Oklahoma State Football’s Key Position Battle Moves into Regular Season

This defensive position is one of the biggest depth chart questions for the Oklahoma State Cowboys going into the Tulsa game.

Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cornerback was one of the few positions where many figured an Oklahoma State Cowboy from last season would earn a starting role.

LaDainian Fields did — kind of.

When the depth chart came out on Tuesday that was one of the positions with the dreaded “OR” next to it. In fact, both cornerback positions were like that.

On one side was Fields, listed alongside Kobi Foreman.

The other side was even more “OR” as Trudell Berry, Mo Horn and Kollin Lewis were listed.

Horn is the most experienced cornerback on the roster. Fields returned the only non-offensive touchdown for OSU last year.

Based on what head coach Eric Morris said on Tuesday, the competition isn’t quite done yet.

Why Cornerback Competition Continues in Regular Season

Morris said that all five players did enough during fall camp to earn the right to play on Saturday against Tulsa. With the heat for a 2:45 p.m. kickoff, Morris expects to use all five players in a rotation.

But the cream hasn’t risen to the top just yet. Morris and his staff know what they need to see. And there’s only one way to see it — and it’s not in practice.

“We want to see them out there being able to put it all together without coaches, without it being scripted, and see who emerges as the guys,” he said.

All five players have worked with the first team throughout camp. Knowing what to do isn’t the question. It’s whether they can. Fields, for instance, is a player that Morris has said has all-conference talent but needs to prove he can make more plays on the ball. Horn has played four years of college football, all at Texas Tech. He was a full-time starter in 2024, but he lost his starting role last year due to the wealth of transfers the Red Raiders brought in.

Foreman is also a holdover from last year. He played in nine games, but mostly as a kick returner and special teams ace. The fact that he moved to an “OR” on the depth chart from his freshman to sophomore years is a testament to his progress.

Lewis played for the Mean Green last year, so he knows the nuances of defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity’s 4-2-5 scheme the best. He played three years at UNT, including a redshirt, but has never been a full-time starter. Berry was at Vanderbilt for four seasons, missed 2025 with an injury and only has seven career starts.

This is Morris’ way of saying to the group that they have talent and have done good things in camp — but they haven’t done anything in a game yet. Until they do, it’s hard to remove the “OR” from the depth chart. But, at some point, Morris would like to.

“All of those guys have done really good things for us over the course of this camp,” he said. “Who runs out there first? I think we'll see who that who that defensive staff wants.”