Oklahoma State Stock Report: Three Players Rising and Three Falling After Week 1
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The Oklahoma State Cowboys must look beyond their Week 1 loss to Tulsa and see what worked and what didn’t. It won’t be easy.
With Oregon coming up on Saturday, the Cowboys (0-1) don’t have a lot of time to make corrections. The No. 2 Ducks will be the toughest team Oklahoma State will play this year.
But, in the aftermath of that loss there are players that helped themselves and hurt themselves in terms of the stock with the coaching staff. Here are three that helped themselves the most and three that hurt themselves the most.
Stock Rising
RB Caleb Hawkins
Morris knew the value of his former North Texas running back before the opener. He wants to make sure he’s not overworked. But what do you do when it’s clear that, at least for Week 1, he was the best offensive player on the field?
He rushed for 79 yards on 18 carries and caught another six passes for 29 yards. He had 108 total yards and the run game stagnated without him. If the Cowboys offense bounces back against Oregon, it will be because Hawkins has a great game. But he’ll need a better game from the offensive line.
OL Shaun Torgeson
Morris wasn’t blowing smoke when he talked about Torgeson’s progression during fall camp. One of the last players he and his staff landed in the transfer portal (from FCS Portland State) was one of the most valuable players on the field. He can play both tackle positions and he had to flip from the right side to the left side after Jacob Sexton was hurt.
It would be no surprise if he landed the left tackle job for Week 2 against Oregon. He wasn’t perfect, but he built a lot of trust with the staff after he how he played on the fly against Tulsa.
CB LaDainian Fields
The Cowboys had Fields and Kobi Foreman listed as “OR” on the depth chart going into the game. Fields played nine more snaps than Foreman, had an interception and Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded Fields as the team’s top cover corner on Saturday. Oklahoma State may not shed the “OR” on the depth chart this week, but Fields proved he could make plays, which is what Morris said he wanted going into the season.
Stock Falling
RB Tre Page III
Page was listed behind Hawkins on the depth chart, but it might not stay that way. He rushed for 19 yards on seven carries and fumbled, something coaches just can’t deal with from players that only get minimal snaps. Morris said after the game that the Cowboys must get the back-up job “figured out.” Page allowed that role to end up in play after a sub-par game. Ayo Adeyi had one fewer carry but five more yards. Plus, Morris knows Adeyi has rushed for 1,000 yards in his offense back at North Texas before he transferred to James Madison.
QB Drew Mestemaker
For now, his stock took a hit. There are times coaches can live with a quarterback that isn’t connecting on 60% of his passes (Mestemaker was barely under that on Saturday). They understand that pressure can be a consideration (he was under duress constantly). But the turnovers? That can’t happen. Mestemaker had two interceptions and a fumble. Morris pointed to the second interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter and compare to a couple of interceptions against Tulane in the American Conference title game last year.
Morris wants to see growth next week — and ball protection.
DE Jaleel Johnson
Johnson played 27 snaps per PFF, equally against the run and the pass. He had two tackles with one pass defender. But he didn’t have a sack, didn’t pressure the quarterback much and had a costly roughing the passer call that helped Tulsa score a touchdown. It wasn’t intentional but it was the right call. Morris has talked up Johnson’s ability throughout camp. Johnson has talked up this being his last year. The performance in the first game didn’t match either’s expectation.
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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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