Connect with us

Football

A Look at Freshmen Running Back Production Under Mike Gundy

Published

on

With the news that Justice Hill could legitimately start coming out recently, we have been thinking a lot about how this running back situation is going to play out this season. Apparently a lot of you have as well. Reader Jon Jester sent me a terrific email breaking down all the freshman RBs who have played in recent memory. Here’s his email with commentary and a pretty chart.

You guys keep the great emails coming!

I promise I think about more than just the RB mayhem in Stillwater, but i found some stats on former freshman RBs at OSU in recent years and felt like I would pass them on. I guess our ultimate question is: Where will Justice Hill fit into this a year from now?

RB – Year Carries Yards AVG TDs Receptions Rec Yds Rec TD
Jeff Carr – 2015 36 142 3.9 1 11 24 2
Rennie Childs – 2013 41 189 4.6 1 4 49 0
Corey Bennett – 2012 12 91 7.6 1
Caleb Muncrief – 2012 14 57 4.1 1
Joe Aska – 2011 3 6 2.0 0
Desmond Roland – 2011 17 95 5.6 0
Herschel Sims – 2011 31 242 7.8 2 1 -1
Joseph Randle – 2010 82 452 5.5 2 37 427 1
Jeremy Smith – 2009 15 160 10.7 1
Michael Roberts – 2008 15 42 2.8 0
Kendall Hunter – 2007 107 696 6.5 4 10 137 1
Keith Toston – 2006 106 631 6.0 6 10 92 2
Julius Crosslin – 2004 17 71 4.2 1 2 26 0

*Ed. note: Chart has been updated to reflect the fact that Dantrell Savage and Beau Johnson were not freshmen. I have added in Herschel Sims and Caleb Muncrief. Apologies for the mistake earlier. You can check it against all the RBs from the Mike Gundy era here.

A few thoughts on this.

• Can you imagine a freshman and a juco transfer getting 100+ carries in the same season like what happened in 2006 with Toston and Savage? Holy smokes, OSU has come a long way in just a decade.

• I’ve thought following their freshman years, respectively, that Carr and Childs had great years as freshman, and then I look at what Hunter/Toston/Randle did and I get all nostalgic about feeling what that was like to have a freshman have a season like that and know that we have three more years of that dude running the football for us.

• Modern day OSU RBs have to wait for their shot behind the older guys which can be a good thing because it shows progression from guys that have been in the system (right?)

• Joe Randle with almost equal totals of rushing and receiving yards, but he had 50 less receptions than carries. HB slip screen in its heyday.

• Jeff Carr got in the end zone the most as a freshman RB since… Joe Randle.

Most Read

Copyright © 2011- 2023 White Maple Media