Sadly for Rodney Anderson, this is far from his first his first injury rodeo.
A broken leg in the second game of 2015 ended his true freshman season. Anderson didn’t even make it to the 2016 season as a broken vertebra in his back sidelined the running back for the year. Healthy -- and extremely productive -- for all of 2017, big things were expected for Anderson heading into 2018 after getting through an off-field imbroglio this past December.
Unfortunately for the back, his season has once again come to a premature end as Oklahoma confirmed that an injury to his right knee will sideline Anderson for the remainder of the year. Anderson suffered the injury early on in the Week 2 win over UCLA this past Saturday.
“We’re heartbroken for him,” head coach Lincoln Riley said according to the school. “He’s overcome so much in his career, and if anybody can do it again it’s Rodney.
“He’s played a lot of great football and has a lot more ahead of him. He’s just a tremendous person and player and we’ll miss him on the field. But we know he’ll be with us every step of the way as a team captain, and that other players will step up in his place.”
In the season-opening win over FAU, Anderson ran for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries. Prior to the injury, Anderson carried the ball six times for 19 yards and another touchdown.
Last season, Anderson’s 1,161 yards and 13 touchdowns led the Sooners. He also caught five touchdown passes coming out of the backfield. At the end of the regular season, Big 12 coaches named the Katy, Tex., native second-team all-conference.
Because of the myriad injuries, Anderson should have two years of eligibility that he can use starting with the 2019 season.