Oklahoma State Football Players Under the Most Pressure Entering Fall Camp
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Some Oklahoma State football players know they have a job and will still be under a microscope. Others are truly fighting for a job.
It isn’t quite the cutthroat world of the NFL where one bad practice or game could lead to the unemployment line. But in college football, the worst thing one can do is not handle the pressure. It’s a one-way ticket to the bench.
Everything is great now. The Cowboys, under new head coach Eric Morris, haven’t had a live fall workout. But it’s coming. And these five players will be under the most pressure once workouts begin, for many reasons.
QB Drew Mestemaker
All the vibes around the redshirt sophomore are immaculate right now. He also hasn’t taken a snap in a live game that matters for the Cowboys. So, for now, all anyone must gauge his success on is what he did last year at North Texas. All he did there was lead the nation in passing yards and finish second in the country in passing touchdowns.
The position is the hardest in sports and the most scrutinized. It’s easy to be the hero when you haven’t been asked to, well, be the hero. It will be another thing entirely once games begin. For the next month he’s going to take very first-team rep, take every possible interview and take every possible coaching point as he’s “the man.” He’ll spend all of camp trying to live up to that hype for a team that hasn’t had quality quarterback play in a few years.
OL Jacob Sexton
He played four years at rival Oklahoma. That’s a dream come true for a guy from Edmond, Okla., where he went to Deer Creek High School. He was there when the Sooners were in the Big 12 and he was there when they moved to the SEC, ending the Bedlam Rivalry (or, hopefully, just putting it on pause for a while).
He had a hard time making an impact on the Sooners. The most he played in any season was as a true freshman in 2022, when he played in 10 games at left tackle. The Sooners saw him as a future starter, but injuries ended each of his next three seasons. He comes to Oklahoma State hoping to win a starting job — and stay healthy. Some of the pressure will be self-imposed. It’s his last collegiate season. But some of it is from the largesse of competition at the position pushing him to the limit for a starting job.
DE Jaleel Johnson
Johnson was engaging during interviews at Big 12 media days. Even though he was surprised to be asked to speak on behalf of the defense, he took to the task. He’s excited about the chance to be a full-time starter this season in defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity’s unit. Morris believes Johnson can thrive in the scheme.
That said, he’s never been a full-time starter. In fact, the four games he started last season were the first of his four-year career. Then he got hurt. Now, he’s one of the last connections to the Mike Gundy era and, like Sexton, is in his final season of college. He wants to be “the guy” on the edge. He’ll be under pressure to prove it and there are players at the position who have the tools to overtake him.
LB Tate Romney
There are plenty of preview magazines out there that have Romney as the projected starter at linebacker opposite Ethan Wesloski. He hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2023 with Arizona State, when he had 52 tackles. After that, he couldn’t stay healthy and was overtaken for playing time. OSU feels like a fresh start.
His pressure will be two-fold. He needs to stay healthy. He also needs to hold off UCLA transfer Isaiah Chisom. He was a terrific addition after an 84-tackle season with the Bruins. It leads one to wonder why Chisom isn’t a projected starter by most outlets? Romney is going to feel that pressure from the first day of workouts.
S Braeden Presley
There is something in a name, right? Well, he has the right one for Oklahoma State.
His older brother, Brennan Presley, is Oklahoma State’s all-time leading receiver and plays in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams. Another older brother, Braylin, also played at OSU, along with Tulsa. He has two sisters. One, Britney, ran track at OSU. Get the idea.
He has family pressure. He may not be feeling it from his family or his coaches, but Cowboys fans have expectation level when they hear that last name. That’s unfair for a true freshman to live up to. But it’s there and it will be alive during fall workouts.
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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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