How father’s memory, family guided Del City star Rodney Fields Jr. toward Oklahoma State
DEL CITY — Rodney Fields Jr. listened to his intuition.
In late January, he received his first college football offer, leading to deep discussions with his family about his future.
On the heels of a breakout season at Southeast High School, the then-junior running back could have welcomed a tipping point in a recruiting boom, the moment when a slew of Division I suitors could join Oklahoma State in vying for his attention.
But Rodney Jr. wasn’t sure if he needed other options.
Larry Fields Sr., his uncle, urged Rodney Jr. to follow his heart.
His heart reminded him of his father.
“I was like, ‘You know this is the team your dad always loved,’” Larry said. “And he was like, ‘I know, Unc.’”
Rodney Jr., also known as RJ, shut down his recruitment and chose Oklahoma State the next day.
More: The Oklahoman's high school football picks for every second-round playoff game
Every factor created a magnetic draw toward the Cowboys, and none was stronger than the memory of Rodney Sr., the avid Pokes fan who died in February 2010.
Thirteen years later, the younger Rodney has emerged as one of the state’s top running backs, spending his senior year at Del City, where state championship dreams have kindled throughout an undefeated season.
Each time he steps onto the field with the Eagles, Rodney Jr. sports the No. 1 on his jersey. That single digit resonates throughout his unusual recruitment story.
One official visit. One offer.
One pledge of loyalty to his father’s beloved team.
Rodney Jr. and his family view his OSU commitment as destiny, a step too meaningful to be orchestrated by coincidence alone.
“It’s meant to be,” said Chiquita Richards, his mother. “You know how people say somebody’s not there anymore, but things happen, and it’s kind of like they’re there with you and guiding you through the way? It’s just one of those things.”
Step by step, whisper by whisper, Rodney Jr.’s life brought him closer to his next destination.
His young football journey, like his father’s distinctive car, is dotted with reminders of Oklahoma State.
More: Which players are committed to Oklahoma State football in the 2024 recruiting class?
Memories and moves
Rodney Jr. remembers seeing all of the stickers.
His father drove a white Lincoln Town Car, and the full-sized sedan had character.
An assortment of Oklahoma State stickers adorned the vehicle’s body, spanning it like a bold pattern on a canvas.
“It was probably about 100 on there,” Rodney Jr. said.
More stickers found a home inside the car, decorating the dashboard. Rodney Sr.’s distinctive set of wheels rolled through Wright City, the family’s southeastern Oklahoma hometown that had a population of around 760 at the time.
To this day, the family can’t explain why he had such a passion for OSU football. He didn’t play the sport, and particularly in the early 2000s, most of the state’s fans leaned heavily toward OU.
Rodney Jr. said he never had a chance to ask his dad the reason for his fandom.
In February 2010, Rodney Sr. was shot and killed.
His son, no older than 6 when it happened, holds onto sparse but meaningful recollections of their time together.
His most vivid memories involve riding in the car that proclaimed his father’s love for the Cowboys. Rodney Jr. still visits Wright City, too, but the family moved after his father’s death.
Initially, Richards and her two young children went to Texarkana, Texas, but a dream brought them back to their home state.
Richards wanted to be a chef. She always had a creative side, and that passion showed through cooking.
So, Richards relocated to the city with Rodney Jr. and her daughter, Ka’Brianna, creating a new beginning a couple of years after the tragedy. She decided to attend culinary school.
“For her to move to Oklahoma City after that situation, that’s a big step,” Larry said. “They were sad and everything, but she did what she gotta do. Still to this day, she’s doing right what she gotta do.”
For Richards, the move led to a longtime career in the food industry. For eight football seasons, an Oklahoma City-based catering company has placed her at Boone Pickens Stadium, where she makes 1,400 warm rolls every OSU game day.
And her son forged a path the family never could have imagined, one that is leading him to that same venue.
More: 'Very skilled athlete': Why Wagoner's Alexander Shieldnight committed to OU football
The legend of RJ
Rodney Jr.’s athletic career began spontaneously.
No one in his direct family line played football. Richards said she isn’t sure where his gridiron skills came from.
But they’re undeniable.
It all started in Oklahoma City, where Rodney Jr. played sports for fun with neighborhood friends. One parent, the father of now-Westmoore quarterback MJ Graham, took notice of Rodney Jr.’s precocious football skills, so the youngster started competing on an organized team.
From there, the legend of Rodney Jr. grew.
