Why This Oklahoma State Football Team Feels Different Than Last Year

There are so many reasons to choose from, but this one stands out after head coach Eric Morris’ first two press conferences.

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

If one were to compile all the change in the Oklahoma State football program from 2025 to 2026, one might run out of pages in a notebook. It's a long list.

It's not often that a program fires its legend, as Mike Gundy lost his job in September of last year. The former player, assistant coach and head coach did things at Oklahoma State that no other coach had ever done.

Setting aside how things ended, those are big shoes to fill. And that's what new head coach Eric Morris must do in 2026. He takes over a team that went 1-11 last year, was 4-20 the last two years and hasn't won a Big 12 game since 2023. And he's doing it his way.

The contrast is stark. While Gundy at times resisted NIL and the transfer portal, Morris has lived in both areas. He's brought in nearly 90 new transfer players, including 20 from his former school, North Texas.

He's given respect to the Cowboys that opted to stay behind and has brought in a recruiting class that isn't looked upon well nationally, but he believes fits what he wants to do.

There is a different feeling in Stillwater this year but not just because of all things new.

Why This Team is Different

Oklahoma State’s Ethan Wesloski. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

There are a few reasons that come to mind. While it's early in Morris’ tenure, everything he does feels deliberate and purposeful. At times it felt like Gundy flew by the seat of his pants — usually due to his demeanor — and many times that worked. But Morris has a purpose behind everything he does, or at least that's how it feels.

He's talked at length about the adjustments he's made to Mike Leach’s version of the Air Raid offense. While he doesn't have as deep an understanding of the defensive side of the ball, he knows to trust his coordinator, Skyler Cassidy, and communicate constantly.

He's also put together a near-symbiotic relationship with his quarterback, Drew Mestemaker. That's no surprise, but the level of daylight between coach and quarterback is startlingly narrow.

But perhaps the biggest difference is what Morris did on Saturday. He put a chip on his team’s collective shoulder by calling them “some misfits.” Gundy put a chip on his team’s shoulder many times before. But it was more about being the best team in Oklahoma, since the Sooners were in the Big 12. OU is in the SEC now. The Cowboys need a new chip.

Morris blended all the change, all his new players and his tall order to replace Gundy in one sound bite on Saturday. And it encapsulated everything that’s happened since December when he was hired.

“We have a bunch of people from different situations, [and] some are coming off really positive situations where there were great players that got recruited at a high level, [and others] that hadn't gone through that before,” Morris said. “I mean, you have guys like Wyatt [Young], Caleb [Hawkins] and Drew [Mestemaker] and they don’t get recruited out of high school. Then all of a sudden they have a great season, they produce at a high level, and they have blue bloods all over the country calling.”

This team is different for many reasons. But the biggest is that they’re “misfits,” with a plan, with a purpose and with a chip on their collective shoulder. Morris has made sure of that.