There’s a new No. 1 for Oklahoma football in the upcoming 2020 season.
We’re speaking of the jersey number worn by true freshman running back Seth McGowan, a member of the top-15 rated 2020 Sooner recruiting class.
The 6-foot, 215-pound running back from Mesquite, Texas, is the only running back in the Sooner incoming 2020 class.
When he officially signed with the Sooners late last year, the OU running back room was well stocked, with at least five running backs who had seen action during the 2020 season. Since then, however, the Sooners have lost Trey Sermon, previously the lead RB on the roster, to the transfer portal, and Rhamondre Stevenson to a suspension that is expected to carry over through the first five games of the 2020 season.
Redshirt junior Kennedy Brooks, who gained over 1,000 yards last season, returns as the No. 1 back on the depth chart, but with only two other running backs who have game experience (junior T.J. Pledger and redshirt-frehman Marcus Major), there is a very good chance that McGowan will see the field earlier and more often than he might have otherwise.
McGowan comes to Norman with a lot of promise. The 4-star prospect was rated the No. 13 running back in the 2020 class by Rivals and No. 16 by both ESPN and 247Sports. In his high school career, he rushed for more than 3,700 yards and scored 45 touchdowns.
He had more than 25 scholarship offers and chose Oklahoma over such high-profile college football programs as Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Notre Dame. He also was recruited by Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and TCU out of the Big 12.