Coming into the 2015 season, one of the bigger concerns for the Cowboys was at the running back position, and rightfully so. Desmond Roland had exhausted his eligibility, while Tyreek Hill had exhausted his rational thinking, among other things.
Those concerns have seemingly died down with the arrival of Chris Carson, combined with an apparently-improved Rennie Childs. But there’s one player that was an afterthought coming into fall camp, a two-star recruit who committed to the Cowboys in February, and was expected to redshirt in 2015 as he bulked up and got up to speed on the college game.
The funny thing is, as far as speed, this player is the fastest on the team, and has a track background. And he’s rather short, being listed at 5-foot-7. Sounds a lot like a certain someone that returned a certain punt in a certain game last season, doesn’t it?
More from Football
- What needs to happen for Oklahoma State football to play for Big 12 title
- Why Oklahoma State football fans should remain optimistic for Week 3
- Oklahoma State football: 16 former Cowboys make NFL rosters
- Oklahoma State football: List of all known NIL deals for Cowboys
- Oklahoma St. football: Would Cowboys, others benefit from Pac-16?
Well, this player is Jeff Carr, a short, speedy tailback out of Temple, TX. Carr came to Stillwater under the radar from most schools, which is somewhat strange considering that he averaged 9.6 yards per carry while running for 1,710 yards on the season as a senior at Temple High School.
Perhaps some schools were turned off by his size. That didn’t seem to faze Mike Gundy and his staff — he knew he was on to something back on signing day.
“In a couple of years, a lot of people are going to wonder why they didn’t recruit him.”
Pretty strong words for a player that few schools wanted. Still, with Carr’s size, the coaching staff leaned towards sitting him out in 2015.
But then fall camp arrived, along with Carr. Since then, Carr has steadily risen in status, and is now a regular subject of many camp practice reports, and even a few tweets from the suddenly Twitter-happy Gundy:
Productive day for our team. Carr and McCleskey are playing well. Michael Hunter is looking good. LB Averette is all over the place.
— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) August 10, 2015
His teammates have taken notice as well, dubbing him “Bugatti Jeff” because of his blistering speed and 4.4 second 40-yard dash time.
Simply put, Carr has positioned himself as an unexpected weapon heading into the 2015 season. And not only is Carr impressing out of the backfield, he’s been taking a lot of reps on kick and punt returns, something the Cowboys will desperately need after losing one of the nation’s best in Hill from last season.
While the comparisons to Hill come naturally, Carr possesses something that Hill didn’t show very often last season: the ability to juke, not just sheer speed.
Obviously, time will tell if Carr is the real deal, as he’s been doing all of his work thus far in practice and scrimmage settings. Still, the constant chatter among media combined with the consistent praise from both coaching staff and teammates is a big clue as to what we can expect from Carr in his first season in Stillwater.
And it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
Next: Previewing the Cowboys opener against Central Michigan