Week 1 didn’t just give Oklahoma a tune-up against UTEP. It laid out the Sooners’ running back order in plain sight.
The biggest takeaway from OU’s 51-0 win is that Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant has grabbed the top spot in Deland McCullough’s backfield. That was already becoming clear in fall camp, when McCullough admitted Avant had surprisingly moved into the RB1 role and praised him for rarely making mistakes. On Friday night, Avant opened the game as the first back on the field and finished as the clear lead runner.
Avant handled 15 carries for 79 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt, and he scored Oklahoma’s first points of 2026 on a one-yard run. For a player who arrived from the portal without the kind of fanfare usually attached to a season-opening starter, he backed it up exactly the way a coach wants: steady, efficient, and productive.
That doesn’t mean the rest of the room disappeared. Xavier Robinson, who was listed as a co-starter with Avant on OU’s initial depth chart, still got work, but he did not look like the true lead option.
Robinson carried seven times for 30 yards, averaging 4.3 a pop, and he was below the standard McCullough reportedly wants in yards after contact. Brody Lusk pointed out that McCullough likes that number to be at least three, and Robinson checked in at 2.43, the lowest among the four backs who had more than two carries.
Jonathan Hatton Jr. was the other name that jumped off the page, even in a small sample. The freshman got three carries and turned them into 21 yards, highlighted by a 21-yard burst that showed exactly why people have been eager to see him.
He’s already built at 6-feet and well over 200 pounds, and the talent is obvious. But one explosive run doesn’t change the pecking order.
Hatton still has work to do before McCullough starts feeding him more consistently.
Tory Blaylock remains part of the conversation too, though he was inactive in Week 1 because of a hamstring issue. Brent Venables said Monday on his weekly coach’s show, "Hopefully, Tory has a good week this week, and we could travel him and get him going here against Michigan.” Blaylock led the Sooners with 480 rushing yards last season as a freshman, so the door is clearly still open for him once he’s healthy.
Behind those top names, Incarnate Word transfer Ben McCreary and Andy Bass got limited chances, mostly in the kind of game script that only appears in a blowout. McCreary was second on the team with 40 rushing yards on six carries, but those snaps came against UTEP backups.
Bass had two touches and lost eight yards. Unless Oklahoma keeps running away from teams like this, neither one looks likely to keep carving out a bigger role.
For now, the picture is simple. Avant is the back at the front of the line.
Robinson is behind him. Hatton has upside but still has to earn more.
Blaylock, once healthy, should re-enter the mix. And McCreary and Bass are waiting for another chance that probably won’t come often.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Gets O-Line Boost But One Worry Looms At Michigan
Oklahoma is trending toward getting some needed help up front just in time for a marquee trip to Michigan, with injured starters Jake Maikkula and Ryan Fodje both taking full reps in practice. For a team still trying to settle in along the offensive line, that kind of reinforcement matters, especially with a nonconference test that will demand cleaner protection and more stability than the Sooners have had at times early.
The one concern hanging over the group is left tackle Michael Fasusi, whose shoulder injury left his status uncertain after he did not practice fully. Oklahoma is even weighing the possibility of holding him out not just for this game, but for the next one as well, a sign the staff is thinking beyond one matchup and toward the conference stretch that follows. [Read more 🡒]
Jim Nagys Latest OU Adds Could Matter More Than Fans Realize
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Nagy said the evaluation went beyond talent, with cultural fit part of the equation and the roster construction done with intent rather than impulse. The bigger question now is how quickly, or even whether, those newcomers will be pushed into action once they settle in with the Sooners. For a team that has been willing to be patient with its approach, the next step is seeing which of these late additions becomes more than just a name on the summer board. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Is Counting On Late Defensive Adds Faster Than Fans Realize
Oklahomas defense picked up a late burst of experience when the program added four fifth-year transfer players in Danny Saili, Braxton Fely, DYoni Hill and Jaydon Southard. Each was granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, clearing the way for immediate eligibility this season, and Brent Venables has pointed to that group as a way to add depth and give the Sooners more options on that side of the ball.
For a team trying to build out its roster with older, proven pieces, the timing matters as much as the names. Venables sounded confident those additions can help right away, but the real test now is how quickly they fit into the defense and whether their presence can translate from added bodies on paper to meaningful snaps when the season starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]