Oklahoma State Football Position Battle That Changed The Most After Two Weeks

The Oklahoma State Cowboys have been working all week to figure out the depth chart and this one competition stood out this week.

Oklahoma State head football coach Eric Morris. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Part of the ebb and flow of a college football training camp is that things change. That’s certainly true with Oklahoma State.

There’s a new head coach in Eric Morris and his brand-new staff. There are nearly 90 transfers, nearly 20 of which came from his former school, North Texas. He also has close to 20 freshmen and a handful of returners from a season ago. It’s quite the stew the Cowboys have cooking.

Like any fall camp, jobs are on the line. The depth chart that people have put together in their minds during the summer are changing around. One position has seen the depth chart flip in a way that even Morris couldn’t have expected.

This Competition Has Changed Since Camp Started

Oklahoma State’s Carson Kolb. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

While most of the positions on the offensive side have remained in line with what was expected, with some variance, one position is moving in a completely different way — tight end.

Most outsiders had the Cowboys going with either LSU transfer Donovan Green or North Texas transfer Oscar Hammond. But, when Morris talked to the media this week, he said that if the season started that day the likely starter would be Oregon State transfer Carson Kolb. Even he was a little surprised at the development. But every day, Kolb impresses them a little bit more.

“He's someone that thinks fast,” Morris said. “He's able to do multiple things out there. He's been really good blocking in the core with some toughness for us. So, he just continues to be a guy that gets noticed around here in camp. Even though he's not a freshman, he’s somebody that we brought in that we didn't foresee this kid possibly being a starting tight end when we started this thing.”

Kolb played two seasons with the Beavers and never caught a pass. He played special teams in all 12 games in 2026 and four games in 2025, also on special teams. He’s a former linebacker and ran the 100 meters in high school, something Morris wasn’t aware of until it was brought to his attention.

Going into camp Green and Hammond were seen as the front-runners because Green had 22 career receptions and Hammond had experience with the UNT offense the past two seasons, though he missed last season with an injury.

Their hold on the starting job was tenuous. Kolb came into camp and impressed Morris and his staff, especially when it came to his ability to process information, like the quarterback Drew Mestemaker. To win a job in camp, those impressions get the ball rolling. If Kolb can back that up with his play in the next scrimmage, the job might be his against Tulsa.