Larry – technically Rodney Jr.’s cousin who has assumed the title of “uncle” because of their significant age difference – has witnessed his “nephew’s” career take flight.
Larry’s son, LaDainian Fields, is also a senior star on Del City’s football team. The Fields kids played youth sports together and simultaneously made the move from Southeast to Del City, opening Larry’s eyes to Rodney Jr.’s abilities along the way.
Rodney Jr. had lightning speed. He could jump with accurate timing, once high-pointing the ball for a leaping catch that dazzled the crowd. The feats didn’t stop with football – Larry swears Rodney Jr. could dunk as a third grader.
“I call him 'Mighty Mouse,' and sometimes I call him 'Grown Man' because he’s just built like a grown man,” Larry said. “He’s always been built like a grown man.”
At 5-foot-9 and 188 pounds, Rodney Jr. can pinball off defenders, sharply cut into a lane and take off toward the end zone. Del City coach Robert Jones said Rodney Jr.’s style aligns with the fortés of running backs who have thrived at OSU: Kendall Hunter, Justice Hill and the Heisman Trophy winner himself, Barry Sanders.
That’s why Jones advocated for Rodney Jr. before the star running back arrived at Del City. Jones talked to his friend Greg Richmond, a coach on OSU’s staff, saying the Cowboys should stop by Southeast and take a look at the Spartans’ star athletes.
After his official visit in January, Rodney Jr. received the call from OSU running backs coach John Wozniak.
Rodney Jr. said he tried to play it cool on the phone, but as soon as the call ended, he let pure joy wash over him, jumping around his room and bounding into the kitchen to share the astounding news with his mother.
The announcement jolted Richards out of her busy work routine of designing T-shirts at home, a creative venture in addition to catering.
“I was like, ‘Are you sure?’” Richards said. “‘Is that what they really said?’”
Richards repeated the question, but her son had heard the call correctly: the Cowboys offered him.
They celebrated. They let the meaning of the moment sink in. And they talked about his father’s love for the Cowboys.
More: The Oklahoman's Class 6A-I to C high school football rankings for Week 12
Still growing
Robert Jones offers frank feedback to Rodney Jr. during practice.
If the Eagles’ star running back makes a mistake, then Jones honestly tells him that won’t fly at Oklahoma State. But when Rodney does something well, his coach is there with support and praise, seeing glimpses of a prospect who could turn heads in Stillwater.
Lately, Rodney Jr. has been getting better and better.
He needed to develop more toughness and not always receive the “star player” treatment, Jones said, so they have worked on stretching his conditioning limits since he joined the Eagles’ practices.
“I’ve been learning a lot of new things since I’ve been here and getting developed by coaches,” Rodney Jr. said. “That’s just helped me a lot, getting it to the next level.”
After building his football foundation at Southeast, Rodney Jr. said he moved to Del City for his senior year because he saw opportunities. Many of those possibilities exist on the football field – the Class 5A Eagles are still standing in the postseason, preparing for a Friday state quarterfinal matchup against Guthrie.
The opportunities continue outside the Eagles’ stadium. Jones said Rodney Jr. has improved academically at Del City, and Larry said his quiet nephew is “getting out of that shell” socially.
He’s also preparing for life in Stillwater with advice from Jones, who tells Rodney Jr. to truly appreciate the OSU experience.
“It allows you to, especially if you’re from Oklahoma, to have a life after football and have different avenues and different experiences and have different opportunities,” Jones said. “Because you’re gonna know a lot of people, especially if you go up there and have success.”
Rodney Jr. is meeting people all the time. Richards said they have encountered friendly faces who recognize him on OSU’s campus, and when she asks who they are, her son has no idea. There’s a level of local celebrity that comes with committing to one of the state’s major Division I programs.
With his increasing recognition, Rodney remembers the first person who inspired him to love the Cowboys. The man appears in a photoshopped image an OSU photographer and graphic designer created for Rodney Jr. and his family, allowing him to see what it would be like if his dad were on his recruiting visit with him.
In the picture, Rodney Jr. stands confidently in an orange uniform with his father casually crouching beside him, wearing a white polo shirt striped in orange and black. Their serious facial expressions mirror each other. It appears as if Rodney Jr. is resting a supportive hand on his father’s shoulder.
From Rodney Jr.’s perspective, his father is supporting him.
His memory will continue to be a guide in Stillwater.
“I think about it all the time,” Rodney Jr. said. “Just knowing it will be something great – him watching over me, helping me out, getting through things up there.”
.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Del City RB Rodney Fields Jr. honors father with OSU commitment
