Star OU Running Back Ruled Out For The 2018 Football Season Due to Injury

OU running back Rodney Anderson, a preseason All-Big 12 selection who entered 2018-19 as an under-the-radar Heisman contender, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Anderson sustained the injury, which officially is being labeled a right knee injury, during OU’s contest against UCLA on Saturday.

Here’s the play where OU’s Rodney Anderson suffered an apparent knee injury pic.twitter.com/k4IB2g2Sm8

— Kyle Boone (@PFBoone) September 8, 2018

Last season for the Sooners, Anderson amassed 1,161 yards rushing and 281 yards receiving despite not getting more than 10 carries in a single game until the fifth game of the season. He emerged as a workhorse for OU down the stretch as it clinched the Big 12.

With Anderson out for the remainder of the year, true sophomore Trey Sermon is likely to benefit from bell cow duties moving forward. True freshman T.J. Pledger and senior Marcelias Sutton will also soak up a larger role in his absence.

Though OU’s stable of running backs is deep, it’s hard to overstate just how big a blow a loss like Anderson will be to OU. QB Kyler Murray has looked the part of a worthy successor to Baker Mayfield in two games, but he will no longer have the luxury of a blue-chip proven commodity like Anderson in the backfield.

It’s yet to be determined if Anderson’s absence will affect OU’s offense or its chances of repeating as conference champs, but the loss of the best player on the preseason best team is certainly newsworthy as conference play fast approaches.