Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson will miss the rest of the 2018 season because of a knee injury, the team announced Sunday in a statement, via Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press. Head coach Lincoln Riley said of Anderson: "We're heartbroken for him. He's overcome so much in his career, and if anyone could 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." Anderson suffered the injury in the first quarter of Saturday's game against UCLA and did not return. He finished the year with 11 carries for 119 yards and three touchdowns in just two games. The junior's injury is even more devastating considering his past problems in his college career. Anderson broke his leg in 2015 and missed the rest of his first season, and then his second year at Oklahoma was lost because of a broken neck suffered in August. Video Play Button Videos you might like Eddie Radosevich of Sooner Scoop described the disappointment: He had only one career carry before breaking out in 2017, finishing with 1,161 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. There were even higher expectations heading into this season as one of the top returning running backs in the country. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projected Anderson to be a first-round pick in his preseason mock draft. Unfortunately, the injury could destroy his draft stock as well as severely damage the Sooners offense going forward. Sophomore Trey Sermon and freshman T.J. Pledger could see the majority of carries with Anderson out.<doc-sep>Oklahoma redshirt junior running back Rodney Anderson is out for the season with a knee injury, the Sooners announced Sunday. That makes 2018 basically the third full season Anderson will have missed due to injury in his Oklahoma career, after he battled various other ailments. He played in two games in 2015 before a leg injury ended his season. The next year, a fall-camp neck injury held him out all year. But in his first healthy season as a starter, 2017, Anderson shined. “We’re heartbroken for him,” Lincoln Riley said in a school release. “He’s overcome so much in his career, and if anybody can do it again it’s Rodney.” Anderson left the Sooners’ game against UCLA on Saturday after a run at the very end of the first quarter. He’d just been gang-tackled by three Bruins defenders, with his body twisting a bit as he went to the ground. He didn’t return to the game. the_lgg: Rodney Anderson suffers apparent knee injury Fox College Football: UCLA at Oklahoma https://t.co/qPOyUwOBwa pic.twitter.com/F9f8nvP8Wm — FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) September 8, 2018 Anderson flew somewhat under the radar in 2017, despite being the featured back for the country’s highest-flying offense. Baker Mayfield and OU’s passing game drew far more attention, even as Anderson eclipsed 1,400 scrimmage yards and scored 18 touchdowns. In a Week 1 2018 romp against FAU, he carried five times for 100 yards and two scores. Heading into the year, Anderson was considered a fringe but legitimate Heisman candidate. (If anything worked against him in that race, it’s that he shares an offense with former five-star QB Kyler Murray, who’d be likely to take a lot of votes from him.) Anderson had 50/1 Heisman odds in August, according to offshore bookmaker Bovada. His co-backups on the OU depth chart are sophomore Trey Sermon and senior Marcelias Sutton. Oklahoma has plenty of talent elsewhere on its offense, but the loss of Anderson makes the unit considerably weaker. More than that, it’s an awful shame for Anderson.<doc-sep>Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT >> JOEL CLOUT RAISED A LOT OF EYEBROWS THIS WEEK. REMEMBER WHEN THEY HAD BAKER MAYFIELD THE HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER. THEY MAKE A STRONG CASE HERE. THERE ARE MORE COMPLETE TEAM. THAT IS FOR SURE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SPECIAL TEAMS THEY TURNED THE RETURN UNITS IN A WEAPON AFTER STRUGGLING FOR YEARS. THE,. >> THE MOST DOMINANT SIDE OF THE BALL WAS THE SPECIAL TEAMS. YOU KNOW, TWO HUGE, HUGE, HUGE PLAYS. THE PUT UP RETURN, THE KICKOFF RETURN THAT GAVE US MOMENTUM. OUR TEAM, THE CROWD EBB END MER GUISED. THE DEFENSE PHLOXER. >> I HAVE BEEN HAPPY ABOUT THE WAY WE EBBED. MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE'RE IN THAT POSITION THE WAY