Oklahoma Freshman RB Jonathan Hatton Jr.'s First Offseason 'Wasn't a Struggle'

NORMAN — An Oklahoma running back has broken out as a true freshman in each of the last two seasons.

Xavier Robinson rushed for 233 yards and four touchdowns during his first college football season in 2024 and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. In 2025, Tory Blaylock rushed 120 times for a team-high 480 yards and four touchdowns.

Now it might be Jonathan Hatton Jr.’s turn.

Hatton is a 6-0, 230-pound running back from Cibolo, TX. He is one of 25 players who signed with OU from the Class of 2026, and he was a consensus 4-star prospect.

With Robinson and Blaylock both back, they will likely get the highest volume of carries in 2026, assuming they stay healthy. But Hatton feels ready to contribute in Year 1 after his first few months on campus.

“I thought it would be a harder transition from high school to college,” Hatton said in March. “Having the resources here and the people here and the coaches and players really helped a lot. This hasn’t been much of a struggle.”

Hatton said that he climbed to 230 pounds after the first few weeks of winter workouts at OU. When he signed in December, OU coach Brent Venables praised the running back’s physicality, speed and leadership.

All three of those traits showed in Oklahoma’s spring game on April 18 when Hatton rushed for 26 yards and a touchdown on only six carries.

“He’s a physical runner, and he’s fast,” true freshman quarterback Bowe Bentley said. “When he breaks loose, he’s gone, and he’s awesome.”

Hatton believes his rushing skills are in a good place for him to be impactful as a true freshman.

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But he said that his pass-blocking abilities must improve for him to be the best version of himself.

“I think it’s the pass protection more than anything,” Hatton said. “If you can’t do that, can't do that, it's going to be hard to put you on the field.”

Hatton, though, has worked hard to improve in that area. The running back said he’s leaned on both Robinson and Blaylock to develop his blocking and other parts of his game.

“They’ve been helping me with a lot of stuff, especially the playbook, just helping me overall be more successful,” Hatton said.

Hatton and DeZephen Walker are the only freshman running backs on OU’s roster. In addition to those two and Blaylock and Robinson, other tailbacks include Lloyd Avant, Ben McCreary, Gabe Sawchuk and Andy Bass.

Avant — who transferred to OU from Colorado State after the 2025 season — believes that Hatton and Walker won’t need to sit around and wait in the fall.

“They’re guys that are ready to play,” Avant said. “They came here with the attitude and the mindset to get better 1% each day, and just they come out and practice. They know they’re young guys and have to develop a little, but they do everything full speed and on point.”

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