OU Depth Chart: Jaydn Ott Gives Oklahoma Clarity at Running Back

A bonafide star at Cal in 2022 and 2023 who rushed for 897 yards as a freshman and 1,315 as a sophomore and averaged 5.3 yards per carry with 71 pass receptions and 25 total touchdowns, Ott suffered a debilitating ankle injury in the 2024 opener and never regained his form, finishing the year with just 385 yards, 3.3 yards per rush, 24 catches and five scores.

Ott's plan going into the 2024 season was to make the jump to the NFL at the end of the year, but the ankle injury redirected that idea.

Read More Oklahoma Depth Chart Projections

• Defensive Tackle
• Quarterback
• Defensive End

Now, he is presumably fully healthy as he brings to Norman 3,333 career yards from scrimmage (2,597 rushing) and 30 touchdowns.

As running back is one of the most physically demanding positions on the field, the Sooners will certainly need more than one star player at the position. In that vein, Brent Venables and Murray do have plenty of tantalizing options at their disposal.

Senior Jovantae Barnes finally got healthy and looked the part last year as he rounded into form as a junior. He had 17 carries for 70 yards against South Carolina and 16 for 67 at Ole Miss before breaking out with a career-best 203 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries against FCS Maine.

But Barnes rolled an ankle against the Bears and missed the rest of the 2024 season.

His injury opened the door for true freshman Xavier Robinson to finally crack the lineup, and Robinson had an immediate impact — but not a lasting one.

The 6-foot, 226-pound Robinson had zero rushing attempts before replacing Barnes against Maine, and he hit the Black Bears with 29 yards and a bruising touchdown on the ground and a dazzling 46-yard reception. 

Robinson then pounded Missouri for 56 yards on just nine carries, then absolutely punished Alabama with 107 yards and two touchdowns rushing plus another 20 yards on four receptions. For whatever reason, he was limited to just 10 carries (for 20 yards) and three catches (10 yards) at LSU, then got six rushing attempts (for 21 yards) and two receptions (24 yards) in the bowl loss to Navy.

Taylor Tatum, the No. 1 high school running back prospect in the nation and a member of the OU baseball team, got opportunities throughout his freshman season, playing in 11 games and finishing with 278 yards on 56 carries (5.0 average) and five catches for 41 yards (8.2 average).

But as promising as some of Tatum’s touches were, he struggled in two vital areas: pass blocking and ball security. He got his quarterback hit numerous times (one resulted directly in a South Carolina touchdown) and fumbled himself four times, losing three (including a costly one against Texas).

If Barnes can stay healthy, and if Tatum has improved his blocking and ball security, and if Robinson gets an opportunity, the Sooner running back room looks loaded behind Ott.

With senior Gavin Sawchuk off to Florida State and former FCS transfer Sam Franklin landing at South Florida, Murray’s options in 2025 can have a sharper focus.

There’s also the addition of true freshman Tory Blaylock, whom coaches and teammates said had a strong spring practice, as well as walk-on  Gabe Sawchuk (Gavin’s little brother). OU fans are also hoping dynamic local walk-on Andy Bass can overcome knee injuries in back-to-back seasons and find his way onto the field.

The 5-11, 192-pound Blaylock has elite speed, as he showed at Atascocita High School in Humble, TX, where he rushed for 1,262 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior last year and ran on his school’s 4 x 100 relay team that set the national record with a time of 38.92.