Report: Oklahoma RB Ruled Ineligible
Oklahoma's on-again, off-again running back room may have suffered another blow this week.
Marcus Major, a promising junior from Oklahoma City, will not be eligible to play for the Sooners this fall, according to Rivals website SoonerScoop.
Sources told SI Sooners that Major's eligibility issue stems from classwork that didn't pan out this summer. Although efforts have been made over the last several weeks to restore his eligibility, that apparently won't happen now.
Oklahoma began classes for the fall semester on Tuesday.
It's a setback to the depth that DeMarco Murray has been trying to build since returning to his alma mater to coach running backs in January 2020.
"He made huge leaps individually last year throughout practice," Murray said of Major last week, "and you can probably see it the last six or seven weeks of the season, he was probably practicing better than anyone."
Major didn't play much his first two seasons in Norman, but his development last year and what coaches pointed to as his growth during spring practice made everyone eager to see what he could do.
“I give Marcus a lot of credit, man,” Riley said in April. “A lot of young guys might have went in the tank and started thinking about all kinds of stuff: ‘Poor me. Should I transfer?’ All he did was stay back and work and work and work. And he got better, even though it wasn’t necessarily on Saturdays on the TV screen.
“All of a sudden, here it comes up to the bowl game, he gets his opportunity and is lights out in the Cotton Bowl against Florida. That gave him a lot of confidence. He’s had a tremendous offseason.”
The 5-foot-11, 220-pound Major, from OKC Millwood, scored a touchdown against Texas last season, then had a breakout performance in the 55-20 win over Florida in the Cotton Bowl. Major had the best game of his career with nine rushes for 110 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown.
The Sooners' front-line starters are expected to be junior Kennedy Brooks, a two-time 1,000-yard runner in Lincoln Riley's offense, and junior Eric Gray, a dual-threat transfer from Tennessee.
Major was expected to compete for snaps behind them with LSU transfer Tre Bradford, a player that has been spotlighted occasionally by coaches and teammates during this year's training camp for his speed and explosiveness.
The next spot in Murray's rotation likely falls to walk-ons Jayden Knowles or Todd Hudson, who both had a productive spring game.
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