How Oklahoma Freshman RB Taylor Tatum is Proving He's 'Ready to Compete' in Fall Camp

Taylor Tatum joined up with the Sooners this summer as the top-ranked running back in the 2024 recruiting class.

Taylor Tatum (8) runs drills during a Oklahoma football practice in Norman, Okla., on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

NORMAN — Taylor Tatum is hitting the ground running in Norman. 

Rated the nation’s top running back in the 2024 class by 247Sports and Rivals, the 4-star recruit didn’t enroll early and instead linked up with Oklahoma this summer. 

He was thrown right into the fire in the form of strength coach Jerry Schmidt’s notorious summer workouts, but as fall camp opened he’s already opening his teammates’ eyes.

“He came here day one ready to work,” fellow Sooner running back Jovantae Barnes said on Monday. “He sits in the meeting room and makes sure we don't skip past anything. ‘Wait coach, let me get this one.' He's just making sure he understands everything. You can tell he's the guy that's ready to compete and ready to play.”

Tatum — a 5-foot-10, 205-pounder from Longview, TX — can help across the board. 

As a senior, he rushed for 1,463 yards and caught six balls for 138 yards. 

That followed his junior campaign where he totaled 1,840 yards on the ground and 160 yards through the air, flashing that he could help both the running game and the passing game. 

A fluid athlete, his athletic gifts stand out on the practice field as the Sooners work their way toward kickoff on Aug. 30 against Temple. 

“Taylor has adds a unique passing level to our game,” OU quarterback Jackson Arnold said. Whether he can line up in the empty or do whatever, put him in the passing game. He's very versatile. He's definitely a really good option for this year."

Tatum’s status as the top high school running back hardly guarantees him carries, however. 

Gavin Sawchuk returns riding a streak of five straight games rushing for more than 100 yards on the ground. 

Jovantae Barnes, who broke out as a true freshman in 2022, is back healthy again as well, looking to prove he’s the best back in Norman. 

Tatum got a late start, too. 

Taylor Tatum (8) runs drills during a Oklahoma football practice in Norman, Okla., on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

He arrived after spring practice concluded, meaning he’s undergoing his first practices as a Sooner in fall camp, but his head coach has confidence he can make up for the lost time. 

“I wouldn’t put any limits on what he’s gonna be able to contribute this fall based on what we’ve seen,” Brent Venables said on Saturday. “A very small sample size, first few days, his mental capacity and his eagerness to be competitive within the frame work of what we’re doing on offense.

“… [He’s] fearless. Confident. A physical presence. Handles tough coaching. Trying to get him prepared and ready. He’s done those things well. He did a good job obviously over the course of the summer mentally, because it shows in his ability to get out there and execute whatever it is that we’re doing.”

The extra challenge of trying to surge up the depth chart while playing catch up mentally hasn’t phased the freshman, however. 

“He’s a guy that loves to compete. He’s not scared of anything,” Barnes said. “He loves to come in and work. He loves to come in and learn.

“… It’s good to know as an older guy now to see everyone wants to work. He’s been doing good.”

All the running backs — Sawchuk, Barnes and Tatum as well as UT-Martin transfer Sam Franklin, second-year player Kalib Hicks and freshman Xavier Robinson — will continue to battle throughout camp, giving running backs coach DeMarco Murray plenty of options for a healthy rotation this fall. 

“I've seen guys that want to go out and go score touchdowns, man,” Arnold said about the running backs. “Obviously you want a guy to establish themselves, and that's what we're hoping for. But right now, it's like all those guys are playing at a really good level right now, playing really competitive and really taking care of the ball so far."