The last time the Heisman Trophy committee named two running backs as finalists for the most prestigious award in college football was 2015. In the 11 years before that, it had happened in 2013, 2011, 2009 and 2004.
Football has changed. The days of a majority of teams relying on one uber-dominant back are dwindling. It can still be done, but consider last year’s two Super Bowl teams, even. TreyVeon Henderson carried the ball 180 times for the New England Patriots and Rhamondre Stevenson carried it 130 times. For the Seattle Seahawks, Kenneth Walker III ran 221 times, while Zach Charbonnet toted the ball another 184.
Oklahoma fans have longed for an elite running back since Dede Westbrook saw himself named a Heisman finalist in 2016. Each of the last three seasons have seen the Sooners use a committee approach. Two of the seasons resulted 10-3 records and last saw OU in the College Football Playoff.
New running backs coach Deland McCullough figures to continue the at-least-two-headed approach, too. He previously served in the job at Notre Dame and last year in the NFL with the Raiders.
“I was teaching these guys, ‘Don’t be driven by the extreme numbers,” McCullough told ESPN. “You can have extreme numbers, but you can have extreme wear-and-tear, too.'”
McCullough said when he was scouting, he wasn’t looking for workhorse backs. He wanted backs who could maximize their efficiency on touches. Fewer carries means fresher bodies.
Certainly, Oklahoma would like a bit more efficiency in its backfield in 2026. The Sooners averaged just 3.54 yards per carry last year, ranking 118th out of 136 FBS teams. Tory Blaylock, a rising sophomore, was strong in the early season but struggled late, ceding carries to Xavier Robinson in the second half. Together – and along with quarterback John Mateer – they provided OU a semblance of a rushing attack, just enough to make Oklahoma’s offense dangerous.
But improvement next year would likely come from better efficiency rather than one of Blaylock, Robinson or Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant stepping up and taking total control of the job.
“They got to sit there and see, ‘Wait a minute, this can work,'” McCullough said. “Audric (Estime) had 1,300 yards, 18 touchdowns, but up until Game 10, he only played 47, 48% of the plays on offense. It was put out there for guys to be highly, highly successful and efficient.”
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma’s Deland McCullough brings NFL pedigree
