Oklahoma Had a Big Winner From Night 1 of the NFL Draft

Though there were no Oklahoma players drafted on Thursday in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, one current Sooner ended the night as a major winner.

New running backs coach Deland McCullough had a fantastic night, as he saw two of his former running backs get drafted.

The Arizona Cardinals took Jeremiyah Love with the third pick in the draft, then the Seattle Seahawks closed down the night by selecting Jadarian Price with the 32nd pick.

Arizona…yall just got the Loveliest pick of all!!!Absolute Beast. So happy for him and his family. Special people. Congratulations!!!! pic.twitter.com/Jmgm3UnvAH
— Deland McCullough (@coachdmc) April 24, 2026

McCullough worked with both running backs at Notre Dame, where he coached from 2022-2024 before serving as running backs coach for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.

Love signed with Notre Dame as a consensus 4-star recruit, and he rushed for 385 yards and a score as a freshman in 2023 before enjoying a fantastic 2024 season.

He ran for 1,125 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per carry, and he scored 17 touchdowns in his final season under McCullough.

Last season, Love built on that with a 1,372-yard season where he rushed for 18 touchdowns and finished as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

Despite Love's exploits, Price was able to successfully co-exist beside him in the backfield.

He missed his freshman season in 2022 due to injury, but he quickly got up to speed as a sophomore.

Price rushed for 272 yards and three touchdowns before finishing the 2024 season with a career-high 746 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

JD!!! One of the hardest working, most talented, purely good guys I have ever coached. 3yrs of connection and development. Jessica, he did it!!! And I’m so proud of him and happy for you and your family. pic.twitter.com/Wd8HzQCbjO
— Deland McCullough (@coachdmc) April 24, 2026

He still was productive without McCullough leading the unit last year, as he finished with 674 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.

The Notre Dame duo both impressed enough to get drafted in the first round.

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The Sooners haven't had a running back drafted in the first round since Adrian Peterson went off the board with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, but OU has had seven running backs drafted since Peterson

Allen Patrick was taken in the seventh round of the 2008 draft, Murray himself was taken in the third round of the 2011 draft, both Joe Mixon (second round) and Samaje Perine (fourth round) were taken in the 2011 draft, Rodney Anderson was taken in the sixth round o the 2019 draft, Rhamondre Stevenson was picked in the fourth round of the 2021 draft and Eric Gray was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft.

Murray helped get both Stevenson and Gray to the league, but McCullough's night with two first rounders should resonate from coast to coast on the recruiting trail for the Sooners.

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