Oklahoma State has added a familiar face back into the mix, and the name carries some weight in Stillwater: Braylin Presley.
Presley, who began his college career at Oklahoma State in 2022 before spending the next three seasons at Tulsa, is back with the Cowboys after receiving a fifth year of eligibility through a court ruling, according to Ben Hutchens of The Oklahoman (subscription required). Hutchens reported that Presley’s father confirmed he intends to play.
Presley is one of several student-athletes who played four years of college sports, enrolled in 2022 and is challenging the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rule that went into effect this fall. In September, he and seven other athletes were granted a temporary restraining order by a Cleveland County judge. For now, he remains eligible, though the case has not been resolved.
OSU had not listed Presley on its electronic roster as of Sunday evening, and the school had not made a formal announcement.
If the family name sounds familiar around Oklahoma State, there’s a reason. Presley’s younger brother, Braeden, is a freshman safety for the Cowboys. Their brother, Brennan Presley, played for OSU from 2020-24 and finished fifth in program history in receiving with 3,315 yards before landing on the Los Angeles Rams practice squad.
Braylin Presley’s first run in Stillwater was brief. In 2022, he appeared in seven games as a freshman, catching five passes for 26 yards and rushing twice for three years. He then transferred to Tulsa, where he spent the next three seasons working both sides of the backfield as a receiver and running back.
At Tulsa, Presley totaled 261 rushing yards and two touchdowns while adding 38 catches for 310 yards and a receiving touchdown.
His return comes with Oklahoma State sitting at 3-1 and coming off a bye week. The Cowboys beat West Virginia 41-24 two weeks ago, a win that pushed them into the AP Top 25 for the first time in two years. They are now No. 18 in the poll and are getting ready for UCF this weekend.
Presley gives OSU another experienced option at two spots. At running back, Caleb Hawkins is the starter and Ayo Adeyi has taken over as the main backup. The Cowboys have other backs on the roster, but those two have handled most of the work over the last two games.
At wide receiver, Oklahoma State already has a crowded group with Wyatt Young, Justin Bowick, Miles Coleman, Chris Barnes and Terrence Lewis all producing. Barnes also missed one game because of injury.
Before college, Presley was already a decorated name in Oklahoma football. He was the 2021 Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year at Bixby High School, where he helped power a 49-game winning streak and four Class 6A-II state championships from 2018 through 2021. In that stretch, he piled up 4,978 rushing yards and 75 touchdowns on the ground, while also catching 145 passes for 1,684 yards and 23 touchdowns.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Gets A Real Week 6 Test Coming Out Of Bye
Coming out of its bye week, Oklahoma State heads into Week 6 with a conference game that has a little more intrigue than a standard early-October matchup. The Cowboys are set to host UCF in Big 12 play, and the timing gives them a chance to build on the momentum they carried into the break after putting together a strong start to the month.
UCF arrives with some uncertainty under center and a road profile that has not been encouraging so far this season, which only adds to the sense that this is a real test for both sides. For Oklahoma State, the game offers a chance to measure whether its recent turnaround has some staying power as the Big 12 schedule starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Heads To Oklahoma State With One Huge Availability Question
UCFs trip to Stillwater comes with more uncertainty than usual, and Scott Frost spent part of the week sorting through the injury ripple effects before the Knights face Oklahoma State. The list already includes several key players, and Frost has tried to stress the next-man-up approach as UCF leans on its depth and waits to see who can make it back in the near future.
One of the bigger questions hanging over the matchup is the offensive line, where center Jacob Maiava is dealing with a lower-body injury and remains questionable. The Knights also appear set to be short on offense and in the middle of the defense, with the availability of quarterback Alonza Barnett III and linebacker Lewis Carter shaping up as a major storyline as kickoff approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Suddenly Has A Recruiting Chance Fans Should Notice
Oklahoma States fast start this season has given Eric Morris and his staff a little extra momentum on the recruiting trail, and they have not been shy about using it. The Cowboys have been active scouting high school talent and extending offers, with the uptick in attention creating a real opening for the program to get in earlier and more aggressively on players who might not have had them on the radar before.
One of the names worth monitoring is three-star wide receiver Tay Ellis, who has drawn interest as Oklahoma State pushes to build on its early-season success. Ellis has already been invited to campus, and the fact that he remains available in a crowded recruiting picture gives the Cowboys a chance to make a stronger impression while the season is still providing them with a selling point. [Read more 🡒]