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Even after faltering in the biggest game of his career, Oklahoma’s Taylor Tatum improved

Even after faltering in the biggest game of his career, Oklahoma’s Taylor Tatum improved

In the biggest game of his young career against a rival and the top team in the country, the running back from Oklahoma Taylor Tatum exploded for a 13-yard gain. But then he fumbled.

It was a reminder that Tatum is still a rookie, but also that he will continue to get better.

“He has tremendous talent,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “As soon as he fumbled, I said, ‘Hey, man, don’t bury this guy.’ And trainers (DeMarco) Murray’s on the same page. These are terrible timings, terrible things that happened. That’s how you lose games.

“But there is too much talent. He’s an incredibly competitive kid. He is stubborn. He’s a guy who bounces back quickly from adversity and a guy we fully believe in.”

Tatum, a 4-star recruit from Longview (TX), has already established himself as an asset for the Sooners at an already crowded position Jovantae Barnes, Gavin Sawchuk And Sam Franklin. All had valuable college experience before the season began, which wasn’t the case for Tatum.

This lack of experience can lead to mistakes like the fumble in the loss to Texas. It was a run that Venables was critical of even without the fumble.

“And that was one of the runs that you probably judge most critically, despite the fumble,” Venables said. “Hey, we need to get better footwork, a better angle, a better starting point, what’s the finishing point here? Who do we follow? But he did something. He was able to make something of it right up to the end.”

Tatum fumbled in the first quarter and didn’t touch the ball again until the final drive of the game, when things were already in hand. However, the following week against South Carolina, he got four runs and caught one pass for a total of 36 yards. Last week against Ole Miss, Tatum had a season-high nine carries for 42 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. It bordered on a breakout game.

But then he fumbled again. Everything was fine in the end as teammate JJ Hester got the ball back for the OU offense (Jackson Arnold then fumbled on the next play). But the newcomer now knows exactly that he absolutely has to improve in job one: ball security.

“Taylor doesn’t let anything like that get to her,” Barnes said. “I wish I had that attitude. But he doesn’t let such small and big moments get to him. In a way I’m proud of him for that – he just doesn’t let this moment get to him and stays with it.

“Of course he wants to win it back 100 percent, but he just lets it drive him and goes into the next game with a hungry attitude and just a good demeanor, just not being casual out there and making sure that he is, even if it is is just a complete solution.” has a different kind of jogging for him. I’m just proud of him for not letting that get to him and mess with his way of thinking.”

Since the Texas fumble, Tatum has averaged 4.5 yards per carry. On Saturday, he rushed for the most yards ever against an SEC defense. His only higher total was 69 rushing yards in a blowout against temples in OU’s season opener.

“Just getting used to the flow of the game” Tatum said. “I just practice hard, play hard and focus on myself. I’m feeling better every week. That was kind of my main focus.”

In seven games, one of which he missed due to injury, Tatum rushed for 191 yards, averaged 5.8 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. He took advantage of very limited opportunities, replacing Barnes and overtaking Sawchuk in the pecking order.

Tatum is a reminder that development is part of the game in an age where it’s all about getting everything right away.

“When you practice every day against a defense that good, you kind of have to get used to all kinds of things that are thrown at you,” Tatum said. “I’m really just focused on getting better every week. Not really a moment I would say, just focusing on myself and what I need to do to improve so that the team and I can contribute.”