OSU Football HC Mike Gundy Shares Thoughts on Three-Star Running Back Signee
On Tuesday, just a day before National Signing Day, Oklahoma State picked up a commitment from Jaden Allen-Hendrix, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound running back from Irmo, South Carolina.
Allen-Hendrix seems to perfectly encapsulate how the Cowboys recruit. He's an underrated running back, who picked up a three-star rating after signing with the Cowboys -- being unranked prior to his commitment.
With an incredible frame, he's another underrated pickup for the Cowboys to develop, something they've done incredibly well over the years. On Wednesday, Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy held a signing day press conference in which he spoke about Allen-Hendrix.
“He’s a potential 245-pound back,” Gundy said. “He’s just kinda scratching the surface. He changed schools. Originally, he was at a really smaller school, so we feel like he hasn’t developed his body anywhere near what it’s gonna be two years from now.”
Allen-Hendrix is joining a program notorious for having incredible running backs, as they typically have great collegiate careers before being sent to the NFL. Spending time under Oklahoma State's system will develop Allen-Hendrix to burst onto the scene and be a real impact player eventually.
“I’m gonna guess that they evaluated him as being not fast enough — that would be the reason,” Gundy said as to why he wasn't heavily recruited. “You asked me why — I don’t know any other reason why. Have you watched his highlights? And he’s 229 pounds, is what he weighed when he was here a week ago. So he has a really, really big lower body."
With his frame, Allen-Hendrix is going to be able to be a big power runner, driving through contact and extending run plays. This will be a big help to Oklahoma State's offense and allow them more versatility offensively.
"When he spends 18 months in the weight room with Coach [Rob] Glass, with what he has, he’s gonna go to 240," Gundy continued. "Let’s just say that he’s a 4.65, 4.70 [40-yard dash] guy, he’s gonna drop two-tenths off his 40 because of the massive body he has to develop. So I envision him being 240 [pounds] and running in the 4.5s in a couple years.”
Allen-Hendrix rushed for 2,215 yards and 25 touchdowns during his final year of high school football in South Carolina. He's full of potential and it'll be interesting to see what he looks like at the collegiate level.
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Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's On SI in 2022