Colorado Transfer Anthony Hankerson Sees Major Strength in Oregon State's Run Game
Oregon State's transfer portal haul this offseason included multiple offensive pieces that should be immediate impact players. One such piece is junior running back Anthony Hankerson, who spent the previous two seasons at Colorado - the latter of which was spent in Deion Sanders' system.
The Beaver rushing offense was middle-of-the-pack on a national scale last year, averaging 167.1 yards per game. While Damien Martinez was quite impressive in the field, he has since transferred to Miami. Hankerson and Jam Griffin, now on his second stint at OSU, will look to combine their talents to replace Martinez's production.
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"Honestly, I think we could be the strength of the team," Hankerson told reporters at OSU fall camp this week, when askd his feelings about OSU's current running back room. "I feel like we got a nice group of guys that can come in and put this team on our back and take it all the way that we can."
OSU and Griffin are both expected to be used frequently, along with some reps from the highly athletic freshman Salahadin Allah and the 225-pound Jake Reichle.
Hankerson averaged 4.1 yards per carry at Colorado over the previous two seasons. He also expects to be a part of the special teams unit as a return man, in some capacity. Being used in that role will give Hankerson the chance to show why he was so strong in the 100-meter dash back in Boynton Beach, Florida, and what his former team is missing out on.
"I'm feeling very, very, very, very, very confident in that. I have been getting some snaps at punt return, just to get comfortable catching the ball out of the air, keep my elbows tight, stuff like that. But definitely kick return, I know I'm going to want to get some reps back there and just showing off my speed. That's what I'm really looking forward to. I feel like I haven't had a chance to open up, just goal line to goal line and showing just everybody what I got."
JOE LONDERGAN
Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.