Gordon Adds Another Postseason Award to the Trophy Case
(This story originated with Oklahoma State University Athletic Media Relations and Sean Maguire.)
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II added more hardware to his trophy case Wednesday night as he was named the winner of the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, announced by the Tyler Chamber and SPORTyler during a banquet at the W.T. Brookshire Conference Center in Tyler, Texas.
The award recognizes the top offensive player in Division I football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community and tenacity. Candidates must have either been born in Texas, graduated from a Texas high school or played at a Texas-based junior college or four-year Division I Texas college.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Gordon has also been named the Doak Walker Award winner, a unanimous All-America selection and the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He also earned a seventh-place finish in the voting for the Heisman Trophy while receiving the most votes for the Heisman by a running back this season.
He is the first Oklahoma State player to win the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, which has been given out annually since 2013. Past OSU finalists for the honor include wide receiver James Washington in 2017 and wide receiver Tylan Wallace in 2018.
Gordon wrapped up his sophomore season in 2023 as the nation's best running back. He led the nation in several major categories, including rushing yards (1,732), yards from scrimmage (2,062), 100-yard rushing games (9), 150-yard rushing games (5), 250-yard rushing games (2) and carries of at least 20 yards (21), 30 yards (14), 40 yards (7) and 70 yards (2). He was second in rushing touchdowns (21), total touchdowns (22) and all-purpose yards (2,062). He was also the only player in the country to eclipse 2,000 yards from scrimmage this season.
His performances against Kansas, West Virginia and Cincinnati made him the only FBS player in the past 10 years with 250 scrimmage yards in three straight games, and his 282 rushing yards at West Virginia are the most for any FBS player in a game this season.
Gordon also put together a streak of six straight games with more than 120 yards rushing and two straight games with more than 270 yards rushing. His games against WVU and Cincinnati marked the most rushing yards for an OSU player in a two-game span (553) since Heisman-winner Barry Sanders posted 625 yards against Iowa and Texas Tech in 1988.
He followed that with another impressive performance in a Bedlam win over No. 9 Oklahoma, producing 156 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.
To close the regular season, he rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns in a comeback win at Houston and then put up 166 yards and a school-record matching five rushing touchdowns against BYU to help send the Cowboys to the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship. The only other Cowboy to score five rushing touchdowns in a game is Barry Sanders, and that tied the single-game high for any FBS player in 2023.
Gordon closed his season with 118 rushing yards and a touchdown against the best rushing defense and overall defense in the SEC, helping the Cowboys defeat Texas A&M in the TaxAct Texas Bowl.