As Oklahoma State gets set for Oregon on Saturday, the Cowboys’ roster is packed with familiar recruiting storylines - high-end transfers, in-state finds, former walk-ons who turned into starters, and a few names that traveled a long way to end up in Stillwater.
The biggest one is at quarterback. Drew Mestemaker’s rise has been wild even by college football standards.
He arrived at North Texas as a walk-on in 2024 and wasn’t even graded by 247Sports. By the end of that freshman season, he was starting the First Responder Bowl and throwing for 393 yards.
Then came the breakout: a redshirt freshman season in 2025 with 4,379 passing yards, 34 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
That kind of jump turned him into the No. 2 transfer quarterback in the country and a five-star transfer after starting from zero stars in high school. He followed head coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State, but his first game in orange and black was uneven. In the opener, Mestemaker completed 29 of 49 passes for 241 yards, with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
Oklahoma State didn’t stop with Mestemaker. The Cowboys brought in a huge transfer class this season, including 54 transfers and 20 high school signings, with 16 of those players following Eric Morris from North Texas. Among the other notable portal additions are running back Caleb Hawkins, wide receiver Wyatt Young, Illinois receiver Justin Bowick and Wake Forest receiver Chris Barnes.
Hawkins arrived with a strong recruiting background of his own. The Shawnee, Oklahoma, product was an 89-rated recruit in the 2025 class out of North Rock Creek, though North Texas was his only reported FBS offer.
He made the most of his first year there, piling up 1,434 rushing yards, 370 receiving yards and 29 total touchdowns as a true freshman. In his Oklahoma State debut, Hawkins logged 24 total touches and produced 108 yards.
There are also several players on the roster with Oregon ties. Defensive tackle Dominic Macon is the only Oregon native on the team.
A three-star recruit out of Happy Valley’s Nelson High School in the 2025 class, Macon signed with Washington before transferring to Oklahoma State after one season. He is not in a playing role yet.
Offensive tackle Shaun Torgeson is another player with a connection to the state. The California native spent two seasons at Portland State and started at left tackle for the Vikings last season. Multiple Power 4 programs pursued him, and after former Sooner Jacob Sexton suffered a season-ending injury just six plays into the opener, Torgeson ended up playing 69 snaps even though he did not start.
Linebacker Isaiah Chisom also has deep Oregon experience. He started at Oregon State and had 10 tackles against Oregon in the Beavers’ 49-14 loss to the Ducks in 2024.
Chisom posted 75 tackles at Oregon State, then transferred to UCLA and finished last season with 84 tackles. He is slated to start for Oklahoma State and had 3 tackles in the opener.
On the high-end recruiting front, defensive tackle Enai White stands out. He was one of the nation’s top recruits in the 2022 class, choosing Texas A&M over Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State. After three seasons with the Aggies and one at Penn State, he arrived in Stillwater with 14 career tackles and saw limited snaps in the Cowboys’ opener.
Oklahoma State also signed its top high school prospect in the 2026 class with Jenks running back KD Jones, who was rated 89. Jones was a Signing Day flip from Kansas and once reported an Oregon offer.
His offer sheet also included Alabama, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA and more. He did not play in Week 1.
There are two non-transfer starters worth noting on the roster as well. Edge rusher Jaleel Johnson, a fifth-year senior from Oklahoma City Putnam City North, committed to Oklahoma State in the 2022 class and broke into the starting lineup in 2025 before missing most of that season because of injury. In the 2026 opener, he had two tackles and batted down a pass.
The other is cornerback LaDainian Fields from Del City. He started six games as a redshirt freshman last year and picked off two passes. He added another interception in Oklahoma State’s Week 1 loss.
Then there’s safety Quinton Hammonds, the classic under-the-radar success story. He entered college as an unrated walk-on, made an immediate impact with 52 tackles as a freshman, and followed that with 53 tackles in 2025 before joining Eric Morris at Oklahoma State.
Even after being rated as a three-star transfer with an 86 rating, Hammonds won a starting job at the Power 4 level. He had 4 tackles in the opener.
In Other News...
Oregons Boise State Win Just Took On A Different Look
Oregons narrow escape against Boise State looked a little different once the first week of the season was fully digested. The Ducks still sit comfortably inside the top 10 in ESPNs Football Power Index at No. 8 with a 22.7 rating, but their season-opening win came with a smaller bump than they probably wanted after being pushed harder than expected.
The matchup also looks more workable now from Oregons side, with Oklahoma State down at No. 72 in the FPI after a loss to Tulsa and a -1.6 rating. The Cowboys are still sorting through a roster with several new faces, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker, and they also took a hit up front with starting left tackle Jacob Sexton out for the rest of the season, which only adds to the sense that this Week 2 game has changed shape since it was first circled. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons New Uniform Reveal Taps Into What Makes This Program Different
The newest Oregon uniform reveal leaned into the programs long habit of treating game day as a showcase as much as a contest, with the Ducks unveiling a combination inspired by their 2008 Mighty Oregon and Gang Green looks before facing Oklahoma State. Running back Jordon Davison modeled the set, which nods to past Ducks players such as Jeremiah Johnson while drawing on the schools well-known history of pushing the edge with its on-field style.
Oregons latest look is another product of the collaborative process that has long defined these reveals, with Nike, designers and team personnel all part of the mix. Fans are being asked to wear green to the game as part of the theme, adding another layer to an atmosphere the Ducks have helped make part of their brand, even as each new uniform drop keeps one familiar question hanging in the air about where the next idea will come from. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Lannings Freshman O-Line Message Says A Lot About Oregons Priorities
Freshmen offensive linemen Immanuel Iheanacho and Tommy Tofi are still in the early stages of the climb at Oregon, and Dan Lanning made it clear after the opener against Boise State that the Ducks are not handing out jobs based on reputation alone. Oregon leaned on a rotation of six to eight linemen in that game, with the more experienced players getting the nod to start, a sign that the staff is comfortable letting the front sort itself out while the newcomers get their footing.
For a program that has made roster depth and development part of its identity, the message to the two freshmen was as much about process as it was about patience. Lanning pointed to effort and learning the system as the key steps before either player can expect consistent snaps, which says plenty about how Oregon plans to handle the offensive line this fall. The talent is there, but the Ducks are making it clear that trust in the trenches has to be earned. [Read more 🡒]