Oklahoma State football aims to reinvigorate run game with talented backs, new philosophy
STILLWATER — At the end of the regular season last November, Oklahoma State’s running back room was in a good position with a veteran leader backed by a group of emerging youngsters.
Nothing has changed, except the name of that veteran leader.
Dominic Richardson transferred to Baylor and the Cowboys hit the portal to find former Michigan State back Elijah Collins.
As the start of spring practice nears, OSU will begin work to see how the group will blend. Here’s a look at the running back position:
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Season rewind
The Cowboys struggled to run the ball efficiently in the season opener against Central Michigan, and perhaps that was a more significant sign of things to come than anyone realized at the time.
Richardson busted loose for 131 yards the next week against Arizona State and the Cowboys were productive on the ground the following two games. But the yardage began to dry up at that point.
Over the remaining nine games, OSU failed to rush for 150 yards as a team in eight of them, only reaching the mark when freshman Ollie Gordon went for 136 in the late November loss to West Virginia.
Over the final six games, OSU had just two rushing touchdowns, both against West Virginia.
For the season, the Pokes averaged 3.4 yards per carry and 125.6 yards per game, including quarterbacks and others who rushed the ball.
Running backs alone rushed 356 times for 1,476 yards, an average of 4.1 yards per carry.
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Who’s out
Dominic Richardson, Zach Middleton, C.J. Brown, Andre Washington
Who’s in
Elijah Collins, Sesi Vailahi*, Donte Buckner
*-Will enroll in June
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The take
Running back talent isn’t in question. Gordon has the makings of a star. Jaden Nixon is a big-play threat either running or catching the ball. And Deondre Jackson emerged as a viable option over the second half of the season.
Zach Middleton, who would’ve been a redshirt junior, was forced to retire for medical reasons, so the room is limited in terms of time spent at OSU.
But Collins, a super-senior, brings plenty of experience and should immediately find his way into competition for the starting job. He rushed for over 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons at Michigan State, including a 988-yard year in 2019. He rushed for 318 yards and six touchdowns, plus another 93 receiving yards, in a rotational role last year.
But OSU’s run game issues seemed to be more related to blocking difficulties.
It was reported by Robert Allen of PokesReport.com that the Cowboys are altering their run game philosophy, moving away from the zone blocking schemes they’ve used the past decade to a more traditional attack like Mike Gundy’s offenses had in his early years as head coach.
That aligns more with what offensive line coach Charlie Dickey has coached in the past, and could create a better foundation as the Cowboys try to reinvigorate lacking run production.
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Depth chart
The starter
Ollie Gordon, So., 6-1, 211
The reserves
Elijah Collins, RSr.*, 6-0, 220
Jaden Nixon, RSo., 5-10, 185
Deondre Jackson, RJr., 5-11, 225
Ethan Washington, RFr., 6-0, 195
Donte Buckner, RJr., 5-11, 200
*-Super-senior
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football run game to lean on new philosophy in 2023
