When Oklahoma State starts sorting out its offense for 2026, the conversation is going to center on quarterback Drew Mestemaker and the Air Raid pieces around him. That’s natural. But the tight end spot still matters, and the Cowboys have a month to decide who will handle it when they open Sept. 5 against Tulsa.
The good news for Eric Morris and his staff is that there are options. The harder part is that there isn’t much certainty.
Oklahoma State has six tight ends on the roster for fall camp, and all six arrived as transfers. That means every player in the room has at least been inside a college football program, and most have already played real snaps somewhere.
It’s also a veteran group in its own way. Redshirt sophomores Carson Kolb and Luke Logan are the youngest players by playing time, but there are no true freshmen here. For tight ends coach Drew Svoboda, who also has special teams duties to juggle, that kind of experience is a plus.
The group is spread across several different levels of college football, and that variety could help in an offense built on quick adjustment. Donovan Green brings the most high-end FBS background, with stops at Texas A&M and LSU. This is his third school, so the transition to Stillwater shouldn’t be a major hurdle.
Three others come with Group of 6 experience. Oscar Hammond was at North Texas with Morris and his staff.
Kolb came from Oregon State, and Logan transferred in from Memphis. Then there are the two more unusual additions: Morgan McPhaul from FCS program Virginia Military and Bodie Boydstun, who played Division II football last season at Southwestern Oklahoma State.
The question isn’t whether the room has seen different systems. It has. The real issue is what that experience turns into on Saturdays.
The production numbers are thin across the board. Green has 22 career catches in four seasons, a stretch that has included injuries and lost playing time.
Hammond missed last season at North Texas because of injury, which means he doesn’t yet have the same chemistry with Mestemaker that some of the other options might. Before his time at UNT, he was more productive at Central Oklahoma.
Boydstun made his name as a strong blocker at SWOSU, but he caught only 11 passes last year. Kolb and Logan have not caught a pass in a game. McPhaul finished with 30 catches in four seasons at VMI.
That leaves Oklahoma State with the least proven production of any position group on the roster. Green and Hammond have been viewed as the projected starters for much of the summer, but nothing is locked in. The battle is open, and the staff still has to figure out who gives them the best answer against Tulsa.
For now, the tight end room is a mix of experience, upside and uncertainty - and almost no one has a track record strong enough to make the decision easy.
In Other News...
What Oklahoma State Proved During Its Puerto Rico Sweep
Oklahoma State finished its foreign exhibition tour with another steady showing, closing out a three-game swing in Puerto Rico with a 100-92 win over the LBP All-Stars at Guillermo Angulo Coliseum. The Cowboys looked comfortable from the start, shooting 51.4% from the field and controlling the glass in a game that never really tilted away from them.
Jordan Burks gave the trip another strong offensive lift, and the Cowboys had enough balance around him to keep the pressure on throughout. The bigger takeaway for Oklahoma State may be how cleanly it handled the whole stretch, because this was less about one hot night than about a team that kept finding ways to stay organized, physical and in charge while finishing the tour unbeaten. [Read more 🡒]
Which Oklahoma State Freshmen Could Force Their Way Onto The Field
Eric Morris brought in a true-freshman class of three-star prospects with the long view in mind, hoping time in the program would turn them into better players down the road. But the new five-in-five eligibility rule changes the math for Oklahoma State, because freshmen can now get on the field right away without sacrificing a redshirt year, and that makes the early part of camp a lot more interesting for a group that already has a few names worth watching.
Bland has the kind of edge-rushing profile that can create an opening in a rotation, while Holbrook could start pushing veterans if he shows he can hold up in the trenches. Thornton is the other one to keep an eye on after piling up big high school production, and his path could run through the offense or even special teams, where a quick first impression can matter just as much as pedigree. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma States Line Situation Just Took A Massive Turn
Oklahoma States line picture got a lot more interesting this week as Iman Oates moved one step closer to being available for the Cowboys. A temporary restraining order in Payne County, Oklahoma, now allows the veteran lineman to practice and play while his full eligibility case works its way through the process, giving the program a potential boost from a player with real experience in the trenches.
Oates is seeking an extra year of eligibility after his junior college path affected his NCAA clock, and the situation has already started to feel familiar around Stillwater. The ruling mirrors one previously granted to basketball player Kashie Natt, and it leaves open the possibility that Oates could be in the mix when Oklahoma State opens against Tulsa on Sept. 5, as long as the order stays in place. [Read more 🡒]