College Football's Leading Passer Was a Starting Safety in High School

A college football coach revealed that the sport's leading passer did not start at quarterback in high school.

Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker leads the Cowboys out to the mat before a college wrestling dual between Oklahoma State and Iowa State | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2026 NCAA transfer portal cycle brought a plethora of new faces to college football programs across the country.

Most transfers embarked on their own journeys to new programs in search of better NIL opportunities and easier paths to the field. However, some transfers clustered together to follow head coaches from one program to another.

One coveted prospect in a cluster of players was former North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who committed to North Texas. He will have three seasons of eligibility with the Cowboys.

The 6-foot-4, 211-pounder walked on at North Texas in 2024. Mestemaker sat behind Chandler Morris in his first college football regular season, but Morris' entry into the portal prior to the bowl gave Mestemaker the opportunity to start. In that bowl start, Mestemaker threw for 393 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and ran for 55 yards and another touchdown.

2025 was the breakout season of breakout seasons for Mestemaker. In his lone season as the Mean Green's starter, he led all of FBS in passing with 4,379 yards, 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions while guiding North Texas to 12 wins and an AAC Championship appearance.

In addition to his AAC Offensive Player of the Year and All-First Team AAC recognition, he earned the Burlsworth Trophy, an award given to the best player in college football to begin his career as a walk-on.

North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker (17) scrambles out of the pocket against the Tulane Green Wave during the first half in the 2025 AAC Championship | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Mestemaker is following head coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State from North Texas. Morris revealed a fascinating fact about Mestemaker's journey to becoming a college football quarterback on a recent edition of On3's "Andy and Ari." Morris said quarterback coach Jeff Christensen asked him if he had a spot for a walk-on for his 2024 roster and added that Mestemaker did not start at quarterback in high school.

“There’s a walk-on that’s going to be an NFL guy, and you’re this convicted about it? And so then I said, send me his tape, and we’ll watch him today and see if we want to take him. Then, he goes one step further and says, ‘he didn’t start in high school, and he played safety.’ So I was like, what are we talking about right now?” Morris said.

“How the heck are you gonna say this guy is an NFL talent and he’s never played high school football? Two weeks later, he brings him down and lets him throw for us. Naturally, we loved all the throwing stuff he did."

Mestemaker is not the only member of the 2025 North Texas football team heading to Oklahoma State with Morris. Other migrants include offensive coordinator Sean Brophy, running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young. Of the Cowboys' 53 portal acquisitions, 17 are from North Texas.