For Eric Morris and Oklahoma State the Portal will Start with QB and Mestemaker is In
STILLWATER – His name is finally in, North Texas record setting quarterback and sophomore-to-be Drew Mestemaker is in the transfer portal. It happened early afternoon on Dec. 29. Mestemaker, the 2025 Burlsworth Award winner as the nation’s top former walkon player, was also the American Conference All-Conference quarterback. He led North Texas to a record 12-2 season (11-2 under Eric Morris, the new Oklahoma State coach). After the bowl win over San Diego State 49-47, he finished the year with the most yards passing in Division I FBS with 4,379-yards. Also the second most by a freshman quarterback at that level. He completed 69 percent of his passes with 34 touchdowns and only 9 interceptions.
I’ve surveyed and I don’t think there is any argument that Pokes Report has had the most coverage leading into the transfer portal window on Friday, Jan. 2. The 15-day process, the one and only portal window for football in 2026, will be critical for Oklahoma State. As of Monday, Dec. 29 at 11:30 a.m. Oklahoma State had 38 players in or declared to be going in the transfer portal. You add the 25 departing seniors and the total gone from the OSU football roster is 63 players. By our count there are 42 players that are currently Oklahoma State Cowboys football players, 26 remaining players and 16 signees (13 high school signees, 2 junior college signees, and 1 high school commitment).
Lots of work for Eric Morris and his staff this week. For Morris, an offensive guru and by reputation a quarterback whisperer, it will start with the quarterback.
As of right now, Hauss Hejny, the Aledo High School standout and TCU transfer is still on the Oklahoma State roster and not in the transfer portal. Hejny’s father was shopping him around late in the season as the decision was made for Hejny not to return after his Jones fracture had healed from surgery. Again, he never went into the transfer portal. Morris and his staff know Hejny well and recruited him before it was obvious he was going to a Power Four school.
Hejny played just one quarter this season as he led the Cowboys to a 14-0 lead over UT-Martin in the opener. He completed 5-of-10 passing for 96-yards and a touchdown. His long completion of 41-yards to Shamar Rigby set up the second touchdown, a 10-yard pass to Gavin Freeman. He rushed for 27-yards and that included the first touchdown of the season, a six-yard scoring run.
Hejny played in four games at TCU and never threw a pass, but had 15 rushing plays for 65-yards. He will be a redshirt freshman still in eligibility.
I can see Hejny being a quarterback that Morris can work with. If he is QB1 that will save the Cowboys from having to unload a multi-million doall investment for a quarterback in this portal cycle.
The Tulsa World’s Berry Tramel wrote a column on the quarterback that Morris rode this season with the fabulous all-time 12-2 campaign at North Texas, the season that elevated Morris into the position to be named head coach at Oklahoma State. Drew Mestemaker is now officially in the transfer portal.
Tramel applauded, as did many of us, that he stayed a North Texas team mmeber and finished the season in the New Meixo Bowl.
“Obviously, there’s been a lot of noise about everything that’s going on with coach Morris leaving, but I haven’t made a decision about what I want to do in the future,” Mestemaker said prior to his final game of the season at the New Mexico Bowl. “I’m focused on the bowl game. I’ll think about everything after.”
As Tramel wrote in the column, you have to admire his loyalty to his school and especially his team.
“It was a pretty easy decision to keep playing,” Mestemaker said of his decision. “I didn’t want to step out on these seniors with this being their last game. I wanted to see it out and finish the right way.”
Okay, how about his loyalty to Morris and the offensive staff, especially quarterbacks coach Sean Brophy, who is now in Stillwater with Morris in an increased capacity as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Morris has thanked them all for giving him the opportunity, but Mestemaker doesn’t owe Morris anything. He is at least partially responsible for Morris and company making more than double, really triple what they made at North Texas now in Stillwater.
There is no doubt, that Oklahoma State has to be careful with their revenue share and third party NIL budget in building the new roster. Mestemaker has an estimated $2.3 million NIL value and he is represented by Process Sports Management with a current top NIL deal with restuarant chain Portillo’s.
There are four schools that are most heavily mentioned as potential places for mestemaker to continue his collegiate career. Oklahoma State is number one with the tie to Morris, that offense, and the coaching staff. The geography fits with Mestemaker from Austin, Texas. The others are Texas Tech, Indiana, Miami (Fla,), and Oregon.
All four of those schools, all in the CFP, are set to lose their current quarterbacks. Now, Texas Tech is looking at adding Cincinnati transfer Brendan Sorsby. His girlfriend has already enrolled at Texas Tech as a volleyball scholar athlete.
Indiana reportedly offered Mestemaker $3.5 million, but the Hoosiers are also being listed in the Josh Hoover (TCU QB transfer) hunt. Miami, Fla. also has been rumored to have made a sizeable offer to Mestemaker. No report on Oregon, except The Athletic had him projected to Oregon. They also list this quote in his transfer portal synopsis on the site.
"I think he'd be a really good Big 12 quarterback," said a GM who faced Mestemaker this year. "I'm not sure he can be an SEC/Big Ten quarterback at a high level. The Big 12 is the right level for him to take that next step up."
The other quarterback that we listed with Oklahoma State out of the transfer portal is Aidan Chiles of Michigan State. The 6-3, 225 pound Chiles passed for 1,392 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions this season. He would fit the Morris-style of offense with a big arm and ability to move around. He has just one-year of eligibility left.
All of Oklahoma State’s other quarterbacks from last season are gone in Zane Flores, Noah Walters, Banks Bowen, and Mason Schubert.
They do have incoming freshmen in Chandler, Arizona signee Broderick Vehrs and commitment Luke Tepas from Barrington, Ill.
