Oklahoma Sooners 20 highest rated running backs of all-time according to 247Sports
Norman, Okla. has been the home of some of the best college running backs over the last couple of decades. From Adrian Peterson to Kennedy Brooks, the Sooners have produced some fantastic running back seasons and that doesn’t look to be slowing down as OU looks to the future.
Jovantae Barnes made a splash in the 2022 spring game and there’s a lot of excitement about fellow 2022 running back, and summer enrollee, Gavin Sawchuk as well.
DeMarco Murray, a former five-star player, has become a fantastic recruiter for the Sooners, landing Barnes and Sawchuk and keeping them aboard despite the coaching change. In the last couple of weeks, he’s added a running back to the 2023 class in Kalib Hicks. While Dylan Edwards and Tre Wisner surprised everyone by going against the projections, the Sooners will add another running back in the next couple of months to continue to build the depth chart for the next few years.
As we look to the future, let’s take a look at the past with the Oklahoma Sooners’ top 20 running back recruits in the 247Sports database. Running backs like Seymore Shaw and Justin Johnson, who were originally Oklahoma commits but ended up playing elsewhere were not included. D.J. Wolfe, who was recruited as a running back but flipped to safety was included.
Adrian Peterson -- Palestine, Texas -- 2004 Recruiting Class
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports © copyright Matthew Emmons
Overall Rating: 0.9996 (Five-Star)
No. 1 Nationally
No. 1 Running Back
No. 1 in Texas
Jermie Calhoun -- Van Horn, Texas -- 2008 Recruiting Class
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9945 (Five-Star)
No. 9 Nationally
No. 2 Running Back
No. 1 in Texas
Brandon Williams -- Brookshire, Texas -- 2011 Recruiting Class
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9927 (Five-Star)
No. 12 Nationally
No. 2 Running Back
No. 1 in Texas
Joe Mixon -- Oakley, California -- 2014 Recruiting Class
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9907 (Five-Star)
No. 19 Nationally
No. 1 Running Back
No. 2 in California
DeMarco Murray -- Las Vegas, Nevada -- 2006 Recruiting Class
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9901 (Five-Star)
No. 22 Nationally
No. 5 Running Back
No. 1 in Nevada
Keith Ford -- Cypress, Texas -- 2013 Recruiting Class
Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9878 (Five-Star)
No. 25 Nationally
No. 3 Running Back
No. 2 in Texas
Brennan Clay -- San Diego, CA -- 2010 Recruiting Class
Overall Rating: 0.9722 (Four-Star)
No. 53 Nationally
No. 7 Running Back
No. 10 in Oklahoma
D.J. Wolfe -- Lawton, OK -- 2004 Recruiting Class (Flipped to Safety)
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9707 (Four-Star)
No. 78 Nationally
No. 8 Running Back
No. 1 in Oklahoma
Alex Ross -- Jenks, Oklahoma -- 2012 Recruiting Class
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9667 (Four-Star)
No. 74 Nationally
No. 7 Running Back
No. 1 in Oklahoma
Donta Hickson -- McKinney, TX -- 2001 Recruiting Class
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Overall Rating: 0.9606 (Four-Star)
No. 126 Nationally
No. 24 Running Back
No. 13 in Texas
Gavin Sawchuk -- Littleton, Colorado -- 2022 Recruiting Class
The @247Sports No. 2 RB in the 2022 class, Gavin Sawchuk, is live with @jhale24 discussing his decision to commit to the #Sooners. Listen: https://t.co/CRzFSqFCiw pic.twitter.com/D9SDJbmA09
— The REF (@KREFsports) June 24, 2021
Overall Rating: 0.9583 (Four-Star)
No. 98 Nationally
No. 7 Running Back
No. 1 in Colorado
Jovantae Barnes -- Las Vegas, NV - 2022 Recruiting Class
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Overall Rating: 0.9532 (Four-Star)
No. 115 Nationally
No. 10 Running Back
No. 3 in Nevada
Seth McGowan -- Mesquite, TX -- 2020 Recruiting Class
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9378 (Four-Star)
No. 134 Nationally
No. 14 Running Back
No. 20 in Texas
Rodney Anderson -- Katy, TX -- 2015 Recruiting Class
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9332 (Four-Star)
No. 151 Nationally
No. 4 All-Purpose Back
No. 20 in Texas
Roy Finch -- Niceville, FL -- 2010 Recruiting Class
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Overall Rating: 0.9313 (Four-Star)
No. 172 Nationally
No. 9 All-Purpose Back
No. 27 in Florida
Trey Sermon -- Marietta, GA -- 2017 Recruiting Class
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9232 (Four-Star)
No. 191 Nationally
No. 12 Running Back
No. 19 in Georgia
Kennedy Brooks -- Mansifield, TX -- 2017 Recruiting Class
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9159 (Four-Star)
No. 216 Nationally
No. 16 Running Back
No. 35 in Texas
Samaje Perine -- Pflugerville, TX -- 2014 Recruiting Class
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Overall Rating: 0.9070 (Four-Star)
No. 244 Nationally
No. 14 Running Back
No. 31 in Texas
Marcus Major -- Oklahoma City, OK -- 2019 Recruiting Class
Bryan Terry-USA TODAY NETWORK
Overall Rating: 0.9024 (Four-Star)
No. 291 Nationally
No. 19 Running Back
No. 3 in Oklahoma
Kalib Hicks -- Denton, TX - 2023 Recruiting Class
1000% committed.. pic.twitter.com/hLqi5Xyi3U
— Kalib Hicks (@HicksKalib) June 15, 2022
Overall Rating: 0.8945 (Four-Star)
No. 366 Nationally
No. 24 Running Back
No. 63 in Texas
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