STILLWATER - Carson Kolb has leaned into the nickname from the jump. When his quarterback and head coach started calling the Oregon State transfer tight end a “meathead” in the preseason, Kolb didn’t push back. He embraced it.
“From the clothes I wear to the music I listen to, it’s all just trying to be as meathead as possible, I guess,” Kolb said. “… Yeah, I own a lot of cutoffs and smell a lot of smelling salts.”
That attitude showed up in a big way Saturday, when Kolb grabbed his first college catch and turned it into his first college touchdown.
The Cowboys lined up in a heavy set near the goal line, with Kolb in the backfield just outside the 1-yard line. Drew Mestemaker sold the fake to Caleb Hawkins, shuffled right, and found Kolb all alone for the score.
Kolb celebrated like a man who had been waiting for the moment. He hit a Hulk Hogan-style flex and kept moving in the end zone, almost as if he were doing lunges after the catch.
“I’m a high-energy, high-intensity guy, so that was kind of just me getting all my energy out and just getting the crowd fired up as much as possible,” Kolb said.
With the touchdown in hand, Kolb said he’s already thinking about getting the gloves he wore framed.
And he wasn’t done making his presence felt.
On the next drive, after the Cowboys moved back inside Oregon territory, Hawkins took a handoff near the 5-yard line and got met around the 4. As Ducks defenders closed in and Hawkins started to go down, Kolb came flying into the pile, lowered his head, and drove it forward until the play ended in the end zone.
“I was like, ‘I gotta go get in on the action - go lower my head and hit someone,'” Kolb said. “Kinda sucks it ended up being Caleb, but it got him in the end zone, so worked out in the end.”
Kolb’s path to this point has been a long one. The Scottsdale, Arizona, native walked on at Oregon State in 2024 and played in four games as a true freshman, all on special teams. In 2025, he appeared in all 12 games for the Beavers and again spent nearly all of his time on special teams.
Across two seasons at Oregon State, Kolb logged just nine offensive snaps, and every one of them came as a run blocker. In two games with the Cowboys, the former walk-on has already been on the field for 133 offensive snaps.
“He’s worked his tail off,” OSU coach Eric Morris said. “His ball skills weren’t great when he got here, that was kind of a limiting factor.
And he knew that going into the summer - that that might determine him not being able to play as much for us. Had him open a couple of more times, just didn’t get to that read, not that Drew made the wrong read.
He did a nice job.
“A kid that played at Oregon State, that’s been up from that area. I just thought it was a really cool story to keep adding to how hard he’s worked.
He’s been through a lot - played linebacker, special teams and tight end at Oregon State. That was pretty cool.”
There’s still the possibility that a returning Oscar Hammond could trim Kolb’s workload, but for a player who wasn’t among the most talked-about transfer additions heading into the season, he’s already carved out a real role in orange and black.
“It’s been hard, for sure, but at the end of the day, God’s blessed me with these abilities,” Kolb said of his first extended playing time in college. “So, I’m gonna give everything in my power to use them.”
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The Beavers liked Thompson enough as a recruit to view him as a higher-end talent in the 2025 class, and the early returns have matched that belief with real progress and growing confidence. What makes his emergence so relevant now is the timing, because Oregon State is discovering whether a young corner who still has plenty to learn can handle a bigger load when the defense needs him most. [Read more 🡒]