Thune’s take: FACT. The Sooners’ baseball pitch really resonated this past weekend with
, a two-sport phenom who’s arguably just as good — if not better — on the diamond than the gridiron. That’s part of the reason Oklahoma has assumed a commanding lead in the Rivals FutureCast for the elite running back prospect. Meanwhile,
grew up some 20 minutes from Oklahoma’s campus and didn’t move to the Lone Star State until the 8th grade, so he’s virtually an in-state prospect to a degree. Neither back seems deterred by the other’s interest in the Sooners, and OU running backs coach DeMarco Murray has always recruited tandems. In fact, he was able to land
in the 2022 cycle primarily because he pitched a lighter workload to each back, promising that he’d keep their legs fresher for a future in the NFL. For the second time in three years, Murray and the Sooners very much appear poised to land a pair of top-10 running backs.
Patterson‘s take: FACT. There is a great chance that Oklahoma signs two Rivals100 running backs this cycle in Taylor Tatum out of Longview and Caden Durham from Duncanville.
At one point, there was a question on whether or not the Sooners would get either with Tatum eyeing USC and Durham being courted by LSU. However, the Sooners, to this point, have survived pushes from other schools and appear to be the leader in both recruitments.
And the two would complement each other well. Tatum can run between the tackles and be the bellcow back, while Durham presents electrifying track speed, able to score from anywhere on the field. Landing both would be a big statement for DeMarco Murray.
