Oklahoma State RB Rodney Fields Jr. Cracks Freshman of the Year Watch List
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Oklahoma State’s rising star is getting some recognition ahead of his second season.
On Tuesday, OSU running back Rodney Fields Jr. landed on the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award watch list. As one of 37 players listed, Fields clearly could have the talent to emerge as one of the top young players in the country for an OSU team that could certainly use a breakout star.
While there are 37 players on the watch list, Fields is one of only 10 players who are redshirt freshmen. Although Fields wasn’t used much last year, in part to maintain his redshirt, he showed plenty of potential.
His best game came at BYU in the seventh game of the season, with the true freshman rushing for 38 yards on eight carries as the Pokes tried to upset the then-unbeaten Cougars. He followed his collegiate debut with 19 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards at Baylor a week later.
Finishing his first season with 21 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown, plus two catches for 23 yards, Fields’ inclusion on the watch list makes plenty of sense. While there is no way of knowing what his role might look like as the season progresses, it seems like a safe bet that he will work his way into Doug Meacham’s offense in some capacity over the next few weeks.
The next Ollie Gordon?
While it would be quite the stretch for Fields to go from taking a redshirt to being the top running back in the country, it might not be crazy to think that he could carry the load for the Pokes, at least for some stretches. While Gordon didn’t take a redshirt in his first year with the program, his breakout still came in his second season of college football after being mostly overlooked in his first season.
While it’s hard to say Fields was truly overlooked in his true freshman season, given that he was behind Gordon, he should have a fair shot of becoming the top back for the Cowboys. In OSU’s first depth chart, there was no order whatsoever, with Fields being one of five running backs competing to potentially be the lead back.
While it won’t be easy for Fields to beat out Kalib Hicks, Freddie Brock, Trent Howland and Sesi Vailahi, the flashes that Fields showed in his freshman season could be enough to push him over the top.
With the season kicking off against UT Martin on Thursday, Fields will have a chance to show what he’s capable of after a long offseason.
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.