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Oklahoma football: Can Sooners keep deep RB room happy?

By Christopher Dukes

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Kennedy Brooks #26 of the Oklahoma Sooners breaks away from the defense of Deionte Thompson #14 of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the third quarter during the College Football Playoff Semifinal against the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Kennedy Brooks #26 of the Oklahoma Sooners breaks away from the defense of Deionte Thompson #14 of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the third quarter during the College Football Playoff Semifinal against the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma football fans might say that a deep running back group is a good problem to have, but the Sooners must figure out a way to dole out carries to several different talented players.

With Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks both back, Oklahoma football is one of the fortunate few programs in the country to return two runners with 900 or more yards from 2018. Add in redshirt freshman T.J. Pledger, JUCO transfer Rhamondre Stevenson and true freshman Marcus Major and you go right past “three’s a crowd” territory.

The Sooners have managed multiple running backs in the past with the ride-the-hot-hand approach, but in the age of the transfer portal, it may be impossible to keep five talented guys all happy in 2019.

Sermon and Brooks seem to be the obvious candidates for carries. Sermon is coning into his third season and shed a couple of pounds to get a little lighter on his feet without losing any of his trademark power. He’s been the team’s closer in the past with quality fourth-quarter carries to finish teams off when they are on the ropes.

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Brooks – a preseason first-team All Big 12 choice – is the Sooners’ home run hitter. His slashing style and uncanny speed make him a threat to go the distance every single time he touches the football.

After that you get into unknown territory with T.J. Pledger, who has been drawing rave reviews in fall camp from coaches after redshirting last season. Pledger was the No. 4 all purpose back in the 2017 class and many scouts say he’s tailor-made for the OU offense with running style, blocking ability and as a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield.

If we were going strictly by the next-in-line approach, Pledger would be the third guy in the pecking order, but the Sooners are obviously going by playmaking ability rather than seniority.

JUCO transfer Rhamondre Stevenson is an interesting prospect. Many have compared him to a mix of Brooks and Sermon – powerful with a dynamic big-play potential on every carry. If that’s true and he is able to live up to that billing, it becomes hard to keep him off the field.

Then there’s true freshman Marcus Major. Major still has the potential to redshirt this season, play four games and enter next year with four years of eligibility left, but do the Sooners want to wait to play a guy who has drawn some comparisons to Adrian Peterson from former OU fullback J.D. Runnels?

With this much talent and depth not only do players have to make the most of every rep they get in the game, they will have to take advantage of every rep they get in practice to make sure they are high enough on the depth chart to get into the game each week.

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