Jovantae Barnes has been one of the most intriguing young backs to emerge from Norman over the last two seasons. A fit for Oklahoma ’s modernized spread attack. The Desert Pines High School product came to OU as a consensus four-star recruit, ranked as high as No. 84 nationally by Rivals and slotted as the No. 3 RB in his class. That pedigree showed up quickly on the field: in 2024, Barnes logged nine appearances and six starts, rushing 122 times for 577 yards and five touchdowns while adding 17 receptions for 123 yards and a score.

A lower-body injury sidelined him for the final month, but not before he flashed the kind of reliability Brent Venables ’s offense badly needed. Now majoring in human relations, Barnes is as invested in the mental side of the game as he is in the physic

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