Mel Kiper Jr. has moved Drew Mestemaker near the top of his radar, and the Oklahoma State quarterback is starting to look the part.
In Kiper’s midseason 2027 NFL Draft big board, Mestemaker landed at No. 2 on the ESPN analyst’s list of his favorite 25 prospects. It’s not a mock draft, Kiper emphasized, but the Oklahoma State sophomore still checked in behind only Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and ahead of Notre Dame corner Leonard Moore.
Mestemaker is the highest-ranked quarterback on the board, placed ahead of Miami’s Darian Mensah at No. 4.
The buzz comes with Oklahoma State sitting at 4-1 after shaking off a rough opening loss at Tulsa and then beating top-10 Oregon in Week 2. The Cowboys have now won four straight as they head to Houston.
Kiper pointed to the complete package Mestemaker is showing. “His toolbox is also pretty incredible,” Kiper said.
“I love the way he scans the field and bides his time in the pocket. Mestemaker has the big arm to make all of the throws, with 30 completions going for 20-plus yards this season (third in the FBS).
But he also has the mobility to pick up nice chunks of yardage on the ground. Mestemaker shows linebacker-esque toughness and plays with a competitive edge.
He doesn’t turn 21 years old until January, and he has just 20 career starts to his name. So, there’s a lot of untapped potential.”
That upside was on display again in Oklahoma State’s 42-28 home win over UCF. Mestemaker helped the Cowboys erase an early 14-7 hole, throwing for 304 yards, two touchdowns and a 94.3 QBR.
Oklahoma State also got a boost from special teams when Evan Jackson returned a fumble 28 yards for a touchdown. The result kept the No.
18 Cowboys in the top 25 and set up a road trip to No. 20 Houston.
The challenge gets stiffer fast. Houston is a 4.5-point favorite, and the Cougars just went into Bill Snyder Family Stadium and beat Kansas State 35-16. Conner Weigman threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns in that road win, and tight end Patrick Overmeyer caught all four of his targets to set an FBS record at the position.
Five games into his first season of Big 12 football, Mestemaker has given Oklahoma State plenty to like. Now the Cowboys are moving deeper into league play, and Saturday at Houston will say plenty about how far he and the team have come.
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The next challenge comes in Norman, where Kentucky coach Will Stein will be on the opposite sideline after previously recruiting Mateer. Stein knows the quarterbacks talent well enough to appreciate the upside, but he also understands the risk that comes with it, because Mateers aggressiveness can swing a game in either direction. For Oklahoma, the appeal is obvious. The question is how much margin of error that style leaves in a bigger test. [Read more 🡒]