Embarrassment Of Riches Awaits OU At Running Back And Receiver In 2011

In 2008 Oklahoma's football team broke records and scored points at an unstoppable rate. Throughout the regular season and the Big 12 Championship Game the lowest scoring output by the Sooners was 35 points. Nine times they scored 50 points or more including a run of five consecutive games in which they scored 60 plus points. Now the Sooners are poised for another offensive explosion in 2011. 

Landry Jones is making a regular habit of breaking records previously held by Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks Jason White and Sam Bradford. He's already thrown the ball more times than any other quarterback of the Stoops era and trails only Bradford and White in career yards in touchdowns. However, any great quarterback has to have great players at the other skill positions and that's exactly what Landry Jones has lining up with him each time he snaps the ball. 

Even with the departure of workhorse DeMarco Murray to the NFL the Sooners will enter 2011 with a stable full of talented running backs. Freshman Roy Finch led Oklahoma's running backs in 2010 with an average of 4.5 yards per carry and Brennan Clay (another freshman) averaged 3.4 yards per carry. Then there's Jermie Calhoun and Jonathan Miller who both have playing experience. Then there's incoming freshman Brandon Williams who ran for over 2,400 yards and scored 33 touchdowns while averaging 9.8 yards per carry during his senior season of high school. 

If you can't pass the ball though it makes it extremely difficult to play football at a championship level regardless of how many quality running backs you have in the backfield. This is where Oklahoma will call on a receiving corps that's every bit as talented as the aforementioned running backs. Ryan Broyles, Kenny Stills and Dejuan Miller would be penciled in as the starters but don't count out Trey Franks and incoming freshman Trey Metoyer.

Broyles and Stills were both All Americans in 2010 with Broyles also being a statistical champion after leading the nation in receptions per game (9.36) and total receptions (131). Stills established himself as a solid compliment to Broyles and a legitimate deep threat while averaging 12.9 yards per reception which is slightly better than Broyles' 12.4 yards per reception. Dejuan Miller was averaging more yards per reception (13.3 yards) than both Broyles and Stills and freshman Trey Franks is a solid option with good hands and blinding speed. 

Incoming freshman receiver Trey Metoyer is one of the jewels of the 2011 recruiting class along with Williams. He averaged 14.3 yards per reception and scored 23 touchdowns during his senior season and has the body frame (6-2/198) and speed (4.4/40) to be an immediate impact in `11.

In the "rich just get richer" category, Williams and Metoyer are five star recruits that will fit into an offense that is loaded with talent. The 2010 season proved that the Sooners can find a place for freshmen to be successful on the field. Game Ikard, Kenny Stills, Tom Wort, Tony Jefferson and Trey Millard were all freshmen All-Americans in 2010 and are returning with experience. There's no reason to think that Williams and Metoyer can't follow suit in `11. They'll have to fight through an already salty group of skills players who are among the best in the nation to get there.