Oklahoma football: Kennedy Brooks is back and ready to run

The high-powered Oklahoma football offense lost its top three rushing leaders from last season.

Ordinarily that would be a big concern for any team, let alone a team that combines a solid run game and a quick-strike aerial attack into one of the nation’s most dangerous offenses.

But this is Oklahoma, where there seemingly is always someone waiting in line to be the next man up. And in the 2021 season for the Sooners, it’s someone who has already been there and done that.

Kennedy Brooks led the Sooners in rushing his freshman season in 2018, gaining 1,056 yards on the ground, including a dozen touchdowns, and averaging nearly 9.0 yards per carry. Oklahoma almost produced three 1,000-yard rushers that season. Kyler Murray ran for 1,001 yards and Trey Sermon barely missed out going over 1,000 yards himself, ending the season with 947.

Brooks was the team’s second leading rusher the following season with1,011 rushing yards. Jalen Hurts was the Sooner quarterback in the 2019 season and led the team with1,298 rushing yards and 20 rushing TDs to go along with 3,851 passing yards and 32 touchdowns.

Brooks, a former five-star recruit from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, elected to sit out the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, but he is back and ready to go in what will be his redshirt-junior season. This could be his final season at Oklahoma, and Brooks says he’s feeling great and ready to make it his best college season yet.

The third-year Sooner running back is vaccinated and said his game has actually gotten better since he last played in 2019.

"“I’d probably say I’m more explosive than I was a year ago,” Brooks told reporters during the first week of fall training camp.“Definitely worked on my strength and my first step. Also catching the ball. I worked on everything — my strengths and my weaknesses. It’s all coming together.”"

While away from the game last season, Brooks said he also worked on his mental game, particularly how he would respond to various defensive alignments and situations.

Brooks is expected to share time in the OU backfield with Tennessee transfer Eric Gray and redshirt sophomore Marcus Major. Gray, a junior, led Tennessee in rushing last season with 772 yards and averaged close to 5.0 yards per carry.

With 2.067 rushing yards in two seasons, Brooks is currently 30th among the Oklahoma career rushing leaders. Another 1,000-yard season on the ground, however, would move him into the top 10.

The Sooners lost their three-headed rushing attack from last season. Rhamondre Stevenson, who led OU in rushing in 2020, left for the NFL (the fourth-round pick of the NEW England Patriots). T.J. Pledger transferred to Utah, and first-year running back Seth McGowan was dismissed from the team earlier this year because of his involvement in an alleged robbery attempt.