Oklahoma State Backfield Takes Big Hit in Transfer Portal
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Oklahoma State’s offseason is in full swing, and the transfer portal is making some big noise already.
Coming into this offseason with Eric Morris taking over as head coach, there was always an expectation that the Pokes’ roster would soon look much different. With more anticipated portal departures than any other program going into this transfer window, OSU was already on the radar to lose some big names from last season.
While losses such as Wendell Gregory and Hauss Hejny were mostly expected and already known before the window opened, Rodney Fields Jr.’s announcement on Friday was a big blow for the Pokes. While Morris and company are going to have a great offense next season with the players already expected to come into Stillwater, Fields easily could have been a great threat out of the backfield for the Cowboys in his third year of college football.
“As an Oklahoma native and a young man whose father was an OSU fanatic, and had family on the team, I felt like it was my destiny to attend Oklahoma State,” Fields wrote in a statement. “Although the past two years have been challenging with a coaching transition, it has been a dream to be a Cowboy and go to battle with my brothers, a few of them literally my family members.
“In the big picture of life, sometimes the journey takes us away from home. To become my best version of myself as a player and a man, I will be entering the transfer portal. I am grateful to the OSU staff who recruited me and look forward to the next chapter.”
Now, Fields will be taking his talents elsewhere with another three years of eligibility to work with. After hitting a number of career milestones in 2025, Fields should be a hot commodity in the portal, especially for programs that need an elusive rusher.
Although OSU likely had the resources to keep Fields around if it wanted, this departure might also be a sign of the program being ready to move on from the Mike Gundy era 100%. With a plethora of Gundy’s guys heading into the portal to pursue their next chapter, Fields’ departure may have just been a formality all along.
Although things will surely be looking better in Stillwater in the near future, and this portal period should be an exciting time for OSU fans after these past couple of years, seeing Fields go is still tough for the Pokes.
Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.