After 1–11 season, Oklahoma State looks to Indiana's roster-rebuild blueprint

When Oklahoma State hired coach Eric Morris, attention quickly turned to the spoils of the roster he left behind at North Texas. 

Quarterback Drew Mestemaker was the crown jewel, the No. 3 overall player in Cooper Petagna's 247Sports transfer rankings after leading the nation in passing yards. Running back Caleb Hawkins was close behind, the No. 15 recruit and No. 1 running back transfer after leading the nation in rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Wyatt Young came in at No. 43 after ranking No. 7 nationally in receiving yards. 

In the first 48 hours of the transfer portal, Morris and his staff managed to lock all three players in. And now, the triumvirate is the perfect foundation to build the future of Oklahoma State. 

College football transfer portal: Indiana, Oklahoma State among teams off to hottest starts in 2026 cycle

Cody Nagel

Mestemaker is one of the great stories in college football, a former walk-on who never started a varsity game in high school. In his second season, he threw for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns, the latter of which trails only Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. Other major programs had interest in Mestemaker, but Morris closed the deal. Young was his favorite target, even posting a 295-yard game against Rice. 

While 247Sports rated Hawkins as a high-end three-star recruit, the rest of the industry was far less optimistic. His only other reported offers were Emporia State and Central Oklahoma. However, Hawkins rushed for 1,434 yards and 25 touchdowns as a true freshman, one of the nation's best seasons for a running back. 

Immediately, the trio becomes the best set of "triplets" at Oklahoma State since the legendary 2017 combination of Mason Rudolph, Justice Hill and James Washington. And more importantly, the additions announce nationally that Morris and highly-touted general manager Raj Murti are ready to compete on the national stage. 

"Having the relationships with the new coaches helped land all three guys, but they also had to pay them what they're worth and pay serious money for the first time," GoPokes' McClain Baxley told CBS Sports. "Until this week, the highest reported player was running back Ollie Gordon in 2024 and that was less than $1 million. Oklahoma State has stepped up by making scoring points a priority and given other prospects in the portal something to think about." 

The Cowboys are coming off arguably the worst season in program history, a 1-11 disaster that lacked a single FBS win. Oklahoma State ranked last in nearly every category in the Big 12 as the final year of the Mike Gundy era ended with a thud. 

Gundy was reluctant to embrace the new world of college football, often dismissing NIL and the transfer portal. It seemed to bottom out with a stunning 3-9 season in 2024, after which Gundy claimed he "bought" his first roster for 2025 with 65 new additions, plus nine new assistant coaches. Between bad identification and bad development, the Cowboys rated as one of the worst power conference programs of the past several years. 

As of publication, Oklahoma State has 15 total commitments to hold the No. 2 transfer class in the nation. Eleven commitments are directly from North Texas. James Madison running back Ayo Adeyi also ironically started his career with the Mean Green and reunited with Morris in Stillwater.

The strategy echoes that of Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who brought 13 highly-touted transfers from James Madison in 2024. Now, many of them are All-Americans and the leader of the national title favorite. Like James Madison, North Texas finished 11-1 in Morris's final season. 

The transition to the major college level could come with complications. The Mean Green struggled against Tulane and South Florida, the two most talented teams they played in The American. North Texas is bringing several starting linemen, but it's unclear how they'll translate. Gundy's disastrous finish leaves almost no existing foundation on the roster, especially in the trenches. 

However, the triplets give Oklahoma State something to build around. The Cowboys are spending big money and competing with the best. With Morris's history of creating the best offenses in college football, Boone Pickens Stadium should be rocking once more.