Almost Half Of OSU Fans Think Barry J. Sanders Should Start at Running Back

Well this is certainly not what I expected. Nearly half of Oklahoma State fans think Barry J. Sanders (who rushed for 1 yard on four carries last Saturday against a Division 8 team) should be the starting running back for Oklahoma State. I suppose I should have seen it coming that a majority would vote for someone with the name “Sanders” on the back of his jersey, but 1 yard on four carries is 1 yard on four carries.

Justice Hill and Chris Carson came in second and third respectively with around 25 percent of the vote each. I didn’t have room for Jeff Carr because Twitter only lets you put four options, but I presume he would have come in last if he had been included.

Here’s a look at the full poll.

Tuesday poll question: After Week 1, who should be the starting RB for #okstate? Limited to 4 choices on Twitter.

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) September 6, 2016

I’m in the minority here and would start Hill. He looked Joe Randle-like (again, against terrible competition) in Game 1. I would back him up with some combination of Childs and Carson and use Carson more inside the red zone. There’s an outside chance OSU’s offense just wasn’t built for players like Jeremy Smith and Chris Carson who are monstrous but not necessarily explosive. Maybe those two are outliers, but maybe you just need more nimble guys.

We were talking about this in our group thread today, but there needs to be a different position altogether created for Barry J. and Jeff Carr. Those guys are incredibly versatile and can do stuff the other three can’t. I’d let Barry J. do everything but sing the alma mater if I’m Gundy and slide Carr in behind McCleskey and Barry as a sort of Tyreek-like weapon.

Here are the best comments from Tuesday’s poll.

Josiah Meints: Voting with my heart, and my heart says the Son of Sanders.

AZ Alum: Tough call. Liked them all and wondering how well it could work with all 5 remaining in the mix. Voted for Sanders but Childs probably had the best single rushing play. Carson and Hill looked impressive too. The real decision might come down to who is best in blocking role from the backfield rather than who looks best with the ball.

Mark: Based on what I saw Saturday, and purely based on Saturday, I’d say……. Aw heck, I have no clue, I honestly can’t tell a measurable difference between all four of those choices. Being that Hill is a freshman and ran just as effectively as the others? Maybe he should be the starter since he probably has the most unrealized potential.