T.J. Pledger says his family's reaction following his breakout against Texas 'warmed my heart'

After a long time waiting for his chance behind Oklahoma's talented backs —"a dark time," Pledger said — he found personal fulfillment in the Cotton Bowl

T.J. Pledger :: Ty Russell / Pool photo

T.J. Pledger’s big day against Texas — career-high 22 carries, 131 rushing yards, two touchdowns — actually got better when the game ended.

“Really, the biggest thing was seeing my family’s reaction after the game,” Pledger said Tuesday during a video press conference. “It was really a reaction I hadn’t seen from them since high school. It really warmed my heart.”

Pledger was a 4-star prospect out of IMG Academy in Florida, where he played after growing up in California. Pledger said he always knew he had it in him, but he was glad to get the opportunity on such a white-hot stage as the OU-Texas game. His was the 38th 100-yard rushing performance against Texas in OU history, and his total tied for the 16th-most ever by a Sooner against the Longhorns.

T.J. Pledger :: Ty Russell / OU Athletics

“I would say it was definitely a surreal moment,” he said. “I was just thankful that I was able to showcase my talent on a national scale.”

Pledger said his parents, two sisters and his “long-time trainer from back home” were in attendance. The rewards of a breakout day were plentiful — he was named Big 12 offensive player of the week — but nothing compared to the moments after the Ruf/Neks’ final blasts went up.

“I got a chance as I was coming into the tunnel to see my mom, give her a hug, give her a kiss, see my little sisters, take pictures,” he said. “That’s really how the moment happened and it was so real. Thankful for it.”

T.J. Pledger gets congrats from Spencer Rattler :: Ty Russell / OU Athletics

Pledger said everyone’s reaction to his big day was “just pretty much excitement. My trainer let me know, he texted me a couple things that I could've done better, of course. But with my family, they were all just congratulating me.”

Pledger’s teammates were excited for him, too.

“Coming in, T.J., he’s always been a guy that’s been looking for his opportunity and this year is a perfect opportunity for him,” said guard Tyrese Robinson. “I feel like he’s been attacking practice and just his mentality of everything, how he approaches everything. He runs hard, he plays hard and he’s a scrappy, scrappy, scrappy running back and that’s the type of person we need running back there.

“He hasn’t played as much games as us but we’re looking forward to pushing through it and just keep helping him strive. He played great — a great game against Texas, and we needed that. But at the end of the day it starts with us up front. We’ve got to make those holes for him and make his job easier. … T.J. took a good step this past week.”

Pledger reiterated that sitting the bench for two years behind some highly talented teammates like Rodney Anderson, Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks was a personal challenge. He came into his junior season with just 40 career rushing attempts, and he’s endured some painful injuries.

“It hasn’t been an easy road,” he said. “To see some light in something that’s kind of been a dark tunnel for a couple years, it was definitely a blessing and I can’t do nothing but thank the Man above.”

Did the moment meet the expectations he set way back when he committed to the Sooners in March 2017?

“Definitely,” he said. “It exceeded them.”

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