Four Tulsa Players Oklahoma State Coach Eric Morris Focused on For Week 1
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As much as Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris would love to use the Cowboys’ loss to Tulsa last year's motivation, he admitted on Tuesday that might be difficult.
After all, most of the Cowboys from last year's team have either transferred out or run out of eligibility. The same could be said for Tulsa.
Second-year Golden Hurricane head coach Tre Lamb can't ride too high on last year's victory because he's putting together a new team, too.
Lamb heaped praise on Morris during his Monday press conference and Morris did the same on Tuesday. Both coached against one another in the American Conference when Morris was at North Texas.
While Morris talked about the matchup, he focused on four players for Tulsa that he thinks could have a big impact on what happens on Saturday.
QB Baylor Hayes
To no surprise, Morris has his eye on the quarterback that Lamb committed to last season. The redshirt sophomore spent his freshman year at ETSU playing under Lamb before he emerged as the Golden Hurricanes full-time starter last season when he followed lamb to Tulsa.
As a redshirt freshman in 2025 he threw for 2,158 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions as he set several program records for a freshman quarterback. He had a career-high 296 passing yards and three touchdowns against Temple.
Among the freshman records he set were six 200-yard passing games and 2,346 yards of total offense. Lamb is hopeful that Hayes can reach 3,000 yards passing this season.
RB Damari Alston
Lamb had to go into the portal to replace Dominic Richardson, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the Golden Hurricane last year. While there's enough talent there for Tulsa to use a committee, Morris pointed out Alston, an Auburn transfer, as a player that jumps out to him based on last year's tape.
Alston spent his entire college career at Auburn before he transferred to the Golden Hurricane to play his fifth season. But he never got consistent playing time. While there he played in 38 career games and made three starts, but he only rushed for 809 yards on 162 carries. He did score six times, and his 5-10, 205-pound frame could make him a good goal line option for Tulsa.
WR David Wells Jr.
Morris mentioned that Oklahoma State made a play for Wells in the transfer portal before the Oregon State star decided to transfer to Tulsa. He played three years for the Beavers, appeared in 22 games and caught 51 passes for 551 yards with six touchdowns.
But he had a breakthrough of sorts last season, as he started an all 11 games for Oregon State and caught 44 passes for 466 yards and four touchdowns. He had two 100-yard games and Lamb must be intrigued with how that talent could pair with Hayes behind center. Had Wells played for the Golden Hurricane last season he would have been the team’s second-leading receiver behind Zion Booker.
S Zach Williams
Morris brought up Williams as one of Tulsa’s top defenders, and he had a terrific 2025 that allowed him to make Phil Steele’s American Conference fourth team.
He started all 12 games for Tulsa as he finished with 73 tackles, including 39 solos. He was the third-leading tackler on the team and his games against Navy and East Carolina were his best of the season, as he had 11 tackles in both games.
He's also a player the Cowboys will have to watch defensively as he forced 2 fumbles and had seven pass breakups. He's a safety that can help him pass coverage and he has a nose for the football.
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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