How running back Trent Howland ended up with Oklahoma State football
Scott WrightThe Oklahoman
STILLWATER — The last thing Trent Howland wanted to do was back out of a commitment.
So, even though he felt like Central Florida was the right place for him coming out of the transfer portal, he wanted to make all his recruiting visits before he finalized his decision.
“UCF, that’s where my head was,” Howland said. “It’s all about being loyal and keeping your word.”
A conversation with new OSU defensive line coach Paul Randolph — who was at Indiana with Howland the previous two seasons — convinced Howland to give the Cowboys a serious look late in the spring.
“He told me straight up, just take my time, come here and see everything OSU has to offer,” Howland said. “It was a quick overnight thing. As soon as I got done with my UCF visit, I was like, let’s go give this a shot and see where it takes us.
“I came and it was real. Coach Randolph kept telling me it was. Once I got here, I realized that.”
Of course, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Howland knew he was coming into a difficult situation.
OSU already had Ollie Gordon II at running back, returning after rushing for 1,732 yards and winning the Doak Walker Award last year. Extra carries this fall will be sparse, because Gordon will get the majority.
“I’m not worried about Howland,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “I think he’s been hit throughout his career. He’s 242 pounds, so he should be able to handle that side of it.
“The perfect scenario for us would be for Ollie to stay healthy all year long and carry the ball 20 times a game. If that happens, then that means we are successful on offense because we’re allowing some other guys to get some carries. I have confidence in the other guys who are going to carry the ball, but I also know the more times that Ollie touches the ball, and we can get guys blocked up, it’s going to make us a better team.”
The Cowboys might not have pursued Howland if not for an injury to Arkansas transfer AJ Green during spring practice. He suffered a serious lower leg injury that could keep him out most of the season.
So while Gundy would love to limit Gordon to 20 carries a game, it’ll come down to health and production from the backups, primarily Howland and redshirt freshman Sesi Vailahi.
Howland sees the value in playing behind the country’s best back.
“I took it as motivation, actually,” Howland said. “Coming in behind a guy who has done that at his age and the amount of time he did it, that just shows what they’re producing here and how (running backs coach John Wozniak) built Ollie up to do what he did.
“I just told myself, go in here and work and you never know what can happen. That could be you a year from now.”
Oklahoma State running back depth chart
Name, Class, Ht., Wt., Hometown (Previous school)The starter
- Ollie Gordon II, Jr., 6-2, 225, Fort Worth, Texas (Euless)
- Trent Howland, RJr., 6-3, 240, Joliet, Illinois (Indiana)
- Sesi Vailahi, RFr., 5-9, 200, Salt Lake City (West)
- Rodney Fields Jr., Fr., 5-9, 185, Wright City (Del City)
- Jaden Allen-Hendrix, Fr., 6-2, 230, Columbia, South Carolina (Irmo)
- AJ Green, Sr., 5-10, 210, Tulsa (Arkansas)
