A scout in a New York Giants pullover was impossible to miss in the Boone Pickens Stadium press box on Saturday, and he wasn’t the only NFL eye tracking Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker.
The Cowboys’ 42-28 win over UCF drew fewer scouts than the Oregon game a month earlier, but the ones who showed up were there for the same reason: Mestemaker’s draft stock keeps climbing. He has now led Oklahoma State to a four-game winning streak, and his latest outing only added to the buzz.
Against UCF, Mestemaker threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns. That came on the heels of a week in which ESPN NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid named him his top quarterback prospect for next April’s draft. David Pollock also added to the chatter on his “See Ball, Get Ball” podcast when he told the Brandon Walker College Football Show that if Mestemaker’s last name were Manning, he would be the No. 1 pick in the draft this year.
Mestemaker knows the noise is there. He just isn’t chasing it.
“It’s cool to hear but at the end of the day we have to keep taking it one week at a time,” Mestemaker said. “You can’t get caught up in that because if we start losing, I’m not going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.
So that’s not my goal. It’s not what I’m set on.
I’m just trying to win games.”
That approach fits the numbers he’s putting up. The redshirt sophomore leads the Big 12 with 315 passing yards per game.
In five games, he has thrown for 1,575 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Across the conference, only Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita has more passing yards, with 1,756 in six games.
Fifita is averaging 292.7 passing yards per game and has 16 touchdowns against four interceptions.
Mestemaker’s rise didn’t start in Stillwater. Last season at North Texas, he threw for 4,379 yards and 32 touchdowns. The former walk-on won American Conference offensive player of the year and took home the Burlsworth Trophy, which honors the best player in the country who started his career as a walk-on.
Eric Morris has repeatedly praised Mestemaker’s processing and decision-making, traits that look made for an NFL offense. Secretly, Morris would probably love to keep him in Stillwater for another season.
That may not be realistic if Mestemaker keeps playing like this. For now, though, he says the formula is simple: keep winning, keep moving forward, and let everything else take care of itself. Oklahoma State will try to do that again Saturday against Houston.
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Oklahoma State Is Starting To Look Like A Real Big 12 Problem
Oklahoma States latest surge kept rolling in Stillwater, where Mike Gundys team stretched its winning streak to four by knocking off UCF at Boone Pickens Stadium. The Cowboys looked increasingly comfortable in Big 12 play, leaning on a cleaner night from quarterback Drew Mestemaker and another busy, disruptive showing from linebacker Ethan Wesloski as the defense kept finding ways to tilt momentum.
Mestemaker gave Oklahoma State the kind of stability the offense has been chasing, while UCF quarterback Keyone Jackson put up points but also handed the Cowboys a huge swing when safety Evan Jackson turned a turnover into a touchdown the other way. For a team that spent the early part of the season searching for its footing, this is starting to feel like a group with enough balance and bite to make life difficult for the rest of the league. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Unveiled A New Goal Line Wrinkle Fans Will Notice
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Morgan McPhaul finished the sequence with a 1-yard touchdown run, while defensive end Malik Charles was part of the blocking package that helped clear the way. It was the sort of wrinkle that can matter late in the season, especially for a team looking for reliable answers in tight spaces, and it came on a night when Sam Keltner again stayed perfect on his kicks, keeping Oklahoma States scoring operation clean in the moments that tend to decide games. [Read more 🡒]