Gundy Hopes to Limit Hits on Gordon This Season for OSU’s Success and Gordon’s Future

STILLWATER — Superstar tailback Ollie Gordon carried the ball 20.4 times a game last season, a number his coach wants him to hover around again in 2024.

Those 20.4 carries a game served Gordon (and Oklahoma State) well in 2023, as he led the nation in rushing and won the Doak Walker while powering the Cowboys to a 10-4 record that included an appearance in the Big 12 title game. His 285 total carries were the eighth-most in a season in OSU history, while his 1,732 yards were the sixth-most in a season from any Cowboy.

“Twenty would be good,” said Gundy of Gordon’s carries per game. “Twenty carries would be good for him, good for us. Will there be times he has to carry it more? Probably. Will there be times where he can carry it less? Hopefully. I’m going to say 20 would be a decent number at this time.”

Although Gordon carried about 20 times a game as a sophomore last season, those numbers are perhaps a tad misleading. He carried just 19 times in OSU’s first three games of the year before fully assuming OSU’s RB1 duties in the Cowboys’ conference opener against Iowa State. From that point on, Gordon carried 24.2 times a game — hitting highs of 33 and 34 against Oklahoma and BYU, respectively.

Someone pointed out to me on X that Gordon’s number of carries also had a correlation to OSU’s wins. In games Gordon carried fewer than 20 times, OSU was 2-4. In games Gordon carried more than 20 times, OSU was 8-0. But even that could be considered misleading, as teams often are more likely to run when they are winning to drain the clock. When teams are losing, they’re more likely to throw the ball to save clock.

All that is to say that carry totals are situational.

Shoot, even 20 carries a game for a 12-game regular season comes to 240 carries in a year, which is significant. Only two Big 12 backs last season had at least 240 carries — Gordon and Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks (290).

“I’m here for the team,” said Gordon of carry totals. “If my number keeps getting called, I’m here for it. I’m not saying I don’t like it, but, hey, I’m here for it.”

Limiting hits on running backs has been something Gundy has stressed for a while now — going back to Justice Hill and Chuba Hubbard, where Gundy set similar ideal limits.

At one point in 2019, Gundy said that 25 touches a game for Hubbard “should be the maximum.” That was a season in which Hubbard carried 328 times — tied for the third-most in program history (and 25.2 carries a game). The only people around that mark played in Stillwater before 1990. Hubbard dealt with injuries in an already-shortened 2020 season, carrying the ball just 133 times in seven games before going to the NFL.

Those three letters (NFL) are another reason Gundy said he hopes to limit the hits Gordon takes in 2024, with Gundy noting second NFL contracts can change players’ lives.

“We’re in decent shape now with some experience (behind Gordon), so that should allow us to protect him for us and protect him for the NFL,” Gundy said. “It’s just a fact in coaching today, we have to take into consideration and have an appreciation for a young man — doesn’t matter what his position is if he has a bright future for the NFL — we have to take into account what can we do to help him solidify that for an extended period of time because we all know that the NFL you have to get through years three and four health-wise and production-wise or you get cut. To get a contract that can change a young man’s life, it would be great if we could keep him to that 20-carry mark.

“If we need him to carry 30 to win, he’s going to carry 30 to win.”

Another factor in all this is that when the going gets tough, Gordon seems to get going. Some of his best performances last season came with outstanding second halves. The one that stands out the most was his 29-carry, 282-yard, four-touchdown performance in Morgantown. Gordon carried nine times in the fourth quarter alone, running for 149 yards and three touchdowns in the frame.

“It’s the same thing my youngest son, Gage, told me near the middle of the season,” Gundy said. “You guys brought this up and I said I’m really not comfortable with him carrying it more than 20 times. He said, ‘Dad, he’s better at 20 to 30 than he is at one to 20. For some reason he likes it and feeds off of it. He’s strong.’ When he mentioned that to me, I thought he was right.”

So, there might not be a definitive right answer on how much action Gordon should get in 2024, but it is something that looks like it’ll be monitored. Although Gordon put up video game numbers last season, he isn’t a video game character. Hits take a toll, so it makes sense that his coaches would look to project him as much as possible — not only for OSU’s team success, but for Gordon’s future successes.

“You guys know that at the college and NFL level, running backs take a lot of hits — more than any other position because they’re getting it from all angles,” Gundy said. “All of those are valid questions, but 20 would be a good number. Ollie has never come to us once and said he wants more carries and never once come to us and said he’s carrying it too much.

“If he continues with that thought process and allow us to do what we think is best to be successful as a team and protecting him and his career, we’ll do that.”