Will Mestemaker Follow Morris to Stillwater? – Portal Opens Jan. 2 as Cowboys Hunt Quarterback

As Oklahoma State’s offseason progresses, momentum around the Eric Morris era in Stillwater continues to build.

Still, a plethora of questions remain. How quickly can Morris, a renowned offensive guru and quarterback whisperer, revive an OSU program with a 4-20 record and no Big 12 wins the past two seasons? How well can he navigate the modern era of college football at the Power Four level? 

And perhaps most importantly, who will Morris reel in from the transfer portal to piece together his 2026 roster?

Morris has been in Stillwater for roughly three weeks. But what about his redshirt-freshman quarterback protégé, Drew Mestemaker?

Mestemaker ascended into the college football spotlight this season. He led the nation in passing yards (4,129) and ranked second in passing touchdowns (31), only behind Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza of Indiana in Year 1 as a starter.

As of Monday, OSU’s lone returning quarterback is redshirt-freshman Hauss Hejny, who transferred in from TCU last offseason. The Cowboys have two quarterback commits in their 2026 class in three-star Broderick Vehrs out of Arizona, and the unranked Luke Tepas out of Illinois. 

It’s unlikely Vehrs nor Tepas are named starters as first-year prospects. And Hejny is coming off a season-ending injury after suffering a broken bone in his left foot only three drives into OSU’s season opener against UT-Martin. 

On December 5, following UNT’s home win against Temple, The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussato asked Morris about the likelihood of any North Texas players following him to Stillwater. 

Morris responded bluntly. 

“The portal doesn’t open up for a while,” Morris said. “I think December is dead now and obviously there’s only one portal window in January. I don’t say anything to any one of my players about anything besides, ‘Let’s go try to win a conference championship next week.’”

Mussato then asked Mestemaker if he had considered following Morris to OSU, where he responded, “Not really.”

“I love Coach Morris and everything he’s done for us, and for me specifically, but that’s something I honestly haven’t even thought about,” Mestemaker said. “If you’re in the season thinking about what you’re gonna do after the season you’re just missing out on what we play the game for, honestly.”

Well, conference championships have come and gone. 

Now, Morris’ full focus is on building a roster for the 2026 season. And Pete Nakos of On3 has since reported that Mestemaker is expected to enter the transfer portal once it officially opens January 2.

“I think there’s definitely a formula to (immediate) success now,” Morris said Dec. 8 during his introductory press conference. “I think that we’re seeing that in the parody in college football right now. You’re seeing what Indiana is able to do —  they’d lost more games than anybody in the history of college football (before coach Curt Cignetti’s arrival) and now, all of a sudden, they’re sitting at No. 1. And they’ve done it with developing and retaining players.

“I think the unique thing is that 10, 15 years ago, these programs were saturated with all this talent. Their 2s and 3s might be better than a bunch of (teams’) 1s and 2s. And so, I think this new landscape has allowed there to be a pathway to be really good and to flip a roster in a hurry.”

Having an efficient quarterback is the quickest way to usher in offensive success. Morris might know that better than anybody, given his pedigree of uncovering hidden gems and developing them into stars — Baker Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes and Cam Ward, to name a few.

It took Morris three seasons to turn North Texas into a marquee brand at the Group of Five level. He did that through heavy activity in the transfer portal, which was complemented by stellar prospect development. 

This year, he led the Mean Green to a program-best 11-2 record and an appearance in the American Athletic Conference Championship game against Tulane. In turn, he was named the AAC Coach of the Year. And he wasn’t the only Mean Green delegate to reel in accolades.

His freshman running back, Caleb Hawkins, who led college football in rushing touchdowns with 23, won AAC Rookie of the Year Honors. Other players were finalists for various all-conference honors. 

Then there’s Mestemaker. The unknown gunslinger who didn’t even start a high school varsity game at quarterback, walked on at North Texas, and surged into the limelight his first season as starter, winning the AAC Offensive Player of the Year award with relative ease.

Morris will likely delve into the transfer portal to reel in a quarterback — or two. But will that include Mestemaker?

OSU won’t be the only Power Four program pursuing Mestemaker. Recent reports have indicated Indiana and LSU are other schools to watch in his recruitment.

A Message from visit Stillwater

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It's worth noting the Cowboys will have other options should they miss out on Mestemaker. While that likely won’t involve high-dollar names such as Sam Leavitt, Josh Hoover or DJ Lagway, more affordable prospects will be available. 

Morris is a seasoned veteran in portal hunting. But it wouldn’t hurt to reel in a commodity like Mestemaker, already familiar with Morris’ offensive scheme and coaching philosophies. 

That, if anything, would be Morris’ most noteworthy win at OSU — well before his first game as head coach. 

“I think there’s not really a perfect science to it, but I think I do have a great idea on how fast you have to move in the portal,” Morris said. “I’ve made a ton of mistakes, and I’m always my biggest self-critic. (I’m) learning from those mistakes and growing. And a year later, I think we’ve really figured out how to utilize the portal in a successful way, while we’re gonna sign really big high school classes every year.

“The formula for success (through the portal) is there. We just need to hit on who we bring in.”