Most Important People #8 – Joseph Randle

Photo Attribution: KT King

Who he is: He’s been called by some the “Desmond Mason of football.” Personally I think we should pump the brakes (or jump up inside the car and slam on them) before that crazy talk gets out of control. That being said, the dude is special.

What he does: Nearly broke the 1,000-yard all-purpose mark as a true freshman on a team that was within a busted defensive play of going to a BCS bowl. So there’s that for starters. I’ve called him Brian Westbrook to Jeremy Smith’s LeSean McCoy but that’s for convenience purposes only. He’s more like a poor man’s Ray Rice (Rutgers version).

Where he fits in: I think by the time his career in Stillwater is over he will be a 750-750 guy and has an outside shot to go 1,000-1,000. He’ll continue to pile up receiving yards because 1.) he has sick hands and runs wheel routes that make Reggie Bush nod and smile and 2.) Jeremy Smith can handle the run-specific downs and duties. It’s a nice logjam for Gundy to have.

Why he matters: He’s not the heartbeat of this offense but when he’s clicking everything will be firing on all cylinders. He’s almost the barometer for how well the offense is playing at any given moment. I think Weeden, Blackmon, Coop, and Smith can stumble their way through the schedule to win 8-9 games but with Randle in the fold, this unit is deadly. He’s an assassin in open space and Monken (most important person #9) needs to be working on creating it for him all season long.

This post is part of our series on the 20 most important people to a 2011 Oklahoma State title run. Check the full list out here.