Dominic Richardson Threw His Hat in the Ring to Be OSU’s RB1

He ran hard and he ran fast, and Dominic Richardson recorded the second-highest rushing total ever at Oklahoma State for a true freshman (behind only Thurman Thomas), yet he has still never started a game for the Cowboys.

Oklahoma State cruised to a 42-3 win in its regular season finale against Baylor on Saturday afternoon. A game that shouldn’t have been played, at least not on Dec. 12, was led by a player who probably shouldn’t have played in it.

If the Bears had kept their original appointment with the Cowboys on Oct. 17 — before COVID concerns caused the game to be rescheduled — Chuba Hubbard would have been the Pokes’ top dog.

College football’s leading rusher last year bookended the original date for the trip to Waco with his two biggest rushing outputs of 2020, a 145-yard outburst against Kansas on Oct. 3 and a 139-yard showing against Iowa State on Oct. 24.

But the All-American, who had already been toughing it out with an ankle injury, played his final game as a Cowboy in Norman on Nov. 21. LD Brown, who turned out a career game the week before, has also not taken a handoff since Bedlam.

No fear, Cowboys fans. Dez is here.

Dezmon Jackson, the junior college transfer who fought through his own injury and lived in Chuba’s shadow to start his OSU career, stole the headlines coming into this weekend.

In just two starts, Jackson chewed up 353 yards and scored four TDs (he could have had five), signaling to the orange fanbase that he was a viable option to replace No. 30 next year. (He still is.)

But on Saturday, in his third start, Jackson apparently got dinged up on what would be his biggest run of the day, a 13-yard play early in the second quarter.

Now the Pokes were down to RB4.

To that point in the game, Richardson had two tough runs for 12 yards. To that point in the season, the rookie had carried the ball in just two games — garbage reps against Kansas and two carries against Texas Tech, where he fumbled.

But with Jackson on the sidelines, Richardson was next in line and he seized his opportunity.

In his first go as OSU’s feature tailback, the Oklahoma City native proved that he could run it up the middle.

And that he has a propensity to make homerun plays.

Richardson finished with 169 of OSU’s 261 rushing yards and all three of its rush scores. One hell of a breakout game.

After the win, Mike Gundy was asked how he felt about the position group moving forward, despite the potential loss of both Hubbard and Brown.

“Pretty good deal, you know,” said Gundy. “We got Richardson for five more years, and we have Dez [Jackson] for, I think, three. So, I’m excited about the direction we’re going with those guys. Maybe we can get some linemen back here and keep some of those guys healthy. We hold our breath on the offensive line every game.

“I’m excited about those guys and what they bring to the table for the next three or four or five years.”

It’s unclear who will be taking handoffs during the Cowboys’ bowl game, much less in 2021. But with a superstar in Chuba Hubbard on his way out, it’s got to be nice to get a good look at what both Jackson and Richardson can do.

And it’s got to be even better when they both show out.