Three Bold Predictions for Oklahoma State Football Fall Camp
In this story:
Since Oklahoma State hired Eric Morris as head coach in December, everything about the 2026 season has been theoretical.
Spring workouts only answered so many questions as he and his staff tried to blend nearly 90 new transfers with a handful of returning letterwinners and a few freshmen that enrolled early. The summer has been all about workouts with the strength and conditioning coaches, with the occasional interruptions for media obligations.
Now, the Cowboys are moving into fall workouts. Now things start to get interesting. There’s a goal ahead — the season opener against Tulsa on Sept. 5. For the next month, most of the roster will compete to start in that game. Now, Morris and his staff really get to see what they have.
Here are three bold predictions for fall workouts.
The Offense Will REALLY Impress Everyone
Cowboys fans know that Morris is an offensive-minded coach. He runs the Air Raid offense and played for former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach. He also coached there as an assistant. His offensive mindedness has developed successful quarterbacks, including his current starter, Drew Mestemaker, who started for him at North Texas last season.
The offense is more than Mestemaker. It’s running back Caleb Hawkins, along with wide receivers Wyatt Young, Chris Barnes and Justin Bowick. The talent he’s assembled at the skill positions has the potential to be electric.
Those players will show that off during fall workouts — and then some. Expect Morris to talk about how the offense is coming together each day. Expect the non-North Texas pieces that transferred in to be a part of that offense to shine, too. And expect the reports out of practice on the offense to be overwhelmingly optimistic — barring injury of course.
The Defense Will Have Concerns
While the offense has plenty of skill and track record, the defense is not in as solid a position going into fall workouts. New defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity did a solid job at North Texas last season turning the Mean Green into a serviceable unit. If he can do that with the Cowboys, they’ll be a much better unit in 2026.
But, it won’t come without concern, especially once the Cowboys reach the scrimmage portion of the practice schedule. The offense is ahead of the defense at this point in the team’s development. The unit is liable to expose some flaws in the defense during those scrimmages, which will be great for its growth. But it will lead to questions before the opener, questions that could linger without answers until the opener.
Among them? Do the Cowboys have enough depth in their pass rush rotation and enough skilled defenders at safety?
The Preseason Buzz Will Continue
For those Cowboys fans that have been paying attention this offseason, there has been plenty of buzz around this team going into the season. It’s likely to continue.
Oklahoma State has become that “trendy” turnaround team, thanks to the hiring of Morris, the offensive transfers and the fact that the Big 12 has had big turnarounds in the past (think Arizona State in 2024). The league also hasn’t had a repeat champ since 2020.
That buzz isn’t going to go away, especially if the offense practices and performs as everyone believes it will. In the preseason, pundits tend to overlook at a team’s flaws, especially when a team like OSU has the offensive tools it has at its disposal.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow PostinsPostcard