One week into Oklahoma State football workouts, the biggest surprise around the program hasn’t come from a highlight, a depth-chart shakeup or even a player flashing on the field. It’s Eric Morris himself.
The Cowboys have already logged five workouts and a media day since camp opened last week, with Wednesday as a day off before three more practices Thursday through Saturday. That stretch is expected to end with the first of two scrimmages.
There’s plenty happening, and plenty of it is new. Morris is trying to rebuild a 1-11 team that moved on from longtime coach Mike Gundy, and he’s doing it with nearly 90 transfers and only 13 letterwinners back from last season.
Even with all that turnover, the buzz around the program is real. More than a 1-11 team should carry, honestly. And through the first week, the most noticeable shift has been the way Morris has handled the conversation around his team.
Instead of guarding everything, he’s been unusually open. He has done two lengthy interviews with local media, both close to 30 minutes, and he’s used them to talk plainly about the competition across the roster.
That’s not always how a first-year coach operates, especially with this many new pieces. The safer play is usually to keep everything behind closed doors.
Morris has gone the other way.
He’s talked about the offensive line as a major work in progress, where finding five reliable starters is the priority. He’s also laid out the cornerback picture, where LaDainian Fields returns as a starter but is clearly battling for his role.
There aren’t many positions that seem settled. Quarterback with Drew Mestemaker and running back with Caleb Hawkins are the clearest examples, and even there Morris has stressed the need for depth behind Hawkins, saying the Cowboys need three or four backs who can help shoulder the load for the sophomore.
Beyond that, almost everything is up for grabs, and Morris hasn’t shied away from naming names. Asked about the secondary, he ran through Fields, Mo Horn, Trudell Barry, Kollin Lewis and Kobi Foreman at corner, then Quentin Hammonds, Christian Bodnar and Evan Jackson at safety. He also brought up late transfer additions Jeremiah Piper, Bobby Deal Jr. and Markeith Williams.
“Those battles over the course of these next couple weeks will kind of tell you know what type of playing time and what kind of rotations we're able to put on them,” Morris said.
The same approach has shown up with younger players too. Morris has said freshmen receivers Jabarie Thornton and Dayvon Standard are getting reps with the first- and second-team groups. And while he’s not handing out special treatment to players who followed him from North Texas, it’s also clear some of those transfers have an edge because of their ability.
That openness stands out for a couple of reasons. Some coaches prefer to keep position battles out of the public eye, not wanting the media to turn camp into a running depth-chart exercise. Morris has taken a different route, using the public stage to push competition while also making the program feel more transparent.
It also sends a message to the locker room. Nearly every spot is available, and nobody is being rewarded just for knowing the coach or coming from a bigger conference program. That tone - and the way it’s already filtered down to what fans will see Saturday when the Cowboys hold their first scrimmage - may be the most unexpected part of camp so far.
In Other News...
Caleb Hawkins Faces A New Oklahoma State Question This Fall
Caleb Hawkins arrived at Oklahoma State with the kind of rsum that makes people lean in. After setting the FBS freshman touchdown record at North Texas, the running back spent media day talking about what comes next, and for the Cowboys the conversation quickly turned from what he can do alone to how he fits into a deeper backfield. Head coach Eric Morris made it clear Hawkins carried a huge load a season ago, and this fall the plan is to spread those touches around in a way that keeps him fresher and gives Oklahoma State more ways to attack defenses.
That shift could change the way Hawkins numbers look on paper, even if it helps the offense as a whole. Oklahoma State has brought in several transfer running backs to share the workload, and the staff wants a diverse group that can create better matchups from week to week. For Hawkins, the challenge is less about proving he can handle volume and more about showing he can still be the difference-maker in a setup built to protect him and maximize the Cowboys options. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Fans Get An Early Look At Steve Lutzs Newest Team
Oklahoma State fans already have a better sense of what next seasons basketball build-up will look like, with the school unveiling a three-game preseason exhibition slate for the 2026-27 campaign. The Cowboys will get home dates against New Mexico and Tulsa at Gallagher-Iba Arena, along with a road trip to Wisconsin, giving Steve Lutzs group a useful early gauge before the games start to count.
The Tulsa exhibition is the first one on the calendar, set for Oct. 23 at 2:30 p.m. in Stillwater. More details on admission and parking will be released later, while season tickets are already on sale, so there is plenty of time for fans to circle the date and start thinking about an early look at Lutzs newest team. [Read more 🡒]
Drew Mestemaker Brings Oklahoma State A Ceiling Fans Can Feel
Drew Mestemakers name is starting to surface in a different kind of preseason conversation, one that says plenty about how high the expectations can climb in Stillwater. After a highly productive 2025 season at North Texas, the quarterback is being mentioned by some national analysts as a possible Heisman Trophy contender for 2026, and The Athletic even slotted him 12th overall in a fantasy draft for Heisman candidates. For Oklahoma State, that kind of attention is less about hype than about how quickly a quarterback can change the temperature around a program.
What makes the storyline even more intriguing is the familiar face waiting for him on the sideline. Mestemakers former coach Eric Morris is now at Oklahoma State, and much of that staff has followed him there, giving the Cowboys a built-in level of continuity that could matter as much as any preseason ranking. If Mestemaker carries even part of what made him so productive at North Texas into this setting, Oklahoma State may have a ceiling that feels a lot closer than most outsiders expected. [Read more 🡒]