The Big 12 has turned into a transfer highway, and Week 1 gives fans an early look at some of the new faces who could matter right away. With somewhere between 250 and 300 transfers landing across the league ahead of the 2026 college football season, the first Saturdays of fall already come with a long list of players worth tracking.
At Arizona, Cole Rusk arrives as a ready-made target for Noah Fifita. The former Murray State standout made his way to Illinois in 2024, but a knee injury in fall camp interrupted his first Power Four season.
He bounced back to start 13 games for the Illini last season, finishing with 19 catches for 217 yards and a touchdown against Duke. He also had a season-high five receptions versus Ohio State.
Now with one year of eligibility left, Rusk slides into Brent Brennan’s Arizona program and Seth Doege’s offense at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds. That size gives Fifita a dependable option in the middle of the field and another body who can help in the run game and on the edge.
Kansas State is looking at Mekhi Mason as a major piece of its defensive front. The Louisiana Tech senior transfer brings immediate help at linebacker for a Wildcats team that returns only two starters from last season.
Mason posted 68 combined tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and four passes defended last year, earning Second Team All-Conference USA honors. Against LSU, he put together a career day with 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
His role should be especially important early, with Nicholls, Washington State and Tulane on deck. Mason joins senior Rex Van Whye and JUCO product Michael Graham at nickel, giving Kansas State another experienced piece as it reshapes its front seven.
Then there’s Drew Mestemaker at Oklahoma State, where the spotlight gets bigger by the week. The Cowboys head to Tulsa on Saturday, Sept. 5, and they’ll be carrying the sting of last year’s 19-12 loss in Stillwater, a result that helped set the tone for a 1-11 season and the end of the Mike Gundy era. Tulsa had not beaten Oklahoma State since 1998 before that win, and now Mestemaker enters the matchup as part of the rebuild under Eric Morris.
The former North Texas quarterback arrives with a huge statistical resume for a freshman. Mestemaker was a First Team All-American Conference selection after leading the FBS in passing with 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns, the second-most in the country. For Oklahoma State, he’s the kind of transfer who can change the temperature of a fan base quickly - and he’ll get his first crack at doing it in a Cowboys uniform against a Tulsa team that now owns a 44-28 edge in the series.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Still Has 3 Roster Questions Before Tulsa
With fall camp winding down, Oklahoma State is still using these last few practices to clean up a few of the biggest details before Tulsa. Eric Morris and his staff are trying to settle the defensive line rotation, while also figuring out where injured offensive lineman Nelson fits once the season gets rolling. The opener is close enough now that every rep matters, and the Cowboys are treating these final roster choices like they could shape the first game as much as anything on the practice field.
Nelsons situation remains one of the more important moving parts, especially with the offensive front still coming together around him. Morris is also sorting through the four special teams units, a task that often gets overlooked until September starts bringing real game situations. Those assignments can be just as revealing as the depth chart itself, and Oklahoma State is still working through who exactly will be trusted in those spots when the countdown to Tulsa reaches its final stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Suddenly Has A Micah Gray Question Fans Did Not Expect
Micah Gray has given Oklahoma State an unexpected roster subplot as the offseason continues to take shape. The former Cowgirls guard submitted her name to the transfer portal after a judge ruled that she and other athletes could seek a fifth year of eligibility, adding a layer of uncertainty to a situation already tied up in the NCAAs new age-based eligibility rule.
Gray is part of a lawsuit challenging that rule, which does not currently grant relief to players who began in 2022 and played four seasons without taking a redshirt. While she can explore transfer options in the meantime, the legal cases are still pending, and there remains a path for her to stay in Stillwater if scholarship space opens up. [Read more 🡒]