‘Easy Decision’: OSU Found Key Cornerbacks Who Have Separated Themselves from the Competition

STILLWATER — Fans are constantly reminded not to get attached to the breakout players in college sports these days.

Cornerback LaDainian Fields was the definition of a breakout when he started the final six games in 2025 after only playing a single snap in the first four.

Then he finished with an overall grade of 77.2, according to Pro Football Focus, making him the highest graded Cowboy defender with at least 200 snaps since Tyler Lacy in 2022. Despite all of that, Fields bucked all the trends when he returned to school without hesitation.

“It was an easy decision,” Fields said. “I feel like Stillwater is at home for me. I’m very comfortable here. Everybody loves me. I love everybody here, and I love the family atmosphere, so I feel it was very easy for me.”

Fields said he didn’t even need to hear a pitch from his new head coach, coordinator or position coach to feel good about remaining a Cowboy.

Which was great news for the new coaches, including cornerbacks coach Julian Wilson, who actually recruited Fields when he coached defensive backs at Abilene Christian from 2022-23.

“Very familiar with his game. … He’s long, he can run, he has a little grit about him,” Wilson said. “He’s feisty, and he got a lot of potential, like, if he keeps working to stay steady, because his ceiling is very high.”

It sounds like OSU’s new coaching staff plans to give Fields every opportunity to live up to those expectations as he’s been seen with the first-string defense during every open practice period alongside Texas Tech transfer Mo Horn on the opposite side of the field and Liberty transfer Christian Bodnar in the slot.

“He’s actually such a versatile piece that, with a guy like that at that nickel spot, he makes the defense go,” Wilson said of Bodnar. “So having him at that spot being able to have a dude that’s physical, that can tackle, but he can also handle the slot, that’s a piece that is very valuable, and that helps this defense.”

Bodnar seemed like a safe bet to earn the starting nickel role, considering he played 458 snaps in the slot last season, including 244 in coverage. Only 44 players in the country had more. On those plays, the Liberty transfer allowed 223 yards and one score while giving up 23 catches on 39 targets.

He saw 126 snaps at the slot in 2024 when he shared a conference with Wilson and OSU defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity before an illness sidelined him. Although he didn’t face his current coaches on the field, his tape clearly impressed them.

“It’s very big,” Wilson said of the importance of Bodnar arriving with nickel experience. “And the more intriguing part about him was he also played corner at Liberty too. So we remembered him from when we played Liberty at Sam Houston. So when he got in the portal, that was a guy (we wanted). He’s a multi-year guy. … That’s a guy that we think can do what we need to do in this defense.”

Fellow cornerback Kollin Lewis, a North Texas transfer, has been seen with what appears to be the second-string unit during the spring. He’s certainly made an impression on likely starting receiver Chris Barnes.

“Somebody who stood out to me is K. Lew, Kollin Lewis, 25,” Barnes said. “He’s like, more patient, in a way. So if you got like, an in-breaking route, he’s gonna sit on it like he’s waiting for you, because he got the speed and he know he can kind of run you down if the ball is in the air.”

Last season at UNT, Lewis held opponents to eight completions on 19 targets for only 67 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, he finished with two interceptions and one pass breakup.

It sounds like coming to Stillwater was a relatively easy choice once the UNT coaches relocated. Lewis was asked how he’s settling in on Tuesday.

“It’s very smooth,” Lewis said. “Being with Cassity and Morris last season, it’s been an easy transition knowing the defense. Going to a different school is nothing new to me.”