In Eric Morris’ offense, the quarterback doesn’t just matter - he drives everything. And Oklahoma State already has its centerpiece in place with Drew Mestemaker.
Morris brought Mestemaker with him from North Texas, giving the Cowboys the kind of headliner they need as they try to climb out of a 1-11 2025 season and a 4-20 mark over the past two years. For a program looking for a reset, that matters. A lot.
Mestemaker’s rise has been fast and productive. After walking on at North Texas in 2024, he developed into one of the most effective quarterbacks in the country last season under Morris and his staff.
He finished first in FBS in passing yards with 4,379, passing yards per game at 312.8, total offense at 4,468 and yards per pass attempt at 9.46. He also threw 32 touchdown passes and ranked in the Top 10 nationally in several other passing categories.
The fit is obvious. The Air Raid offense matches his game, and the Cowboys have surrounded him with skill talent, including former Mean Green teammates Caleb Hawkins at running back and Wyatt Young at wide receiver.
Morris also added more playmakers to the roster, so Mestemaker should have plenty of options when he’s operating the offense. More than anyone else on the team, he will determine how far Oklahoma State goes this season.
Still, there’s a layer of uncertainty that hangs over the position. Mestemaker is a third-year collegiate player, which means he can declare for the NFL draft after the season. Whether he does so could come down to a number of factors, and Oklahoma State has already tried to prepare for that possibility.
Morris and his staff recruited two freshmen who could be part of the answer if Mestemaker moves on next year: Broderick Vehrs, a product of Basha High School in Gilbert, Ariz., and Luke Tepas, who played at Barrington High School in Barrington, Ill. If Mestemaker leaves, the Cowboys at least have a path forward, and both freshmen are expected to get some playing time when possible.
The more immediate concern is what happens if Mestemaker gets hurt. That question has been on the table before camp, and it remains the biggest one at the position.
If the Cowboys have to go elsewhere, the most experienced option is Grant Jordan. He’s a redshirt senior who has played at Yale and UMass, and with the other two quarterbacks being true freshmen, he would likely be the next man up.
Jordan has been in college since 2020 because of COVID-19’s shutdown of the Ivy League in 2020, other waivers and injury. His best season came at Yale in 2024, when he threw for 1,938 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Whether he’s the right backup is the question. Oklahoma State would prefer not to find out.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Enters Camp With Key Starting Jobs Still Up For Grabs
Fall workouts are getting underway in Stillwater, and Oklahoma State is using the stretch before its opener in Tulsa on Sept. 5 to sort out a roster packed with competition. Eric Morris and his staff are evaluating more than 100 players as they try to settle on a starting lineup, with several spots still very much in flux after a wave of past performances and transfers reshaped the roster.
What should help speed up the process is familiarity. The Cowboys are expected to line up in a 4-2-5 on defense and lean on an Air Raid offense, and plenty of players already know Morris system from previous stops. Even so, the next few weeks will be about more than comfort level, because the staff still has to decide which players have done enough to secure the jobs that matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Could Suddenly Get Former Standouts Back After New Ruling
A new federal ruling could suddenly reshape the roster picture for Oklahoma State, at least for a handful of former Cowgirls and Cowboys who thought their college careers were finished. The decision gives an extra year of eligibility to college athletes who graduated high school in 2022, and the NCAA says it plans to appeal, leaving the whole situation in a familiar state of uncertainty.
For Oklahoma State, the potential ripple effect is the part worth watching. Several former standouts now appear to have a possible path back, including players who had moved on after what looked like the end of their eligibility window, while athletes who started college before 2022 are not affected. There is still a big question about how the ruling will hold up and how the NCAA will apply it, but for now it has created at least a faint opening where there had been none. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Needs This Kansas Game To Prove The Slide Is Ending
The final weekend of the regular season brings Oklahoma State back to a familiar Big 12 measuring stick, with Kansas set to visit on Nov. 28, 2026. The last time these teams met, the Jayhawks controlled the matchup in a 38-21 win on Nov. 1, 2025, a result that fed into the Cowboys' ongoing skid in conference play and left another reminder of how far the program still had to climb.
This time, the game carries a little more weight because of what it can say about where Oklahoma State is headed under its current coaching setup and how it stacks up against a Kansas program with its own sideline questions. The series history has usually leaned one way or another, but for the Cowboys, the bigger issue is whether this meeting can finally show the slide is ending instead of just continuing in a different form. [Read more 🡒]