Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker says Oregon was in the mix when he was making his portal decision, and Ducks coach Dan Lanning didn’t exactly slam the door on the idea that his staff at least checked in.
Lanning addressed the subject on Monday as Oregon prepares for its Week 2 meeting with Oklahoma State, and he insisted he personally never had direct contact with Mestemaker. Still, he made clear the Ducks were aware of the quarterback’s availability.
“I was never talking to Drew. That doesn't mean that that people didn't communicate or were aware that he was in the portal.
I'm sure any good player we’re aware of in the portal," said Lanning. “But I think it was pretty quick that he made the decision he was going to be going, following his coach there.
I will say this: Drew's an unbelievable player. You see his arm strength show up.”
That praise continued when Lanning broke down what makes Mestemaker dangerous. The Oregon coach pointed to the quarterback’s ability to drive the ball downfield and the kind of production he posted at North Texas before following former coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State.
“He's a guy that can stand flat-footed and you know throw a 60-yard bomb. So, he's got a really strong arm.
They have a really strong passing attack. There's a reason they're the number one scoring offense in the nation last year in North Texas.
But that shows up, and he's obviously a guy that makes that tick for them," Lanning said.
Mestemaker, speaking on The Brandon Walker College Football Show, said Oregon was among the schools in his portal picture. He said he didn’t speak with a long list of programs, but the Ducks were one of the names that surfaced near the end.
“I didn’t talk to a whole bunch of schools in the portal,” Mestemaker said via the Brandon Walker College Football Show. “But my agent, we kind of came down to a pretty tight little grouping there at the end.
Really, the schools that were interested were like Oregon. LSU was on there.
Michigan was in our radar. Kind of those three, I guess.
Maybe (Texas) Tech a little bit. I mean, at the end of the day, I kind of chose my decision pretty quickly.”
The back-and-forth leaves room for interpretation about how far Oregon’s interest went, but it fits the broader picture of how the Ducks have operated in the portal at quarterback. Lanning’s program has already brought in Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore through the transfer route, and former Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola is expected to start for Oregon in 2027 after transferring into the program. At the same time, Oregon hasn’t stopped recruiting the high school ranks, with backup quarterback Akili Smith Jr. committed out of high school and four-star quarterback Will Mencl already pledged in the 2027 class.
Mestemaker’s numbers explain why so many teams had him on the radar. In 2025, he averaged 312.8 yards per game, threw 34 touchdowns against nine interceptions and completed 68.9 percent of his passes.
Oregon will enter the game as a heavy favorite, listed by FanDuel Sportsbook as a 22.5-point favorite over Oklahoma State. Still, the Ducks have already seen how quickly a game can tighten up after being favored by three scores over Boise State before winning by one touchdown.
Oregon and Oklahoma State will kickoff on Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. PT.
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