The biggest shift in Oklahoma State’s camp has come at tight end, where the early pecking order has been turned on its head.
For a program with a new head coach in Eric Morris, a brand-new staff and a roster packed with nearly 90 transfers, nearly 20 of them from North Texas, plus close to 20 freshmen and a handful of returners, movement was always going to be part of the deal. Camp jobs are fluid.
Depth charts don’t stay still. But this one has moved more dramatically than most.
Most people looking at the Cowboys before camp would have pointed to LSU transfer Donovan Green or North Texas transfer Oscar Hammond as the favorites at tight end. That made sense on paper. Green brings 22 career receptions, and Hammond arrives with experience in the UNT offense over the past two seasons, even if he missed last season with an injury.
Instead, Morris said this week that if the season started today, the likely starter would be Oregon State transfer Carson Kolb.
Even Morris sounded a bit surprised by how quickly Kolb has pushed himself to the front. But the more he’s been on the field, the more he’s stood out.
“He's someone that thinks fast,” Morris said. “He's able to do multiple things out there.
He's been really good blocking in the core with some toughness for us. So, he just continues to be a guy that gets noticed around here in camp.
Even though he's not a freshman, he’s somebody that we brought in that we didn't foresee this kid possibly being a starting tight end when we started this thing.”
Kolb’s background makes the rise even more interesting. He spent two seasons with the Beavers and never caught a pass.
He appeared in all 12 games in 2026 on special teams and played four games in 2025, also on special teams. He’s a former linebacker, and Morris even said he learned Kolb ran the 100 meters in high school only after someone pointed it out to him.
What has separated Kolb in camp, according to Morris, is how quickly he picks things up. That kind of processing power matters, and Morris compared that trait to quarterback Drew Mestemaker. In a camp battle, those little edges can snowball fast.
Green and Hammond still had the edge in the public imagination when camp opened, but their grip on the job was never locked in. Kolb has taken advantage of that opening, impressed Morris and his staff, and now has a real chance to claim the role.
If he can carry that momentum into the next scrimmage, the job could be his when Tulsa comes to town.
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Oklahoma State May Lean On Freshmen Faster Than Fans Expected
The NCAAs new five-for-five eligibility rule is already changing how Eric Morris approaches fall camp at Oklahoma State, and it may speed up the timeline for true freshmen who would have once been tucked away for a year. With five seasons to play five seasons without the old redshirt model getting in the way, Morris has had to rethink how he evaluates newcomers and how quickly they can factor into a game plan.
That shift has put a few first-year players squarely on the radar, with quarterback Broderick Vehrs and running back KD Jones among the names being watched closely. For a staff still sorting out the best way to build depth, the new rule creates more flexibility, but it also leaves open a bigger question about how soon those freshmen can move from promising camp bodies to real parts of the rotation. [Read more 🡒]