Oregon State's Anthony Hankerson Prepared To Help Carry Beaver Offense in 2025

Oregon State running back Anthony Hankerson finished last season with 1,082 rushing yards off of 232 carries, a feat that helped cement his place in the Beaver football record books as the just the program's 19th back to have a 1,000-yard season.

But Hankerson’s biggest strength isn’t his football IQ, his physicality, or even his stat line.

It’s his respect for the game - something his family, particularly his mother Antlette, instilled in him from a young age.

“I have always told him - ‘you are a vessel on the field, you’re not just out there playing the game, you are also a minister of the game,” shared Antlette. “I tell him ‘you are out there saving someone’s soul, someone’s life, you are ministering to those young men.’”

Seeing football through that lens has created one of the most humble, dynamic and driven running backs in college football. 

A guy who stood on the sideline of his spring game in full pads even though he wasn’t playing, shadowing his coach, talking through plays and taking mental reps. 

A guy who dutifully played the linebacker position in high school at his coaches' request despite his overwhelming desire to run the ball. 

A guy who relishes being a third-down type of back, who loves pass protection and craves contact.

“Production, leadership, effort, toughness - he’s everything you want in a football player, “ said Oregon State Offensive Coordinator Ryan Gunderson. “We’ve had really good running backs that are like that here in the past with Jacquizz Rodgers and Yvenson Bernard, guys who were short but they weren't small. And Hank is a lot like that. He’s super valuable to us and a really good voice for our offense.”

Hankerson began his collegiate career at Colorado after being heavily recruited out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida. A three-star recruit, Hankerson played in 20 games for the Buffaloes and had four touchdowns, three of which came as a true freshman. 

Fun fact: he scored his first receiving touchdown against Oregon State in 2023. The Buffs lost that game 26-19 and a year later Hankerson was suiting up in orange and black.

“The foundation was already set here at Oregon State, they produce great running backs and the identity is that they run the ball and play great defense,” explained Hankerson. “So I felt like this was a great spot for me to come in and take on a big role and potentially be one of the great backs when I leave this campus.”

Last season was the warm up. This season is the main event.

The Oregon State running back room is stacked with talent and is led by new coach Ray Pickering who boasts an extensive resume that includes stops at Texas, Norfolk State and Buffalo. Hankerson believes with Pickering’s help, the running back room is set to do big things this year.

“He played the game, he’s very smart,” said Hankerson of his new position coach. “His biggest phrase is - limit the game to technique and effort. Just teaching us how to take care of our bodies and how to see the field and how to break it down so that I don’t have to overthink between each snap. It becomes less cluttered in my brain and I can just go out there and play fast.”

Pickering coached Buffalo standout Al-Jay Henderson, who finished second in the MAC in rushing (82.9 per game) last season and notched 1,078 yards on the year - just four yards behind Hankerson.

“When we come into the meeting room before fall camp, what I like to do, and I’ve done this at every stop - I’m going to print out the running back records, team, country, whatever and I’m going to let them see what it is,” explained Pickering. “Then we are going to talk about a plan for how to attain it.”

Just call him a man with a plan. His method of using human fascination and fixation to the running back’s room advantage is perfectly in-step with the current state of college football. 

“The game itself didn’t change too much despite a lot of stuff around it changing,” admitted Hankerson. “Football is football and Coach Pick helps us remember that we can only control what we can control so it becomes about what can I do to find success without having to do too much.”

Pickering has even integrated Hankerson’s psychology major into the process, teaching him to read opposing defenses' mannerisms, looking for their textbook tells. 

“Intentions or demeanor or body language - you can connect it all back to psychology because you know how people are going to react and you know how they are going to respond,” clarified Pickering.

It’s mental skills like that combined with Hankerson’s sheer athleticism that help him execute plays like the 83-yard touchdown run against Boise State last November.