When Oklahoma State opens fall workouts, the real work won’t just be installing scheme. It’ll be sorting through a roster that has been turned over and trying to build something usable by Sept. 5, when the Cowboys face Tulsa.
That’s the backdrop for Eric Morris’ first season after Oklahoma State went 1-11 last year and 3-9 the year before. Morris doesn’t have the luxury of handing out roles. Some players, like quarterback Drew Mestemaker, are in better shape than others, but a lot of jobs are still up for grabs.
One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle is the defense, which was a mess a year ago and finished in the lower quarter of FBS rankings in most categories. In Morris’ 4-2-5 system, the front has to create push inside and the edge players have to get after the quarterback without losing contain. Oklahoma State didn’t do either well last season.
That’s why so many of the candidates now are new to the program, with a few exceptions such as end Jaleel Johnson. The staff has a built-in advantage with three players who followed Morris and defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity from North Texas: Saadiq Clements, Keviyan Huddleston and Fatafehi Vailea II. Learning the scheme may not be the hard part, but knowing the coaches’ expectations gives them a head start.
Johnson also has a real shot because the new staff already respects the way he stuck with the program. Beyond him, there are returning names like Landon Dean and DeSean Brown, and freshmen are in the mix too now that they no longer have to redshirt.
The goal isn’t just finding starters. Morris needs eight to 10 defenders who can rotate in right away.
The offense has its own crowded race, and the most interesting one may be at running back behind Caleb Hawkins. There’s no shortage of options.
Tre Page III came over from Tarleton State after nearly reaching 1,000 yards. KD Jones, a freshman from Jenks, was the highest-rated player in the recruiting class.
William Mason arrives from Division II Central Oklahoma after piling up more than 1,500 rushing yards in his career. Ayo Adeyi was an all-conference back at North Texas in 2023, when he ran for more than 1,000 yards, before transferring to James Madison.
That gives Oklahoma State a good problem, not a bad one. The challenge is obvious: plenty of backs, one ball. How the Cowboys divide those touches after Hawkins will go a long way toward keeping the run game productive.
Up front, the competition is just as intense. Jakobe Sanders is the only offensive player on the roster with a letter.
The Stillwater native barely saw the field in 2023 and 2024, then finally became a regular in 2025, appearing in all 12 games and starting six. Even so, he’s far from locked into anything.
Oklahoma State has 20 offensive linemen, and many of them bring college experience - in some cases more than Sanders does.
Cody Crill, the offensive line coach, has the job of sorting through all of it. He’s not new to what Morris wants, either, having worked as an offensive coordinator for him at Incarnate Word.
Sanders has the benefit of being in his fourth year of college, but the battle around him is still wide open. There’s also a separate wrinkle tied to his eligibility.
He is part of a lawsuit seeking another year after beginning his college career at a junior college. He spent his first two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, then transferred to Oklahoma State, where he redshirted for a year and played two more.
By the source’s account, he is supposed to be finished. But his attorney has filed with the same logic that helped Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia gain an extra year, arguing that junior college time cut into Sanders’ NCAA eligibility and his ability to benefit from NIL.
For now, Oklahoma State can let him practice. Playing him before that issue is resolved would risk NCAA infractions, and that’s the last thing Morris needs in his first season.
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Oklahoma States Latest Blowout Says A Lot About This Team
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Several Cowboys Enter Fall Camp With Starting Jobs On The Line
Fall camp is about to put a few Oklahoma State jobs under a microscope, and the pressure is coming from every level of the roster. Under new coach Eric Morris, the Cowboys are sorting through a quarterback battle, trying to settle the left side of the line, and asking several defenders to prove they can handle bigger roles when the real work starts.
Among the players with the most at stake is a former Oklahoma left tackle from Edmond and Deer Creek, who needs to win a starting spot while staying healthy in his final college season. On defense, Johnson is trying to turn a handful of starts into a full-time edge role for Skyler Cassity, while Romney enters camp as the projected linebacker starter with a challenge waiting behind him. There is also a player with a well-known family around the program, which only adds to the expectations as workouts ramp up. [Read more 🡒]