Oklahoma State is about to find out a lot about itself in a hurry.
After a fall camp built around surviving a 12-game season, Eric Morris and his staff finally get to see the pieces move for real Saturday against Tulsa, with kickoff set for 2:45 p.m. And while plenty of spots on the roster have been pared down to starters and backups, a few of those lingering “OR’s” still tell the story of where this team is headed.
Three position groups stand out the most when it comes to how much trust they inspire right now: offensive line, cornerback and the front four. The order matters.
The offensive line is the safest bet of the bunch. That’s especially important with quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins expected to carry major loads this season.
The group is already dealing with one setback, as Braydon Nelson is still coming back from injury. Nelson, who started at North Texas last year, had been expected to be ready for the regular season but isn’t there yet.
Even so, Morris got one of the things he wanted most: the line was named after the first scrimmage. Jacob Sexton is set at left tackle, Johnny Dickson III at left guard, Tyler Mercer at center, Joseph Hanson at right guard and either Ashton Lepo or Shaun Torgeson at right tackle. Morris also said he wants to use seven or eight offensive linemen Saturday, so the rest of the two-deep - Ja’Qwon Evans, Desmond Magiya, Louie Canepa and Jakobe Sanders - could all see the field.
That group has the most stability of the three. The starters have logged real college snaps, and even with some injury history attached to names like Sexton, the unit is healthy now and has had time to come together the way Morris wanted. Against Tulsa, that should mean a fairly orderly opener.
Cornerback comes next, though it still comes with some uncertainty. Morris said Tuesday that both corner spots have an “OR” on the depth chart by design, and he pointed to five corners who earned playing time Saturday: LaDainian Fields, Kobi Foreman, Trudell Berry, Mo Horn and Kollin Lewis. All five are expected to play against the Golden Hurricane.
There’s a practical reason for that. The heat means Oklahoma State needs bodies on the perimeter.
There’s also the bigger-picture reason: Morris wants to eventually settle on two corners he can trust as starters, and the only way to get there is to put them through live competition. It would have been cleaner if those spots were already settled, but this is still a process.
The confidence is there that it gets sorted out - just not immediately.
The least certain group is the front four, and that was the part of the defense that needed the most work coming into the season. It has “OR” after “OR” attached to it, and some of that is intentional. Defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity has already said he plans to rotate players heavily, especially in the Tulsa game, because the heat demands it.
The other issue is résumé. Unlike the offensive line, this group doesn’t have much of one.
There isn’t much proven production up front, at least not enough to match the excitement around the offense. James Williams is the closest thing to a known pass-rush piece after posting five sacks at Nebraska in 2024.
That doesn’t mean the front four can’t become a strength. It just means there’s more guesswork here than anywhere else among these three groups.
Cassity will be watching how the pieces fit together against Tulsa as he works through the rotations, and some chunk plays could come with the territory. It’s the area I’m least confident about entering Week 1.
The upside is obvious, though: there’s room for growth. The challenge is getting there quickly.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Still Has One Crucial Battle To Settle In Week 1
Oklahoma States secondary is still sorting itself out heading into Week 1, and the cornerback room has become one of the more interesting parts of camp. The depth chart points to a true competition, with multiple players listed as possible starters and the staff leaving room for flexibility rather than locking in a pair and moving on. For a defense that wants to open the season on solid footing, the Cowboys are clearly treating the job as something to be earned, not assigned.
Head coach Eric Morris has said all five cornerbacks have stood out in fall camp, which is why the group appears headed for a rotation when Tulsa comes to town. The bigger question now is how that competition carries into live action, because Morris has made it clear the final call will come down to what happens on the field, not just what has shown up in practice. In a room this crowded, Week 1 may not settle everything, but it should go a long way toward defining who is first in line. [Read more 🡒]
Eric Morris Sees Familiar Stakes In Tulsa Showdown
Tre Lamb sees a bit of his own path in Eric Morris, and it is easy to understand why. Both coaches climbed through FCS jobs on their way to bigger stages, building reputations as young program builders before landing in the state of Oklahoma. Morris, now leading Oklahoma State, has been quick to notice the resemblance and has spoken highly of Lambs development, framing Tulsas new coach as someone who has earned each step of the rise.
The matchup brings those similar careers into the same game for the first time, which adds a little extra intrigue to an already local showdown. Morris also likes what he has seen from Tulsas broader effort to give Lamb the support needed to reshape the program, and that kind of backing matters when a coach is trying to establish a new identity. The stakes Saturday are about more than a scoreboard, because both sides will be measuring how far their young coaches have come and how much further they can still go. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Opens A New Era With Immediate Pressure At Tulsa
Oklahoma State is stepping into a new era with a rematch that carries far more weight than a typical early-season game. Last years loss to Tulsa snapped a 10-game winning streak in the rivalry and helped trigger the end of Mike Gundys tenure, so the trip back into this matchup comes with plenty of history attached. Eric Morris now takes over with a roster flooded by 91 newcomers, and the Cowboys are trying to turn a fresh start into something sturdier than a reset on paper.
For Morris, the timing makes the game feel less like an opener and more like an early stress test of the programs direction. Tulsa already has a place in this story, and Oklahoma State does not need a reminder that one bad night in this series can change the tenor of a season. A win would not solve everything for a team still being built, but it would give the Cowboys a needed surge of momentum and a first real step toward changing the narrative. [Read more 🡒]