As Taylor Tatumtook his first few carriesin an Oklahoma uniform during the opener against Temple, ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Anish Shroff voiced a thought that likely crossed the mind of several. As the Sooners' freshman running back came into the game and burst upfieldfor a 19-yard gain, it was hard not to be in awe.
"Wow," Srhoff said. "They may have another one."
But fans of recruiting have known: They do. Strange as it sounds, Oklahoma landing the No. 1 running back recruit in the country may have been a bit forgotten.
Chalk it up to time gone on. It'd been about 280 days since Tatum last played a game. It's been more than 400 days since he committed to putting on an OU uniform at the next level. After keeping a low profile for awhile, it was almost refreshing for Tatum to get back on the gridiron.
"I haven't been hit since last year in November," Tatum said. "Just getting hit again, getting the live action speed again was definitely a great feeling."
Tatum finished his preps football career as Longview High School's all-time touchdowns leader and surpassed the 4,000-yard rushing threshold. Not only was he recognized as the top running back of the 2024 class by 247Sports, he ranked No. 48 overall nationally and finished as a top-six prospect inside the talented state of Texas. But after hanging up the shoulder pads and his Lobos jersey, Tatum took a different path than many elite prospects.
***SALE OF THE YEAR: GET -75% OFF- YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO SOONERS ILLUSTRATED BY CLICKING HERE!!!***
While others enrolled early and got on campus, the standout dual-sport athlete shifted over to his final high school baseball campaign then waited for his time to arrive in Norman. While this has forced Tatum into a smaller window of adjustment, he's embraced his own process.
"(The transition) is going really fast," Tatum said. "Especially coming in over the summer, I stayed home in the spring while some of the other freshman guys got to come up here and experience Sooner football a little earlier than me. But I feel like I've adapted well, and fast, just like I should and just like my coaches expected me to."
Acommon narrative in college football is the speed of the game and what it takes to meet that level of play. Even with freshmenseemingly finding their way onto the field earlier than ever before, much is made of first-year players finding out how fast the game goes. Maybe another testament to Tatum's high school ranking, with less time to prepare than others, the former toprunning back prospect didn't skip a beat.
"I wouldn't say it's too bad," Tatum said. "I feel like I'm a pretty fast player myself."
"I like things moving fast, I like the fast pace of the game," Tatum added. "Adapting to that, kind of easy for me... Took me a little bit in the summer and into fall camp to get my groove. But once I get that groove, I feel like I keep getting better and better while enjoying the process."
Easy to see when Tatum got the ball. In his first game at the collegiate level, thetrue freshman led the team with 66 yards on four rushes, good for an average of 16.5 yards per carry. Tatum recorded his first career touchdown on an eight-yard rush in the fourth quarter, setting up the score a few plays earlier by breaking off a 35-yard run to the Temple 25. It was OU's longest rushing play of the night.
"You could see his explosiveness," Head coach Brent Venables said. "He's got great power, he runs through trash. He's got excellent top-end speed... Good natural instincts carrying the ball."
"I was just being a running back," Tatum said. "Finding holes, getting vertical, making a couple moves… (That first touchdown) felt great. I had my family here, everybody was here. It felt good to get that first one out of the way and I'm just ready to roll from here on out."
And there's a good chance Tatum will get to keep this momentum going. After a performance like this, as Oklahoma navigates the first few games of the year, he's one of several who could earn meaningful playing time prior to SEC play.
"You're going to play a tough schedule and at different times, different guys are going to have to step up and make plays when they're called upon,"New offensive coordinator Seth Littrell said. "That's why early in the season, I think it's important to play a lot of different guys. Especially with some of the young guys we have in, I think we have a lot of young, special players. They need those game reps in order to get that experience to where they feel comfortable when they do go in there... I felt like a lot of guys, when they got their opportunity, played well."
It's an encouraging start to Tatum's promising career. It's only the beginning for him at Oklahoma, and while he knows he has a ways to go, Tatum feels this was a glimpse into the future. It's never easy trying to meet the expectation level set by being the former top-ranked recruit at your position, but Tatum plans to deliver on the potential he brings to OU's running back room.
"It takes a lot of time and patience to be good at this game," Tatum said. "Recovery, film, playbook, I'm definitely locked in...I'm just taking advantage of everything they have here. You can't not get better."
"But there's no other place I'd rather do it," Tatum added. "Stadium felt even bigger when you're on it, better than when you're a recruit on the sideline looking in."