WE STARTED AND HOW WE PLAYED THROUGH THREE QUARTERS AND RY BEEN ENCOURAGED AND GUYS ARE KITED ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING. >> AS SOONERS DOMINANT UCLA THE FOCUS IMMEDIATELY IMMEDIATELY SHIFTED THROUGHOUT THE GAME TO COD NY ANDERSON. HE LEFT THE GAME WITH A RIGHT KNEE INJURY AND SPOTTED WITH A HUGE RAP. HE WOULD NOT CONFIRM THE SEE VARTIVE INJURY. IN JURY-WISE WE SEE ON RODNEY. WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING DEFINITIVE. YOU KNOW, SO HOPE FOR THE BEST AND GET OFFICIAL WORD ON IT TO SEE WE ARE IS AT. >> WELL, HE IS TAKING A WAIT AND SEE APPROACH ON THE DIAGNOSIS. I ASKED CURTIS BILLIONTON ABOUT THE INJURY. HIS ANSWER TELLS YOU ALL NEED KNOW. >> THAT IS TROUGH. THAT IS TOUGH. HE IS MY GUYED GUY. I WORK OUT WITH HIM IN THE OFF-SEASON. I KNOW HOW HARD HE WORKS. HE IS ABY THAT GETS IN THERE. KNOWS HOW GOOD HE IS. AT IN THE OF THE DAY. THE HARD WORK IS GOING TO PAY OFF FOR HIM. I AM SENDING IT AWAY. PRAYING GOES. >> SO NO OFFICIAL WORD YET ON RODNEY ANDERSON'S INJURY BUT NOT MUCH OPTIMISM TO BE POUND. THE EVENTS THE BIG 12 OPENER NEXT WEEK WITH OR WITHOUT RODNEY ON THE ROAD AGAINST THE TEAM THAT BEAT THEM LAST YEAR. Advertisement OU running back Rodney Anderson to miss rest of season due to injury Share Shares Copy Link Copy Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson will miss the remainder of the 2018 season due to a knee injury sustained against UCLA in Saturday's game at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. "We're heartbroken for him," coach Lincoln Riley said in a news release. "He's overcome so much in his career, and if anybody can do it again it's Rodney. "In two games this season, Anderson gained 119 yards on the ground, including 100 yards on five carries in the season opener against Florida Atlantic, and scored three touchdowns. Anderson left Saturday's game after suffering a right-leg injury on the final play of the first quarter. He didn't return to the game.The Sooners won 49-21 to improve to 2-0 before the start of conference play next weekend against Iowa State. "He's played a lot of great football and has a lot more ahead of him," Riley said. "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. "The 2018 season is just the latest season that has been shortened because of an injury for the redshirt junior from Katy, Texas. In 2015, Anderson suffered a season-ending broken leg in the second game of the season against Tennessee. The following season, he fractured a vertebra during preseason camp, once again ending his season.Anderson's breakout season came in 2017 when he was a key reason why the Sooners made the College Football Playoff. In 14 games, seven of which he started, Anderson ran for 1,161 yards and 13 touchdowns and caught 17 passes for 281 yards and five scores.With Anderson on the sideline, the Sooners turn to running back Trey Sermon to handle the load in the backfield. So far this season, Sermon has gained 82 yards and scored once.Before Anderson took over the starting role last season, Sermon was OU's main option in the backfield, totaling 880 and seven touchdowns.<doc-sep>
No. 5 Oklahoma has lost star running back Rodney Anderson for the rest of the season due to a knee injury suffered against UCLA on Sunday. The school announced the news Sunday evening. "We're heartbroken for him," said Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley in a statement. "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." As Riley referenced in his statement, this isn't the first time Anderson has had to deal with an injury during his Oklahoma career. During the 2015 season, Anderson suffered a broken leg in Oklahoma's second game (vs. Tennessee), and he missed the rest of the year. In 2016, it was a fractured vertebra sustained during preseason camp that kept him out for the entire campaign. Anderson didn't begin the 2017 season as Oklahoma's featured back, but he grabbed the role during the year and didn't look back, putting up terrific numbers. He finished the season with 1,161 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Sooners. Anderson had posted 119 yards and three touchdowns this season before suffering the injury on Saturday. With Anderson out, the Sooners will likely use a combination of T.J. Pledger and Marcelias Sutton, as well as quarterback Kyler Murray, to replace his rushing production.