Gundy Declines to Comment on Gordon Injury Rumors, Signs Point to OSU’s Running Back Being Fine

STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State rumor mill ran rampant this week of talks about a potential injury to star running back Ollie Gordon, but Gordon appears to be fine.

OSU coach Mike Gundy met with the media on Thursday after his team’s practice. Although Gundy, as has become custom, elected to not discuss injuries (whether rumored or otherwise), Gordon himself, who wasn’t set to talk with the media Thursday, made his presence known while the scrum was around his coach. Gordon hollered something to the extent of giving Gundy a hard time while walking by in practice attire.

“I would never answer on any injuries,” said Gundy about the rumor. “Nobody knows about anybody’s injuries in the camp but me. I would never do that.”

So, all appears to be fine in Cowboy land, even if Gundy is being tight-lipped about it (which, again, is normal).

The reigning Doak Walker winner, Gordon led the nation in rushing last season with 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns. Those numbers came after he carried just 19 times in the nonconference, where he ran for 109 yards and two scores. He earned consensus All-America status and was named the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Year after posting the sixth-best season in terms of rushing yards in OSU’s history.

Should Gordon get banged up at anytime in 2024, however, the OSU staff has done a solid job shoring up things behind him. First, OSU brought home AJ Green, a Tulsa Union alum who spent the past three seasons at Arkansas. Green, though, suffered an injury in the spring that is expected to keep him out for most, if not all, of the season.

So, OSU went back in the portal and got Trent Howland from Indiana. Listed at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Howland led the Hoosiers in rushing last season with 354 yards and two scores — running for 4.7 yards a carry.

The Cowboys also have some promising young backs in their ranks. Sesi Vailahi had some impressive moments in his true freshman season. He played in four games while maintaining a redshirt. He ran for 20 yards on four carries against UCF and was Gordon’s backup in the Big 12 championship game against Texas, where Vailahi rushed for seven yards on two carries and caught two passes for another 12 yards.

OSU also brought in a pair of freshmen in its 2024 recruiting class in Rodney Fields Jr. and Jaden Allen-Hendrix. Out of Del City High, Fields ran for 3,100 yards and 43 touchdowns as a high schooler, leading the Eagles to a 13-1 record and an appearance in the 5A state title game last season. Listed at 6-2, 230 pounds, Allen-Hendrix joins the program by way of South Carolina. As a senior at Irmo High School, he also led his team to the state final, running for 2,215 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior at 9.5 yards a pop.

Although Gundy didn’t entertain the rumor mill, he did field a question more broadly asking about the health of the team at this point in the fall, and it also pointed in the direction of everything being OK within the walls of the program.

“They’re doing great,” Gundy said. “We’re rolling. Coaches are tired, but the players are doing good.”