PFF: Oklahoma State Players Listed Among the Best Returners in 2024
STILLWATER – Spring football for Oklahoma State kicks off next week, so what better time to look at lists of the top returning players for the upcoming 2024 season?
PFF has started to release its top returning players at each positions lists and it should come as no surprise Oklahoma State has a few players list. I’ve only seen OSU listed in linebackers and running backs, so we’ll be sure to update this article should they decide to list a certain safety out of Beggs, OK, in the coming days.
I’m going to start with the player I saw first Wednesday morning and that’s linebacker Collin Oliver. Here’s what PFF had to say:
“Oklahoma State moved [Oliver] to an off-ball linebacker role this past year and he remained an elite pass-rusher, leading all FBS linebackers with 37 pressures. The junior also flashed some skills when he wasn’t attacking the quarterback, placing third among Big 12 linebackers with a 75.0 PFF coverage grade.
Like [LSU’s Harold] Perkins, Oliver is still at his best when he’s allowed to rush the quarterback. In fact, projected top-10 pick Joe Alt told me last year that Oliver and 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy are the two players he found most difficult to block.”
If the name Joe Alt sounds familar, that’s because he played tackle for Notre Dame when the Cowboys beat the Fighting Irish in the Fiesta Bowl, 37-35. That’s some rather high praise coming from one of the best tackles in all of college football who’s fixing to make millions in the NFL.
This past season as a junior, Olive recorded 73 total tackles, 15.5 tackles for a loss of 66 yards, as well as six sacks for 48 yards. He also recorded nine quarterback hurries and five pass break ups.
And the second player PFF has listed is the most-obvious of choices: Ollie Gordon II.
Here’s what PFF had to say about Gordon:
“The reigning Doak Walker Award winner led the nation this past season with 1,732 rushing yards while placing second in rushing touchdowns (21) and yards after contact (1,056). The sophomore did all of that while only receiving 19 total carries over the first three games, averaging nearly 150 yards over the final 11 contests. Oklahoma State also finished just 103rd in team run-blocking grade (55.3), making his dominance even more impressive. Gordon was also relied on heavily in the Cowboys’ passing game, as his 330 receiving yards were the third-most by a Power Five running back in 2023.
While his long speed is only slightly above average and he’s an upright runner at 6-foot-1, Gordon’s elite vision and footwork allow him to gash defenses for big gains.”
What’s more impressive about what Ollie did as a sophmore, according to PFF’s analysts is that he, along with Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins and North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton rank hire than any running back in the 2024 NFL Draft, with Gordon sitting pretty at the top.