Oklahoma State goes into fall camp wanting something it didn’t get nearly enough of a year ago: a secondary that can create turnovers. That was a problem all season long for a defense that struggled badly in the Big 12 in interceptions, and it was part of a 1-11 collapse that ended with Mike Gundy losing his job and Eric Morris being brought in to reset the program.
Cornerback is one of the more interesting spots on the roster because the Cowboys have numbers, experience and upside - but also plenty of uncertainty. Eight corners are on the roster, which gives Oklahoma State the chance to go four deep on both sides. Six of those eight have already played college football, and a couple are back from last season’s team.
The returnees are redshirt sophomore starter LaDainian Fields and sophomore Kobi Freeman, though Freeman didn’t actually play corner last year and instead saw action as a kickoff returner. The transfer group brings more proven production.
Texas Tech’s Mo Horn, Vanderbilt’s Trudell Berry and Jeremiah Piper, who has bounced through Western Michigan, Western Illinois and Youngstown State, all arrive as seniors with game experience. North Texas transfer Kollin Lewis is a redshirt junior.
The two freshmen are Maliek Bracy of Argyle, Texas, and Marrel Davis III of Summer Creek High School in Houston.
On paper, the group looks better than what Oklahoma State had a year ago, and Morris’ staff did well to keep the strongest pieces from that old unit. Fields stands out as the most obvious candidate to make a jump.
He won a starting job in the middle of last season, tied for the team lead with two interceptions and added a pick-six. At 6-1, the Del City, Okla., product has the length and speed to handle outside receivers, and he has the look of a potential All-Big 12 cornerback.
Lewis also has a chance to push forward. He played in the North Texas 4-2-5 scheme used by defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity, who is now at Oklahoma State, and he picked off two passes there.
He could end up battling Horn for a starting job. Horn’s résumé from 2024 at Texas Tech is strong enough to make that a real competition, after he posted 56 tackles and five pass breakups.
That’s where the upside comes in. There are three corners on this roster with breakout potential in 2026.
But the questions are just as real. Freeman never got a cornerback opportunity last season, even on a 1-11 team, so it remains to be seen how quickly he can settle into the position in this scheme.
Berry missed all of last season at Vanderbilt because of injury and only started games for the Commodores in 2023. He also missed all of spring workouts.
Piper is entering his seventh year of college football, has played in only 26 games and missed most of last season with an injury before receiving a medical hardship waiver. Bracy and Davis are complete unknowns at the college level, since neither has played a game yet.
So the Cowboys have a cornerback room with talent and a real chance to improve. They also have five players who need to develop quickly in fall camp, and stay healthy, if this group is going to become what Oklahoma State needs it to be.
In Other News...
This Texas Tech Test Will Say Everything About Oklahoma State
The first real measuring-stick game for Oklahoma State arrives Nov. 14 against Texas Tech, and it comes with both programs carrying a lot of change into the matchup. The Cowboys are building almost from scratch under Eric Morris, leaning on a roster packed with transfers and new faces, while the Red Raiders bring back a more established core on defense and have added more help up front to keep that side of the ball aggressive.
For Oklahoma State, the question is whether the offensive line can hold long enough to let the new skill talent settle in, because Texas Tech should make life difficult in the trenches and on the back end. If the Cowboys cant keep the pocket clean, it gets harder to involve targets like Wyatt Young, Chris Barnes and Justin Bowick, and that is exactly the kind of stress test this game is supposed to provide. [Read more 🡒]
Can Eric Morris End Oklahoma States Bowl Drought This Fast
The reset in Stillwater has been dramatic enough on its own. After a 1-11 season and the end of the Mike Gundy era, Eric Morris arrives with a roster rebuilt almost from scratch, bringing nearly 90 new players through the transfer portal and leaning on familiar faces from his previous stop to accelerate the turnaround. The early read from around the Big 12 is not that Oklahoma State is suddenly a contender, but that the Cowboys at least have a path back to respectability if the new pieces click quickly.
For a program trying to climb out of the league cellar, the question is less about winning big right away than whether a bowl return can happen as soon as 2026. The schedule should offer some help, and there are enough winnable games on paper to make the math interesting, but the real swing factors are still internal: whether the offense settles in behind Morriss new arrivals and whether the defense gets enough from its holdovers to stop the slide. If those parts come together, this kind of rebound might not take as long as it felt like it would in December. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Fans Will Get An Early Look At Steve Lutzs New Team
Oklahoma States trip to Puerto Rico is giving fans their first real look at Steve Lutzs latest roster, and it comes at a useful time for a team still learning one another. The Cowboys are set for three exhibition games against professional teams, a chance to get live reps, build chemistry and start sorting out roles before the season begins.
The roster makeup makes the timing even more interesting, with only a small group of returners and a lineup largely built from freshmen and transfers. For a program trying to keep moving forward under Lutz, the work in Puerto Rico is less about the final score than about seeing how quickly a new group can come together, and Cowboys fans will be able to follow along through free live and on-demand streams on BallerTV. [Read more 🡒]