Oklahoma football: No gray area expected from ex-Tennessee RB

The Oklahoma football offense is at peak form when it is able to run the ball consistently and effectively.

And when the Sooners have been the most effective offensively in recent season it is when they have had an interchangeable duo at the running back position. Like DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown, Damien Williams and Brennan Clay, Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon and Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks.

The last time Brooks took a handoff in the OU offense, in 2019, Sermon was his running partner with Jalen Hurts handling most of the Sooners’ running opportunities and outgaining both Brooks and Sermon.

Hurts and Sermon are long gone, now toiling in the NFL, but Brooks is back in 2021 for what will probably be his final season in a Sooner uniform.

Brooks will share running back duties this season with Tennessee transfer Eric Gray. And the Sooners have some pretty good talent behind those two as well in redshirt sophomore Marcus Major and another transferee, Tre Bradford, out of LSU.

Gray, a junior, will wear jersey number “0” this for the Sooners this season. He led Tennessee in rushing a year ago, with 722 rushing yards and a 4.9 average.

The 5-foot, 10-inch 205-pound running back gave Sooner fans a taste of what he can do, gaining 23 yards on four carries, including scoring a touchdown, in the annual OU spring game this year. He was described by John Hoover, who covers Oklahoma for Sports Illustrated, as a :versatile running back with a multi-tool weapon who can slice up defenses with handoffs or pass receptions.”

Gray told John Williams of Sooners Wire that the decision to come to Oklahoma was an easy one:

"“So many great running backs who came through Oklahoma. The history of the offense of Oklahoma. Once I got in the transfer portal, I kinda knew Oklahoma was the school I wanted to go to.”"

Head coach Lincoln Riley has been impressed with the former Tennessee running back since the day he stepped on campus in the spring.

“I can’t say enough about the kid,” Riley said during Big 12 Media Days in July. “I told somebody earlier, it feels like he’s been in our program for months or years already. He’s honestly exceeded everything we put in front of him.”

Coming from the SEC, Gray was naturally asked about how he thought Oklahoma will fit in the SEC. “Being here is just like being in the SEC,” he said:

"“This is a great school, a great program, so it definitely fits in that league…“This program is one of the greatest programs ever built. It’s just a great chance for them to join that league and be a powerhouse in that league.”"

The season for talking is about over. In a couple of weeks, we’ll see what he’s really all about on the field.

I have a pretty strong feeling Gray will live up to all the hype, especially running behind one of the best offensive lines in the country.