Mike Gundy hoping to limit Ollie Gordon's carries with his second NFL contract in mind
- Aug 23, 2024 Updated Aug 23, 2024
Tyler Waldrep
OSU Sports WriterSTILLWATER — The driving force behind Oklahoma State’s offense this fall isn’t a secret. Opponents must stop running back and Heisman hopeful Ollie Gordon to get the Cowboys off the field.
Of course, Gordon’s effectiveness isn’t the only thing on Mike Gundy’s mind this season.
“It’s just a fact in coaching today, we have to take into consideration and have an appreciation for a young man, doesn’t matter what his position is if he has a bright future for the NFL, we have to take into account what can we do to help him solidify that for an extended period of time,” Gundy said. “Because we all know that the NFL, you have to get through years three and four health-wise and production-wise or you get cut. To get a contract that can change a young man’s life.”
Mike Gundy hopes to limit Ollie Gordon to 20 carries per game this season.
Tulsa World Archive
With that in mind, Gundy hopes to limit the back to 20 carries per game to keep him healthy both for the Cowboys’ end-of-season run and his eventual NFL career.
Last year, Gordon averaged 20.4 carries per game. However, he carried the ball at least 25 times in seven of his final nine games. Gordon also eclipsed 30 attempts twice during that same stretch.
“At the college and NFL level, running backs take a lot of hits,” Gundy said. “More than any other position because they’re getting it from all angles.”
While Gundy hopes to limit Gordon’s exposure to some of that this season, the Oklahoma State coach also acknowledged that his starting running back has a habit of doing his best work late in games. Something his youngest son, Gage Gundy, even pointed out to him last season.
“He said, ‘Dad he’s better at 20-30 than he is at 1-20,” Gundy said. “‘For some reason, he likes it and feeds off of it. He’s strong.’ When he mentioned that to me, I thought he was right.”
As he has maintained throughout the offseason, Gundy acknowledged that there will likely be times when the Cowboys need their starting running back to carry it closer to 30 times this fall. The Oklahoma State coach said Gordon would carry it that much when the team needed it.
“Ollie has never come to us once and said he wants more carries and never once come to us and said he’s carrying it too much,” Gundy said. “If he continues with that thought process and allows us to do what we think is best to be successful as a team and protecting him and his career, we’ll do that.”
