John Mateer impressed with true freshman who could be impact playmaker for the Oklahoma Sooners despite stacked position group
A true freshman playmaker could be a major standout for the Oklahoma Sooners earlier than expected this season.
While their recruiting class of 2025 wasn’t a top ten class, the Oklahoma Sooners brought in several players they are incredibly excited about and figure to be impactful players for the foreseeable future for the Sooners.
Five-star tackle Michael Fasusi, four-stars wide receiver Elijah Thomas, guard Ryan Fodje, and cornerback Trystan Haynes all have high expectations. However, it’s another four-star playmaker who caught the eyes of both the coaching staff and his quarterback throughout camp.
Tory Blaylock Turning Heads
Four-star running back Tory Blaylock has been a terrific playmaker in camp so far for the Sooners, and his mentality despite his youth has stood out to his fellow teammates.
“He’s kind of a goofy kid,” quarterback John Mateer said. “He’s great, though. Love being around him. Me and him have a good relationship. He really looks up to all the other guys and asks the right question. I think that’s huge, to have the courage to ask the right questions as a freshman. You come in, I was scared as a freshman, I didn’t know what to do. Luckily, I had Cam [Ward] to ask, and he had great running backs older than him to ask. He’s done a great job.”
Blaylock, the son of former NFL running back Derrick Blaylock, has put his NFL bloodlines to good use. As a sophomore, he won the Texas Offensive Newcomer of the Year award, and has set records in track. He’s consistently posted sub-11 100-meter times and was part of Atoscocita High School’s Texas state championship-winning 4×100 relay team, which shattered the national record time, posting a 38.92.
The best kind of ability, however, is availability, and Blaylock brought that for the Sooners all offseason. He was one of just two running backs in the rotation who stayed healthy for all of the offseason, and the Sooners rewarded him by making him the RB2 on their first initial depth chart of the 2025 season.
A few weeks ago, Brent Venables had this to say about Blaylock: “His physical maturity, his explosiveness, his durability. He’s taken a lot of snaps…Tory Blaylock has been as impressive as a freshman as I’ve been around. We’ll see what the season brings, but he’s been fantastic.”
Blaylock will have to earn his spot in a stacked room. Jaydn Ott is the obvious number-one back, while the staff is very high on Jovantae Barnes, and Xavier Robinson became an impact player last year as a freshman. However, he has the ability and backing to quickly make a name for himself this season.
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