Oklahoma may finally be getting the back it’s been waiting on.
Brent Venables said Monday on his weekly coach’s show that Tory Blaylock is healthy again, and that could change the shape of the Sooners’ ground game quickly. The sophomore missed OU’s opener against UTEP with a hamstring injury that had bothered him through much of the offseason, then made his season debut in the No. 24 Sooners’ 17-10 loss to Michigan.
“Tory wasn’t able to really practice with the team until late last week, but when he’s 100% healthy, which we think he is now, he’s a dynamic player,” Venables said.
Blaylock’s return arrives at a time when Oklahoma has not exactly found traction running the ball. Against Michigan, the Sooners managed 100 rushing yards and averaged 3.4 per carry, which only underscored how little rhythm the offense has found on the ground so far.
Blaylock was eased back in against the Wolverines. He logged just one carry for three yards and was on the field for five snaps. OU’s backfield as a whole never really got rolling, with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle unable to get much going on the ground.
Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant had taken the lead role in Blaylock’s absence, while Xavier Robinson settled in as the main backup through the first two weeks. Freshman Jonathan Hatton Jr. also drew attention early, though Venables noted Monday that Hatton was banged up throughout last week, which played into his absence against Michigan.
Against the Wolverines, Oklahoma’s running backs combined for 13 carries. Avant finished with nine rushes for 35 yards, Robinson added three carries for six yards, and the group averaged 3.38 yards per attempt.
The Sooners will get another shot to sort things out Saturday night against New Mexico, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT in Norman.
The Lobos are 2-0, but this is still OU’s last chance to get the run game moving before a trip to No. 2 Georgia and then the Red River Rivalry against No.
1 Texas.
Blaylock could be the piece that gives the Sooners some real juice. He led Oklahoma with 480 rushing yards last season as a freshman, averaging 4.0 yards per carry on a team-high 120 attempts. He also caught 13 passes for 77 yards.
The Sooners only truly turned him loose a few times in 2025, and every time they did, he delivered. He ran for 100 yards on 14 carries against Temple in Week 3, had 78 yards on 15 attempts against Kent State, and posted 101 yards on 19 carries against South Carolina. In every other game, he never got more than 11 touches.
That’s why the idea of a healthy Blaylock matters now. With new running backs coach Deland McCullough in the mix, Oklahoma has already given Avant and Robinson their chances. If the Sooners want a bell-cow to spark the offense, Blaylock looks like the most natural answer.
In Other News...
Michael Hawkins Jr. Is Making Oklahomas QB Problem Even Harder To Ignore
Michael Hawkins Jr. has made an immediate impression since leaving Oklahoma for West Virginia, piling up productive rushing games against Coastal Carolina and UT Martin and showing the kind of dual-threat burst that once made him an intriguing option in Norman. For Oklahoma fans still watching from afar, it is a familiar sort of frustration: the former Sooner is finding his footing somewhere else, while the quarterback situation back home remains under a microscope.
John Mateer is still holding the starting job, but that has not quieted the debate around Oklahomas offense. The criticism has grown around his play, and with little proven depth behind him, the Sooners do not have many easy answers if they want a different look under center. Hawkins early success only sharpens the contrast between two quarterbacks with different styles, and it leaves Oklahoma trying to balance patience with a problem it cannot really ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma's Run Game Debate Just Got A Telling Player Response
After Oklahomas loss to Michigan, the conversation around the Sooners run game quickly shifted from production to philosophy, with plenty of heat aimed at the game plan and play calling. One of the transfers in the backfield, Avant, offered a more measured read on how it all unfolded, saying he felt in rhythm during the game and believed the coach put him in the best position possible even if the workload did not look like many around the program expected.
Avants response matters because it cuts against the growing criticism and gives a glimpse at how the backfield is processing a performance that left plenty of questions behind. For Oklahoma, the issue is not just whether the offense can run the ball better, but how much of the frustration comes from execution and how much comes from the way the staff is choosing to use its backs, a debate that is only going to get louder if the ground game keeps looking this way. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Offense Has One Problem Ben Arbuckle Knows He Must Fix
Ben Arbuckle didnt spend much time softening the edges of Oklahomas loss to Michigan. The Sooners offensive coordinator sounded frustrated while taking stock of what went wrong, and his message was pointed in the way good postgame self-scouts usually are: coaches and players alike have to own it, because the tape showed too many missed chances and too little consistency in the things that were supposed to travel.
John Mateers performance, Arbuckle said, was uneven, but he stopped well short of putting the burden on the quarterback alone. The bigger issues, from Oklahomas perspective, still circle back to execution, a rushing attack that has to become more reliable, and an offensive line that needs to settle in. Arbuckle also hinted at possible adjustments to help Mateer, including more designed runs, as the Sooners try to find answers before the next test. [Read more 🡒]