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F O O T B A L L : O K L A H O M A S T A T E 'FLAWLESS' F E A T U R E Running back a constant star in Cowboys' offense BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@ GoldandBlack.com F or years, Oklahoma State running back Joseph Randle has drawn his motivation from his family. His dad has been a youth sports coach in Wichita, Kan., for more than 30 years. His two older brothers played football in college, including one at Kansas who led the Jayhawks in rushing in 2004. His sister was an outstanding prep athlete. And the older Randle siblings have found success after sports, too, going into engineering or medical fields. Their mom works as a nurse. Without question, Joseph Randle looks up to them, drawing inspiration from everyone else's successes. OSU Marketing But he's now got an- Joseph Randle is one of the best running backs in the country and has the versatility to be a pain for the Boilermakers on New Year's Day. other family member, as has 28 receptions for 224 yards and he completed a of the word." well, with daughter LaiRandle's been the constant in an offense that's pass this season, going for 36. laah born in early December. Randle definitely has Purdue's attention, as it seen multiple changes at the quarterback spot "She's definitely a motivating factor, too," the prepares to face him and his Cowboy teammates in this season, following the graduation of last year's junior said. starter, Brandon Weeden, to the NFL's Cleveland Those forces have powered Randle into becom- the Heart of Dallas Bowl on New Year's Day. "There's really no flaws in his game," Purdue de- Browns. ing one of the nation's premier running backs, In 2012, the Cowboys have used three QBs — one who could find a home in the NFL next season fensive coordinator Tim Tibesar said. "He's exploshould he decide to leave Oklahoma State a year sive when he gets into the open field. He can make senior Clint Chelf, the starter for the bowl game; early. He's got the credentials to do so, having en- guys miss and he's strong enough at the same time freshman J.W. Walsh, a running threat; and freshjoyed a very productive three seasons as a Cowboy. to run through arm tackles and knock even strong man Wes Lunt, the Game 1 starter — rotating largeAnd 2012 has been his best. In the 12-game defenders backwards and break through tackles. "He's also used as a weapon in the passing regular season, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder has 1,351 game, to catch balls coming out of the backfield yards rushing, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, with 14 touchdowns. He leads the Big 12 in rushing and even in blitz pickup, you see him coming up yards per game and is 20th nationally. Randle also to be able to block linebackers and DBs who are an updated GoldandBlack.com blitzing. He's a complete tailback in every sense Introducing ... 2012 COWBOY STATISTICAL LEADERS Passing: Clint Chelf (102-175, 1,391 yards, 12 TDs / 6 int.) J.W. Walsh (104-156, 1,478 yards, 11 TDs / 3 int.) Wes Lunt (80-128, 1,096 yards, 6 TDs / 7 int.) Rushing: Joseph Randle (257 carries, 1,351 yards, 14 TDs) Receiving: Josh Stewart (96 catches, 1,154 yards, 7 TDs) Defense: Alex Elkins (73 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks) Daytawion Lowe (68 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack) 22 • GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED • VOLUME 23, ISSUE 3 mobile App for the Android and iPhone at the Google Play and App Store GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com