustment to compensate for the loss of Anderson.

It also helps greatly to have a seasoned and talented offensive line, one of the best in the Big 12 and in the country, to run behind, which goes a long way in fueling a strong running game.

The bottom line is: The Sooners are definitely down an outstanding player and team leader in Rodney Anderson, but this is exactly why recruiting depth at the skill positions, such as running back, is so important, and the Oklahoma coaching staff, both under Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley, have done an excellent job of that.

Anderson still has one more season of collegiate eligibility after this one, and possibly even two if he were to get a medical waiver. Whether it is back at OU for a final season or in the NFL, Riley said in his weekly press briefing on Monday he is certain the star Sooner running back will be playing football somewhere next season.

Oklahoma will need to make some minor offensive adjustments, but the offensive plan won’t change. in the words of head coach Riley, and the pieces are there to keep the train rolling on down the track with little, if any, disruption.