Alright, let me tell you how I ended up following this Ollie Gordon kid from Oklahoma State this past season. It wasn’t like I set out to become some super fan or expert, things just sort of happened, you know?
It started pretty simply. I was flipping through games on a Saturday, like I usually do when I finally get some downtime. You hear names mentioned here and there by the announcers. The name ‘Ollie Gordon’ popped up a couple of times for Oklahoma State. Didn’t think much of it at first.
But then, a week or two later, I caught another one of their games. This time, I actually paid attention when he got the ball. And man, the dude just ran angry. That’s the first thing I noticed. Not necessarily the fastest guy I’ve ever seen, but he just refused to go down easy. Saw him break like three tackles on one run and thought, “Okay, who is this guy?”
My Process of Keeping Tabs
So, I made a mental note. Didn’t go crazy digging up stats immediately, that’s not really my style right off the bat. I just started making sure to check the Oklahoma State score, maybe catch highlights if I missed the game. If I did catch their game live, I specifically watched his carries.
- Just Watching: First step was simple observation during the games I saw. How did he look? What was his running style?
- Catching Highlights: If I missed a game, I’d look for the condensed version or just the big plays online later that night or the next day. See the touchdowns, the long runs.
- Checking Box Scores (Eventually): After seeing him have a few big performances, curiosity got the better of me. I started actually looking up his numbers after the games. How many yards? How many touchdowns?
- Hearing the Buzz: Couldn’t avoid it after a while. He started getting mentioned everywhere – award watch lists, commentators hyping him up. That just confirmed what I was seeing with my own eyes.
What I Noticed
Doing this week after week, a picture started forming. This wasn’t just a flash in the pan.
He got stronger as the game went on. Seemed like he wore defenses down. You’d see defenders bouncing off him in the fourth quarter that might have tackled him in the first.
Vision and Patience. He wasn’t just a bulldozer. I saw him wait for blocks to set up, make a quick cut, and find the hole. That impressed me more than just running guys over, although he did plenty of that too.
The team relied on him. It became pretty obvious watching them. When they needed yards, especially tough yards, the ball was going to number 0. He became the whole engine of that offense for a big chunk of the season.
So yeah, that was my little journey of following Ollie Gordon. Started with just hearing his name, got intrigued by his running style, started paying closer attention, checked some numbers, and ended up really impressed. Didn’t do any deep dives into analytics or film breakdowns, just watched the games like a regular fan and saw a guy play some incredible football. He was just plain fun to watch run the ball. That’s my takeaway from the whole thing.
