Ollie Gordon II: The Latest Star at Tailback U

'OSU Helmet' Photo Credit: Paul David

What is it that makes a 19-year-old the best running back in college football? It takes size, strength, speed, and a workhorse mentality. That describes Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon II perfectly. Gordon’s jersey number may be “0”, but he gives 110% on every play, churning his powerful legs and leaving scorched earth in his wake as he steamrolls hapless tacklers on his way to paydirt.

Ollie Gordon-Prep Phenom

Gordon was a 4-star prospect out of Trinity High School in Euless, TX. It was there that Gordon developed his football skills and his competitive nature. That competitiveness is unrelenting and only ends when the final horn sounds. Do not make the mistake of getting in his face and talking smack, you will only make him mad and want to play faster and harder to beat you.

Gordon is like the Incredible Hulk- don’t make him angry, you won’t like him when he is angry.

In two years of varsity play at Trinity, Gordon rushed for a whopping 4,629 yards scored 63 touchdowns, and was named the 2020 Male Athlete of the Year by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. When it came time to accept one of the many scholarship offers, he chose Oklahoma State over Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Texas, and Utah, to name a few (according to 247sports).

Ollie enrolled early so he could participate in the Cowboys' Spring practice before the 2022 season.

During his true freshman season of 2022, Gordon saw action in every game and totaled 308 yards and two touchdowns. It was the most rushing yards by a true freshman at Oklahoma State in five years.

The 2023 season started slow for Gordon, rushing for a total of 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first three weeks of the season, as the Cowboys went 2-1 over that stretch.

But from week 4 on, Gordon took the opposition and the college football world by storm and the Cowboys have gone 5-1. Here are his rushing totals:

· 18 carries, 121 yards vs Iowa State (Loss)

· 21 carries, 136 yards vs #15 Kansas State (Win)

· 29 carries, 168 yards rushing, 119 yards receiving, 2 TDs vs #23 Kansas (Win)

· 29 carries, 282 yards rushing, 4 TDs vs West Virginia (Win)

· 25 carries, 271 yards rushing, 2 TDs vs Cincinnati (Win)

Final Bedlam: #22 Oklahoma State 27 – #9 Oklahoma 24

It took Gordon less than four minutes to put the Cowboys on the board first with a 20-yard run to the endzone. Ollie rushed 33 times for 137 yards (4.2-yard average) and two touchdowns in the defeat of the Oklahoma Sooners in the final Bedlam game. The Sooners were the first team to hold Gordon under 5+ yards per carry since the Cowboys' loss to South Alabama in week 3.

For his efforts vs. the Sooners, Gordon was named Co-Offensive Big 12 Player of the Week. That is his fourth such award in as many weeks, and he is only the second player in the history of the Big 12 to achieve that feat.

Gordon has now rushed for 1225 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging seven yards per carry, and leads the nation and the Big 12 with 136 rushing yards per game. It was the sixth time in as many weeks that Gordon has eclipsed the century mark.

Ollie is the ultimate team player who only wants to make his teammates better, and who cast the spotlight on the team as a whole and the coaching staff when he performs well. With his size and strength (he can squat 400 pounds), Gordon is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses, and tough to bring down. He seemingly gets stronger as the game goes along.

Oklahoma State, Tailback U, a running back factory that has produced such talented runners as Thurman Thomas, Terry Miller, David Thompson, Kendall Hunter, Barry Sanders, Justice Hill, Chuba Hubbard, and Tatum Bell, and now…Ollie Gordon II.