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Will Either Xavier Robinson or Tory Blaylock Emerge as Oklahoma's RB1 in 2026?

Regardless of who carries the lead, the Sooners must get more production from the position
Ryan Aber|
Oklahoma running back Xavier Robinson
Oklahoma running back Xavier Robinson | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

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Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN — For the second consecutive season, Oklahoma struggled to move the ball on the ground.

Despite those difficulties, the Sooners made just a minimal splash in the transfer portal at running back.

In the second of a series of post-portal depth chart projections for the 2026 season, we take a look at running backs.

Since averaging 219.4 yards per game on the ground in 2022 in Brent Venables’ first season at the helm, the production in the run game has steadily declined.

Sooners Average Rushing Yards Per Season Under Brent Venables

2025: 118.5
2024: 155.2
2023: 182.2
2022: 219.4

Oklahoma’s 118.5 yards per game on the ground last season was the program’s lowest since 2001, when it averaged 114.5 with Quentin Griffin’s 804 yards making up the bulk of that production.

In 2025, the Sooners didn’t have a back as dynamic as Griffin, though.

Last portal season, OU did make a big splash, adding Jaydn Ott from Cal.

Ott ran for more than 1,300 yards as a sophomore in 2023, and many expected him to take over as the starter for the Sooners.

But Ott never took off in Norman. 

He started the second game of the season but fell far out of the rotation even when seemingly healthy.

Ott played in just seven games and didn’t have a carry after the loss to Texas on Oct. 11.

He finished with just 68 yards on 21 carries with no touchdowns.

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Jovantae Barnes started two of the first three games but didn’t play after Sept. 20 as he opted to use his redshirt season to extend his eligibility.

After rushing for just 45 yards and a touchdown last season, he transferred to Kentucky.

Barnes was still more productive than former five-star Taylor Tatum, who had just one carry and transferred to Michigan after the season.

With Barnes and Ott fizzling out, Oklahoma eventually turned toward sophomore Xavier Robinson and freshman Tory Blaylock to carry the load at the position.

They combined for 901 yards and eight touchdowns this season but neither remained healthy though they missed just one game between them.

Blaylock ran for 101 yards and a touchdown in the win over South Carolina and Robinson had back-to-back 100-yard games later in the season.

He ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries in the loss to Ole Miss, and then 115 yards and a touchdown the next week in the win at Tennessee.

Robinson gutted things out late in the year when the depth at the position had taken a significant hit, but ran for just 13 yards on nine carries in the last two games and had a critical drop in the College Football Playoff loss to Alabama.

After being limited for much of OU’s magical November run, Blaylock ran for 42 yards against LSU and then 36 in the CFP loss.

DeMarco Murray, Jim Nagy, and Venables showed confidence that those two players could return to form, pursuing just one running back in the portal, one who was significantly less of a splash than Ott the year before.

Oklahoma added junior Lloyd Avant, who rushed for 417 yards and five touchdowns and had 24 catches for 261 yards and a touchdown last season at Colorado State.

Avant brings an intriguing all-purpose skillset to the roster that figures to bring him playing time and a chance to serve as a returner on special teams.

But as it stands now, Blaylock and Robinson figure to battle it out to be the starting running back in 2026.

Avant and freshman Jonathan Hatton Jr., who the Sooners flipped from Texas A&M late in the recruiting process, are likely to at least start the season behind the top duo.

Hatton ran for more than 1,300 yards with 17 touchdowns as a senior — his third consecutive season with more than 1,000 yards rushing.

Whoever winds up handling the duties, though, Oklahoma needs to be significantly more productive at the running back position in 2026 if they are to continue to upward trajectory of the program.

Projected RInning Back Depth Chart

Starter: Xavier Robinson, Jr.
No. 2: Tory Blaylock, So.
Reserves: Jonathan Hatton Jr., Fr.; Lloyd Avant, Jr.; DeZephen Walker, Fr.

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Ryan Aber
RYAN ABER

Ryan Aber has been covering Oklahoma football for more than a decade continuously and since 1999 overall. Ryan was the OU beat writer for The Oklahoman from 2013-2025, covering the transition from Bob Stoops to Lincoln Riley to Brent Venables. He covered OU men's basketball's run to the Final Four in 2016 and numerous national championships for the Sooners' women's gymnastics and softball programs. Prior to taking on the Sooners beat, Ryan covered high schools, the Oklahoma City RedHawks and Oklahoma City Barons for the newspaper from 2006-13. He spent two seasons covering Arkansas football for the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas before returning to his hometown of Oklahoma City. Ryan also worked at the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and the Muskogee Phoenix. At the Phoenix, he covered OU's national championship run in 2000. Ryan is a graduate of Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

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