Chris Klieman details what makes Ollie Gordon special at running back

This year, many will be watching Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon. Gordon is expected to play a significant role in the Cowboys’ success in 2024 and is considered by some to be the best running back in college football this season.

Kansas State head coach Chris Kleiman is all too familiar with the Cowboys star running back. Gordon helped lead the Cowboys to a 29-21 victory over the Wildcats back in early October of 2023. This year, the two teams will face off in late September. But before they do that, Kleiman shared a few words on what makes Gordon special at the position.

“He’s a tremendous talent,” said Kleiman at the Big 12 Football Media Days. “He’s got really good speed. He’s a home run hitter, as well as he can run through arm tackles. He a breakout season and it started around our game and he continued to elevate. He’s a terrific football player, and we’re glad we play him in Manhattan and not Stillwater.”

“We’ve struggled in Stillwater and we’ve played better in Manhattan. But that’s the nature of our league. You’re going to face really talented running backs each week. You’ll face talented quarterbacks, and you’ve got to stay healthy and you’ve got to do a great job of trying to eliminate explosive plays and last year Ollie got us on a couple of big ones, and we’ve got to prevent that.”

In front of Oklahoma State’s home crowd at Boone Pickens Stadium with nearly 54,000 in attendance, Gordon was the steady hand of the Cowboys’ offense with 21 carries for 136 yards and a rushing touchdown. This year, Gordon will not have the crowd on his side at the Kansas State Oklahoma State matchup. However, Kleinman still expects the Cowboys running back to be ‘special;’ they just need to do a better job of limiting how impactful he is come September 28.

Gundy confirms Gordon will not miss any games after DUI arrest

After his recent arrest for DUI, Gordon is “going to play” for Oklahoma State and won’t miss any games, Cowboys coach Mike Gundy told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The program will discuss internal punishment for him after bringing him to Big 12 Media Days as a way to hold him accountable, Gundy added.

Gordon was booked on June 30 by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He was pulled over on Interstate 35 south of Oklahoma State after a trooper said he was going 82 MPH in a 65 MPH zone and was swerving through traffic, according to Chris Williams of News 9.

With probable cause, Gordon’s car was searched, and the trooper spotted a half-full bottle of vodka and a half-full bottle of tequila, per the report. When Gordon was tested, he had a blood alcohol content level of .11 and .10 when he was tested in jail. He was later granted his release.

Gordon put together a breakout season for Oklahoma State last year and is generating some early Heisman Trophy buzz this season. Even after his arrest, the program decided to send him to Las Vegas for Big 12 Media Days, and he released a statement before making the trip. He apologized for the incident.

“I am deeply sorry for the actions that led to my arrest on June 30th. I sincerely apologize to my family, everyone in our program, including our players, Coach Gundy, the staff, Oklahoma State University, and our fans,” Gordon said in a statement.