Oklahoma Sooners true freshman may have just taken his teammates job after huge game against Temple Owls
True freshman running back Tory Blaylock has earned the starting job for the Oklahoma Sooners and it’s finally time to admit it
The Oklahoma Sooners cruised out to a 42-3 dominant victory over the Temple Owls in Oklahoma’s first road game of the 2025 season. With their SEC conference opener the following week, the Sooners were looking forward to a good tune-up game before they kicked off against what should be a tough SEC opener against the Auburn Tigers.
Oklahoma had a few things they wanted to sort out in their trip to Philadelphia. Most notably: their run game. The Sooners hadn’t had any rusher break 100 yards throughout their first two games, and they were hoping this game against the Owls could help them sort that out.
It’s safe to say that the Sooners found their run game-and more against Temple this week. They might have just found their long-term starter from an unexpected player at a key position.
Tory Blaylock Seizes Right To Be The Starting RB for the Sooners
Tory Blaylock has flashed every game so far for Oklahoma. Where their other running backs seemingly gained 2 or 3 yards on a run, Blaylock found a way to get 5 or 6 consistently. The rest of the running back room didn’t have the juice to turn the corner well on outside zone runs, leaving yards on the ground. Blaylock didn’t have that problem. More and more, it began to feel like Blaylock’s role went from a change-of-pace back into a player that Oklahoma simply couldn’t take off the field.
He made an emphatic statement that drove that point home against Temple. Quite simply, Blaylock earned the starting running back role for Oklahoma, regardless of whether or not Jaydn Ott returns from injury sometime soon.
Besides becoming the first Sooner rusher to run for over 100 yards in any game this season, the offense simply just flowed better with Blaylock in over any of the other running backs. Jovantae Barnes, who started the game, ran for 2.4 yards per play. Blaylock? 7.14. Their individual EPA was staggering. Barnes hit a .69 tally for the day. Blaylock hit a 5.02. He had a higher EPA and EPA/Play than John Mateer did as a passer.
The Sooners’ rushing attack isn’t perfect yet. I would still like for them to get more vertical in the run game and rely on more gap and “duo” runs up front to help the offensive line create more push and create defined lanes for Oklahoma’s backs, letting backs like Blaylock use their explosiveness to get downfield quickly instead of asking them to read in the backfield. None of their backs have that kind of vision or processing just yet. However, Blaylock is comfortably their most promising option no matter what concepts they decide to run.
At this point, I don’t know what else this coaching staff needs to see. The true freshman and son of a former NFL running back has earned the job with his performance on the field. He’s the most dynamic option they have in the backfield, and his vision is leagues better than what anyone else in the rotation is doing.
It’s time to finally cave and name Blaylock the full-time starter at running back.
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