Why OU needs to give Taylor Tatum more carries and let him swing for the fences
Sooners' true freshman looks like a different breed of tailback.
NORMAN — Taylor Tatum popped off the end-zone turf, flung up his right hand like he was flicking an imaginary object toward the sky, then smashed it with the swing of an invisible bat.
He watched it soar.
"I was looking at the top" of the stadium, he said with a smile. "I was like, 'That ball's outta here.'"
The OU tailback was definitely a hit Saturday.
He helped ignite a Sooner offense that has run a bit cold recently, getting into the end zone twice, scored multiple touchdowns in a game for the first time in his collegiate career and propelling OU to a 34-19 victory over Tulane.
But could the two-sport standout — the true freshman plans to play baseball for the Sooners, too — be more than a hit for this OU football team? Could he be a home run? Maybe even a grand slam?
I'm not sure what the answer is, but I think the Sooners should try to find out.
Tatum has played only three college games, so the sample size is small. Still, he looks like a different breed of tailback. He only touched the ball 10 times Saturday, but he scored twice, first on a 9-yard slip screen, then on a 1-yard plunge up the gut.
"He's got great physical stature," Sooners coach Brent Venables said, "and he's got a great physical presence to him. He's incredibly explosive. He's got really good instincts."
Tatum, of course, was the top running back in the 2024 recruiting class coming out of Longview, Texas, so expectations were high. But with Gavin Sawchuk and Jovantae Barnes returning to the OU backfield, it was anyone's guess if Tatum would work his way into the rotation.
He's done so the same way he scored on that run Saturday: with force.
"Man, he’s a freshman and he’s running through people that are probably 24 or 25," Sooner receiver Deion Burks said.
He chuckled.
"He’s a freshman, but he doesn’t play like one."
That's becoming increasingly evident. Of the Sooners who have at least 10 carries this season, Tatum has the highest per-carry average, and it's not particularly close.
Tatum: 6.8 yards per carry.
Jackson Arnold: 4.4.
Barnes: 4.1.
Sawchuk: 2.2.
As much as I like what Sawchuk and Barnes can do, I want to see more of Tatum. Sawchuk and Barnes are talented, but Tatum might be a special talent. Maybe not Adrian Peterson or Marcus Dupree as freshmen. Probably not because, hey, those two set an extremely high bar.
But why not find out how great Tatum might already be?
Give him 12 or 15 carries a game. Throw him three or four passes. See what he can do with more.
And if that means less running for Jackson Arnold, so be it. While he was OU's most effective runner Saturday, rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, it's risky to have your quarterback scrambling around that much.
Running less won't completely protect Arnold from getting injured, but cutting down those exposures is never a bad thing for a quarterback.
Now, I realize upping Tatum's workload would come just as the Sooners hit a level of competition never before seen in program history. They aren't just on the verge of SEC play. They are taking on what looks to be this season's most difficult slate of SEC games, starting next Saturday with Tennessee.
But Tatum, 5-foot-10 and 206 pounds, looks built for the rough and tumble of the SEC.
"For somebody that young, he's very developed," Arnold said. "Knows the plays inside and out, and very laterally quick, can get north and south too really quick."
Remember, Tatum only arrived on campus in June. He wasn't a January enrollee like many other high school signees because he wanted to play high school baseball last spring.
Still, Tatum had a goal of contributing this season. Maybe as a scout team player helping the defense improve. Maybe as a reserve pushing the other running backs to get better.
Instead, he has found his way into the rotation.
"I know I have the ability," he said. "I know I have the confidence to do whatever I need to do. But just staying on the rise, getting better every day."
Who knows? Perhaps a steadier diet of carries might get Tatum into a better rhythm. Truth is, you might say that of any of the Sooner tailbacks. The rotation seems haphazard right now as the coaches search for a hot hand behind an inexperienced and porous offensive line.
Still, Tatum seems like the OU tailback with the highest ceiling, though he readily admits he’s nowhere close to where he wants to be.
"You've got to block, got to hit hole a certain way, got to catch passes," he said. "As an RB, to make it to the next level, you gotta do everything."
And ...
"There's a 230-pound linebacker running at you full speed."
Not that he minds that.
"We all got pads on," he said with a smile. "Gotta get the job done."
Tatum has gotten it done when called upon. Time to call on him more.
Let him swing for the fences.