A Bright Spot in a Dark Night: Rodney Fields’ First Game as OSU’s Featured Back

STILLWATER — There wasn’t much good to take away from the Cowboys’ home loss to Tulsa, but a young running back that the fanbase is excited about made his debut at the Pokes’ featured back.

Rodney Fields Jr. got the start in Oklahoma State’s 19-12 loss to Tulsa. He had a career-high 17 carries and ran for a career-high 113 yards — the first time he has eclipsed the century mark.

This performance came after Fields missed the season opener with an injury and was limited in Eugene.

“It means a lot, but there’s still things that need to be improved,” Fields said. “I just gotta see things I need to work on to have more yards.”

To add to his career day on the ground, Fields did the same in the passing game. He had a team-high six catches for 39 more yards — both career-highs.

A redshirt freshman out of Del City High School, Fields’ day looks even better looking into some PFF stats.

Fields forced three missed tackles in his 17 attempts and rattled off 80 yards after contact. Despite the limited action, Fields now leads the Cowboys in yards after contact (101 for the year) and is tied with Kalib Hicks in terms of missed tackles forced despite Hicks having eight more rushing attempts.

Fields’ biggest run Friday night was a 36-yard gain late in the third quarter. It was one of the better-blocked plays of the Cowboys’ game. The Red Sea parted as Fields went between the tackles. He ran straight through an attempted arm tackle about six yards form the line of scrimmage before kicking it into high gear. He was oh, so close to busting the run for a 50-yard touchdown, but Tulsa defensive back Lento Smith did a good job to run Fields down and tackle him at the TU 14-yard line. That drive ended in a Zane Flores rushing touchdown, OSU’s only TD of the game.

Fields looked a promising prospect while redshirting last season. Playing in four games, he carried 21 times for 99 yards and a touchdown. He debuted in OSU’s trip to Provo, where he carried eight times for 38 yards. He scored his first career touchdown against Texas Tech late in the season.

Friday marked just the first time Fields fielded a heavy workload, but early returns suggest that promise he showed fresh out of high school has carried over into his redshirt freshman season.

“Well, he obviously ran the ball well and had success,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “He was healthy — first time he’s been healthy in a while. He practiced last four or five practices that we’ve had him and feel like that he’s healthy and running full speed. But I was pleased with the way he ran.”