Oklahoma State will not suspend top NFL prospect Ollie Gordon after his drunk driving arrest

Oklahoma State will not suspend star running back Ollie Gordon II because of his recent drunken driving arrest, coach Mike Gundy announced Tuesday.

“He will playGundy told ESPN on Tuesday. “I’m going to do what we think is best for the Oklahoma State football team, and I think it’s best for Ollie to play. If there’s a penalty for that, it’s that he has to carry the ball 50 times on the first play.”

Gordon apologized for his arrest on Monday and was questioned about the incident at Big 12 Media Days on Tuesday. Gundy said the decision to take Gordon to Big 12 Media Days in Las Vegas was part of the All-American’s punishment.

“I said, ‘You’re not going to hide. You’re going to face the consequences. You’ve got to stand up, talk to people and answer questions. And hopefully you can learn more from the situation you were in than you learned from football,'” Gundy said. “Because if you don’t, then we have a real problem.”

Gordon, 20, was arrested by Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers on June 30 after they observed him twice leaving his lane and driving 82 mph in a 65 mph zone. He refused a sobriety test and was arrested on complaints of driving under the influence of alcohol while under 21, carrying an open bottle of alcohol, failure to maintain a lane and speeding 16-20 mph, according to a police report.

At the Cleveland County Jail, Gordon gave a breath sample that showed a blood alcohol level of 0.11, which is higher than the legal limit for adults 21 and older who are allowed to drive.

Gordon declined to comment further on Tuesday, citing the legal proceedings, according to ESPN.

“He’s on a shorter leash right now, unfortunately,” Gundy said. “I understand young guys, we all make mistakes. If we don’t learn from them, it’s not really good. We’ve had several conversations. We’ll have more in the next month. I think he understands how serious the situation was. Hopefully he can learn from it and move on.”

Oklahoma State’s decision not to suspend Gordon improves his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy. He won the Doak Walker Award as the best running back in college football as a sophomore last season, when he rushed for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Gordon is a top candidate for the 2025 NFL Draft.