Former Oklahoma FB J.D. Runnels Lands Coaching Gig in New USFL
Former Oklahoma fullback J.D. Runnels hasn’t been in coaching long, but he’s quickly climbing the ranks.
Runnels has landed an assistant coaching gig with the Houston Gamblers of the new United States Football League, the league announced Thursday.
In Houston, Runnels will be reunited with Gamblers head coach and former Sooners assistant coach Kevin Sumlin. Sumlin was co-offensive coordinator at OU under Bob Stoops, and he went on to become head coach at Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona.
Runnels was a 3-star prospect at Carl Albert High School in Midwest City. At OU, he became a team captain, first-team All-Big 12 fullback and won the Don Key Award as OU’s most inspirational player. He played in 53 career games, caught 51 passes for 450 yards and five touchdowns, and rushed the football twice for five yards.
Runnels, a key member of the OU Rose Bowl champion and two-time BCS runner-up from 2002-05, was a sixth-round pick of the Chicago Bears in the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent time with the Tampa Buccaneers and the Cincinnati Bengals as well before stepping into private business as a broadcaster and sports performance trainer working with young athletes.
Last year, Runnels coached running backs at East Central University in Ada, OK. He previously was the head coach at West Junior High, spent four years as strength coach for the Harrah, OK, high school soccer program, and was an assistant at Choctaw High School in 2016.
