Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and head coach Brent Venables are driven for OU to dominate in the run game.
The Sooners are looking to grow their run game after they ranked No. 104 in rushing yards per game in 2025. They returned sophomore offensive linemen, Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje, to help them work for improvement after they each made at least six starts in 11 and 13 games, respectively, last season.
“The first assessments that I made (were) just (ensuring) ultimate buy-in from coaches and players,” Arbuckle said. “It's been really, really fun watching these offensive linemen that we all here knew as young guys last year really grow into that role of, ‘Okay, I have 13 games I've played in this league. I've played big-time college (football; it) Isn't new to me anymore. And they're able to go out, and they're able to attack it. … But all of that is no substitute for the mentality that you have to have handing the ball off and running, and then coach Venables said it best. It's a kick-ass mentality, and we have to have that every single time.”
Venables spoke on Thursday about the Sooners’ need to have a “kick-ass” mentality — and not simply longing to be better but actively working toward it. The coach communicated that, while it is significant that players like Fasusi and Fodje are older, it starts with their mental approach.
The Sooners also hired Deland McCullough, who coached in the NFL for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025, to be the new running backs coach. He helped former Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty record 975 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground during his rookie season. McCullough was Notre Dame's running backs coach in 2022-24.
“Hope is not a good strategy,” Venables said. “Just bringing in new coaches isn’t the only thing; just being a year older isn’t the only thing. It’s the fundamentals; it’s the scheme. To me, it all starts with attitude and mindset. You got to have a kick-ass mindset if you want to kick ass, and so it starts with that — being aggressive, not letting football get in the way. We’ve got good, strong, athletic dudes that got power and that can bend and that are physical.”
OU also brought in junior running back Lloyd Avant from Colorado State, who recorded 417 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground in 2025. He also finished with 261 receiving yards and one touchdown in the air last season.
Avant received the majority of the running back reps during Monday’s practice with freshman Tory Blaylock and junior Xavier Robinson out. Blaylock and Robinson recorded a combined 901 rushing yards in 2025, with 480 and 421, respectively.
Sooners' new running back Lloyd Avant received the majority of reps in practice Monday with Tory Blaylock out.
According to Arbuckle, Avant’s experience has helped him quickly slot into a bigger role in spring practice.
“Lloyd's played a lot of ball; Lloyd’s a savvy vet,” Arbuckle said. “He's been around the block. I've been impressed with him just being able to come in, and nothing really seems too big for him. At this point in his career, he's played so much football; everything we do, he's probably already done. It's just translating stuff in his head.”
Between Arbuckle and Venables’ mentalities, offensive line growth and changes in the running back room, it all aligns with the Sooners’ mission to maximize their opportunities to improve.
“I'm constantly trying to find ways to do things better, and if what I think we're doing is the best, ‘Okay, well, how can we make it better?’” Arbuckle said. “I'm constantly, whether it's up front with the offensive line and different run schemes or with the receivers, … trying to find different ways to get better.”
