Oklahoma returns two 1,000-yard rushers in Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks plus a potential budding star in T.J. Pledger, but incoming JUCO running back Rhamondre Stevenson may very well have the skills to force his way into the rotation.
Rhamondre Stevenson comes in as a junior after spending two seasons at Cerritos Junior College in California. He racked up 2,111 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns last season as a sophomore and averaged nearly 10 yards per carry.
What he brings to the table
Watching his film, it’s easy to see why Rhamondre Stevenson was the No. 1 JUCO running back in the country in 2019 according to Rivals. He is a unique combination of size, power, shiftiness and speed. He fits somewhere in the middle of Sermon and Brooks in those categories.
While he may not have the homerun ability of Brooks (there aren’t a lot of backs in college football who do), he usually makes up for any shortcomings in top-end speed with superior vision and instincts. His ability to see the field and use his downfield blockers turns 10-to-15 yard runs into 40-to-50 yard carries.
While all of this will help get him a look in fall camp, the No. 1 reason Stevenson will compete for playing time might be his advanced understanding of pass blocking. Stevenson is a talented blocker who isn’t afraid to stick all of his 6-foot-1, 230-pound frame into a blitzer or free-running defensive lineman and more often than not he stops them dead in their tracks.
Where he fits in
The Sooners are deep at running back, but one would have thought the same a year ago with Brooks, Rodney Anderson, Marcelias Sutton, T. J. Pledger and Trey Sermon all on the depth chart, but they ended the year with only Brooks truly 100 percent healthy.
Three years ago Oklahoma started the season with Anderson, Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine all on the roster, but had to turn to fullback Dimitri Flowers when attrition took all three out of the picture against Iowa State.
The point is, the Sooners can never have enough talented backs in the stable, but Stevenson can be more than just another body. Don’t be surprised to see him used in tandem with Trey Sermon as a kind of finisher, providing physical second-half punishment for would-be tacklers and delivering backbreaking big plays down the stretch in close games.