Carson White’s first two games at Fort Bend Hightower have not looked like the clean start Oklahoma State fans probably hoped for, but the early returns also show why there’s no reason to panic.
White, the first player in the Class of 2027 to commit to Oklahoma State and head coach Eric Morris, entered the season as a Top 25 quarterback nationally by 247Sports. He still isn’t a four-star prospect, though a big year at Hightower could change that before he signs in December.
The move to Hightower in Missouri City, Texas, already represented a step up in competition. White was at Iowa Colony last season, a Class 5A school in Alvin, Texas. Hightower is Class 6A, and the jump showed immediately.
In Texas Zero Week, Hightower opened against Cypress Ranch and lost 24-7. White managed only 30 passing yards on 6-of-14 passing and did not throw a touchdown or an interception. He did, however, score the team’s only touchdown on the ground and finished with 64 rushing yards on eight carries.
A week later, the picture looked much better.
Hightower traveled to Cypress Springs and ended up in a shootout that went to overtime before Cypress Springs pulled out a 33-30 win. White didn’t throw much more than he did in the opener, but the efficiency spike was obvious. He went 12-for-20 for 259 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while adding 17 yards on eight carries.
The results have still been rough for Hightower, now 0-2, but White’s jump from one week to the next is the kind of thing that stands out. It’s a better sign than the box score from Week 1 ever could be.
And the production from last season backs up why Oklahoma State wanted him early. At Iowa Colony, White threw for 1,963 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 games while also rushing for 678 yards and 15 scores. MaxPreps had no statistics for his sophomore season, but as a freshman he put up 1,611 passing yards with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions, plus 559 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.
Hightower has one non-district game left, against Foster on Friday. After that, district play begins Sept. 25 on the road against Strake Jesuit. Fort Bend Clements, Fort Bend Travis, Fort Bend Austin and Ridge Point round out the rest of the district slate.
Oklahoma State has 12 commitments in the Class of 2027, and White was the top-rated name in that group for much of the summer before linebacker Israel Hammons of Choctaw, Okla., and interior offensive lineman Odaefe Oruru of Jenks, Okla., moved ahead of him.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are 0-1 and getting ready to host Oregon, which is 1-0, on Saturday. That game is expected to be Oklahoma State’s toughest test of the season, and the Cowboys are also expected to have a group of recruits on hand, including potential targets in the 2027 and 2028 classes.
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Mestemaker has since acknowledged Oregon was one of the schools in the mix before he settled on the Cowboys, with LSU and Michigan also part of that final group. The two teams are set to meet Sept. 12, and with Oregon favored, Mestemakers choice only adds another layer to a game that was already going to draw attention. [Read more 🡒]
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Eric Morris Just Put Oklahoma State's Oregon Challenge In Plain Sight
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The bigger concern, though, is how the line will hold together going into a matchup that already demands clean football. Morris confirmed left tackle Jacob Sexton is out for the season because of a leg injury, leaving another hole to manage as the Cowboys sort through their response. For a team already looking to bounce back, the margin for error just got a lot thinner. [Read more 🡒]