Which Oklahoma State Football Position Battle Could Trigger Transfer Portal Movement?

The Oklahoma State Cowboys football team is focused on now. After eight months of preparation, how could they not be focused on that?

New head coach Eric Morris and his staff turned over a roster that went 1-11 last year. The fans want a winning team — or at least one that wins more games than the program has the past two seasons (which is four). They hope that winning starts on Sept. 5 against Tulsa.

There are position battles aplenty in Cowboys fall camp. Some of those battles already have winners. Some of them will continue, even during the season. But there is another aspect to roster building that is always lurking — the transfer portal.

Players can’t move into the transfer portal until January. But what happens now could influence what they do when the season ends. There is one position that could trigger significant transfer portal movement in that scenario.

The Position That Could See Significant Portal Movement

Oklahoma State’s Jakobe Sanders poses for a photo in his orange jersey. — Oklahoma State’s Jakobe Sanders. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It’s the offensive line — and it’s a volume proposition. There is no position group with more players this season than the O-Line, which has 21. There are also 15 players that have at least one year of eligibility remaining after this season. Plus, many of the projected starters this season are in their final season of eligibility, including Jacob Sexton, Ashton Lepo and Johnny Dickson III.

On one hand, that’s three starting spots that need to replace next season. On the other, that’s 15 players that will have to wait their turn and, in turn, could be poached because, well, it’s the transfer portal after all — those things happen.

There could be plenty of players that might peek in the portal if they are unable to win jobs. Jakobe Sanders, for example, has waited his turn but is set to be the backup at center. This is his fourth year in college and with one year ahead, he could see a transfer as a chance to be a full-time starter in 2027.

There are five true freshmen at the position group — Kole Seaton, Isaiah Bowman, O’Ryan Mosley, Ja’Qwon Evans and Eli Holbrook. Morris has talked plenty during fall camp about true freshmen getting the chance to play because redshirts are no longer a thing. He hasn’t mentioned the freshmen offensive linemen nearly as much as the skill players. Offensive line in college has a long learning curve.

Morris already has two Class of 2027 freshmen commits. There are only five spots — 10 on the two-deep. There are several offensive linemen that will have to wait their turn for next season. What if they get to the end of the season and they’re done waiting?

The first season under a new head coach always leads to more change after the season, no matter the record. That change could lead to roster moves postseason and with so many offensive linemen and so few spots, this is the position group that could trigger plenty of portal movement after the season.

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