OSU Football: Fields Family Could Be Foundation for Cowboys’ Future

One family might matter more than any other when Oklahoma State’s new coaching staff starts re-recruiting the roster.

Running back Rodney Fields has been the focal point of the Cowboys’ offense for the vast majority of the season. On Saturday, he finished with 99 offensive yards, in other words, 43% of OSU’s total, in the 17-14 loss at UCF. Fields averaged 4.6 yards per carry and hauled in two of three targets to finish with 21 yards after the catch.

“Rodney can get small through tight spaces,” interim coach Doug Meacham said of Fields’ last month. “He’s got enough body twitch, it can kinda — he’s shifty. He can stop and start, and he’s compact. His short speed is really good. His short speed is really good. With him, a 5-yard box, he’s really twitchy and quick, and he’s got some power to him, and he’s low center of gravity. He’s gonna have a bright future.”

Not that it was anything new for the freshman whose ceiling might be up there with any of OSU’s recent great running backs.

Fields averages 99 yards of offense per game this season. That ranks higher than three of the Cowboys’ last five starters.

Avg offensive yards per game (OSU lead RBs since 2020):

Ollie Gordon (2023): 147
Jaylen Warren (2021): 103
Rodney Fields (2025): 99
Chuba Hubbard (2020): 97
Ollie Gordon (2024): 88
Dominic Richardson (2022): 85

While all of those guys struggled with inconsistent play from the quarterback position, perhaps none of them played with a passing attack as toothless as OSU’s passing attack this season. Four times, OSU’s lead passer failed to throw for even 100 yards.

That list above is dominated by upperclassmen, with the only exceptions being Gordon, a sophomore in 2023, and Fields, a freshman, this season. With that kind of time left in his college career, Fields should have more than enough time to prove himself as one of the Cowboys’ modern greats.

The biggest obstacle between the freshman and that standard might be whether the new staff can keep someone with his potential in Stillwater this offseason. The Cowboys could get some help in that recruiting pitch if they can sway his cousin, cornerback LaDainian Fields.

He made arguably one of the best defensive plays of the game on Saturday when he intercepted UCF in the final minute of the first half to preserve what was then a two-possession lead.

Although not quite the superstar his cousin is on offense, LaDainian shouldn’t be an afterthought for the Cowboys this offseason. Entering Saturday’s game, LaDainian ranked 16th in the nation among cornerbacks with at least 30 coverage snaps this season, allowing .23 yards per snap in coverage.

Only six of those players ahead of him play for power conference teams this fall.

The redshirt freshman didn’t see more than one defensive snap in a game until OSU’s week six trip to Arizona, when he played 22 snaps. Despite his lack of prior experience, Fields has proven to be someone opposing teams just don’t want any piece of, as he’s only faced 10 targets in his first six games in the rotation. Only two active members of OSU’s secondary (Raymond Gay, eight targets on 77 coverage snaps and Jacobi Oliphant, nine targets on 63 snaps) have seen fewer targets.

This success isn’t a fluke related to a small role. LaDainian averaged 30 plays per game in the six games leading up to Saturday, and he grades out as one of the Cowboys’ best defenders. Plus, he’s been able to do all of this despite the fact that OSU spent more time during the last two months changing its own scheme than working on opponents.

“We’ve been able to settle in the last couple weeks on presenting a scouting report. … Our scouting report on our opponent, it wasn’t what a Power Four scouting report was,” interim defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said.

Bowen previously said the game against Kansas State last week was the first time the defense really had time to work on the opponent in what he considered to be a normal amount.

That showed up at the end of the first half on Saturday when LaDainian recorded his pick.

“The first half, I thought they (OSU’s defense) played that thing exactly how we asked them to play it,” Bowen said.

Convincing one Fields to stick around following what will finish as at best a 2-10 season doesn’t guarantee both players return, but it can’t hurt. Especially since both of those guys will likely be priority targets for other teams looking for talent in the transfer portal this offseason, according to Meacham.

“It’s like free agency in the NFL,” Meacham said of the upcoming offseason. “What you put on tape, you’re gonna get you what you want out of it, at this point.”