Xavier Robinson Draws Lofty Comparisons, Shows Promise in Oklahoma's Loss to Ole Miss

NORMAN — Oklahoma linebacker Kendal Daniels has seen a runner like Xavier Robinson before.

“I played with a guy who runs like that,” the Oklahoma State transfer said of Robinson, his sophomore teammate who plays running back. “I don’t like to say his name in this building.”

Daniels smiled.

Daniels was teammates at Oklahoma State with Ollie Gordon, who ran for 2,920 yards and 36 touchdowns over three seasons in Stillwater.

“I feel like when he runs and he gets loose, I always tell him, ‘just keep your head down and keep running,’” Daniels said of Robinson. “His size and his strength and his speed, he’s one of our fastest running backs at a big size.

“It’s fun going against him every day, and he’s a great kid. I love him.”

Robinson was one of the bright spots of Oklahoma’s 34-26 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday, running for a career-high 109 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries.

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The Carl Albert product didn’t even touch the ball until about midway through the second quarter and had just one 6-yard catch and one 3-yard run in the first half.

He didn’t have another touch until less than six minutes remained in the third quarter, when he bounced outside and then broke off a 65-yard touchdown run — the longest Sooners’ run since Caleb Williams back in 2021.

On the Sooners’ next drive he had three carries for 19 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown run.

Robinson’s only other career two-touchdown game came last season against Alabama.

“He’s tough to take down,” Sooners offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “He runs through a lot of junk, always keeping his feet moving.”

That’s the kind of running that could serve the Sooners well during a tough stretch to end the season.

It’s also the kind of running OU could’ve used more of Saturday.

Both Arbuckle and Sooners coach Brent Venables said it was “fair” to wonder if Robinson should’ve had more carries against an Ole Miss defense that came in 98th nationally against the run.

“It’s probably fair to say, but I thought there were some other things where we had to push the ball down the field because we had an advantage there,” Arbuckle said. “And then, the clock doesn’t become your friend. So the way X was playing, absolutely, he probably deserved to have the ball too.”

Robinson came into last week’s game at South Carolina with just 15 carries for 50 yards on the season.

But he had 11 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Gamecocks, then had a career day against Ole Miss.

With Javontae Barnes and Taylor Tatum on the shield — both missed Saturday’s game — and Jaydn Ott not looking like he’ll be a factor, plus a potential injury to freshman Tory Blaylock, Robinson might be the Sooners’ go-to-back. He certainly looked that way vs. Ole Miss.

“Xavier’s a great player,” OU offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu said. “Physical, big, tough runner.”