Oklahoma RBs Coach Deland McCullough’s ‘Attention to Detail’ is Already Sticking Out

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s inconsistency on the ground plagued the offense a year ago, but with new leadership, it may improve in 2026.

The Sooners hired Deland McCullough to replace former running backs coach DeMarco Murray in February. McCullough coached the Las Vegas Raiders’ running backs in 2025, and he previously served as a running backs coach at Notre Dame, USC and Indiana.

Shortly after McCullough was hired, OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle called him. From one phone conversation, Arbuckle knew that his new coworker was the right man for the job.

“We talked for probably an hour, an hour and 15 minutes,” Arbuckle said. “He’s been a great addition to the team.”

In 2025, Oklahoma ranked 13th in the SEC in rushing, averaging 118.5 yards per game. Young running backs Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson combined for over 900 yards and certainly showed flashes of efficiency, but both of them suffered injuries in the back half of the season that kept the unit from ever truly finding a rhythm.

OU’s backs collectively ended the year averaging only 3.5 yards per carry, which ranked 14th in the conference.

In only a few weeks of having McCullough on the staff, Arbuckle is confident that the Sooners will get the most explosive version of each of their running backs.

“The biggest thing that I have really seen from him is, man, his attention to detail and his unwavering effort to get these guys to run the ball violent,” Arbuckle said. “It is a constant stressing point that we’re saying to these kids and trying to get them to understand.”

Robinson and Blaylock are both back for the 2026 season, but there has been significant turnaround elsewhere in the position group.

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Running backs Taylor Tatum and Jovantae Barnes both transferred after the 2025 season, while Jaydn Ott played his final college football game on Dec. 19, when the Sooners lost to Alabama in the College Football Playoff First Round. OU added two running backs — Lloyd Avant and Ben McCreary — from the portal while also signing 4-star recruits DeZephen Walker and Jonathon Hatton Jr. as part of its 2026 class.

At his introductory press conference in March, McCullough revealed that he recruited several of the Sooners’ current running backs. Though OU’s run game hasn’t been consistent over the last few seasons, McCullough believes that the 2026 group can be more productive.

“I knew the type of skill set that you were getting,” McCullough said. “Now being able to have my hands on them and work with them… those guys are really interested in the details. An unselfish group, really impressed with the burst, change of direction and things like that.”

Arbuckle also believes that the Sooners have the right player personnel at the position and that McCullough will ensure that each of the running backs is a versatile weapon in the offense.

“Very knowledgeable in pass-protection schemes and run-game schemes, and he’s been awesome,” Arbuckle said. “He is extremely detailed in everything he does.”

McCullough is one of three new full-time assistants hired during the 2026 offseason, along with tight ends coach Jason Witten and cornerbacks coach LaMar Morgan.

OU head coach Brent Venables believes that attention to detail is a trait that each of the new coaches possess — and that will be crucial as the Sooners look to fix their run game.

“How they coach them and teach them and correct them and bring out the best in them… that’s the coach’s job,” Venables said.