Oklahoma's Taylor Tatum Earned 'More of an Opportunity' in Hit Debut

The Sooners running back made an impression in his first outing in a Sooners uniform.

Aug 30, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Taylor Tatum (8) scores a touchdown during the second half against the Temple Owls at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

If Taylor’s Tatum is destined to be Oklahoma’s next great back, his debut performance against Temple on Friday was an excellent introduction.

The former No. 1 running back recruit touched the ball five times for 69 yards and an 8-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Sooners’ 55-3 trouncing of the Owls.

“That was awesome,” said QB1 Jackson Arnold, who was replaced by Michael Hawkins Jr. late in the blowout. “I think really highly of Taylor. He’s gonna get to see a lot more action throughout this year too. I thought he played fantastic tonight. Was really good in open space. When we were using those two-back sets early on, he knew what he was doing, and that's what I appreciate the most. . . He comes in, he knows what he's doing. He's locked in, he's dialed in, he goes out, makes the right plays.”

Tatum’s 66 rushing yards led the team, as did his average of 16.5 yards per carry and single 35-yard pickup. In his own words, a simple recipe did the trick: “Find the hole, get vertical, make a couple moves and just make as many yards as you can.” Even in his first outing in front of 80,000 fans, Tatum lacked anxiety and followed that simple process.

“Oh, it felt great,” Tatum said after the Sooners’ win. “And there’s no other place I’d rather do it. Just all the people. The crowd was definitely into it tonight. The stadium felt even bigger when you’re on it — better than when you’re a recruit on the sideline looking in. So, you just have a burst of adrenaline. I haven’t been hit since last year, like November. So just getting hit again, getting live-action speed again was definitely a great feeling.”

“He’s been good,” Sooners head coach Brent Venables said. “DeMarco says he’s smiling too much. So I’ll, some point in time, Taylor, tell you about that. But Taylor is incredibly talented. He has a light inside of him that you spend five minutes around you’re like, ‘Man, I like this guy.’ He’s an easy guy to pull for. He likes to play. He likes the locker room. He likes to compete. He’s incredibly, you know, talented.”

Tatum also plays outfield on OU’s baseball team.  A 2024 All-American Bowl selection, Tatum left Longview, Texas (also hometown of Trent Williams and locker-room-emcee Malcolm Kelly) with intentions to become Oklahoma’s bell cow back. He's one game closer to seeing that day.

Track…wall…*touchdown* @taylortatum06!#2SportUpic.twitter.com/vB8v1PbYZg

— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) August 31, 2024

“Where he’s got to bridge the gap of all the little details and things of that nature that again, he didn’t get here until the summer time. He played baseball all spring. But he’s done a really good job, all things considered, of, again, he only played a few snaps and we threw him in there on special teams too,” Venables said. “He did well with his opportunity and will earn more of an opportunity.”

Newcomers defined OU’s offense Friday. The Sooners put up 378 yards of total offense behind Arnold, who went 17-of-25 for 141 yards and four touchdowns, three of which went to Deion Burks.

“I feel like on the whole we did pretty good. You score that many points, you’re doing something good. But obviously there’s always something to get better. Receivers blocked their butts off, O-Line blocked their butts off. We still had some missed assignments. Everybody had something they could improve on tonight,” Tatum said. “Obviously we’re gonna enjoy the win, we’re gonna look forward and watch the film, but there’s always something to get better. So we’ll probably enjoy the win tonight, watch the film and get better for next week.”

The fifteenth-ranked Sooners host Houston at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 6:45 p.m.