Way-Too-Early Predictions: Guessing Oklahoma State’s Statistical Leaders for the 2025 Season

With so many established starters gone (to the NFL Draft, graduation or the portal) and so many newcomers entering, it’s tough to project who will be the Cowboys’ key contributors for the 2025 season. But let’s try to do it anyway.

Spring ball and fall camp should be filled with competition for the Cowboys as this new-look roster takes shape. But I thought it’d be fun to take a few shots into the dark here in January to predict who will lead Oklahoma State in some major statistical categories. Here’s what I came up with.

Passing Leader: Hauss Hejny

OSU’s quarterback room is going to be the story of the offseason not only because it’s the most heralded position in sports, but also it’s tough to predict who will emerge because unless you’re watching practice everyday, no one will really know who stands out from the group. Unlike other positions where guys gain experience from snaps here and there throughout the year, there’s only one quarterback on the field at a time. We’ve seen a little Garret Rangel. We’ve seen a little Maealiuaki Smith. Hauss Hejny played a little at TCU last season. We haven’t seen any Zane Flores. A lot of the discourse about OSU’s quarterback room heading into 2025 will be projections.

With that long caveat out of the way, I’m leaning Hejny here on Jan. 15. Doug Meacham offenses have been at their best with a mobile quarterback at the reins — with the most obvious example of that being Trevone Boykin at TCU. Rangel, Smith, and Flores all seem like capable runners, but it appears Hejny is a cut above in that aspect. Add that to his preexisting relationship with Meacham and new quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns, and I think that’s where I’m leaning entering the spring.

No matter who ends up taking snaps in 2025, if quarterback run game is a big part of Meacham’s offense, injuries are a possibility. OSU fans are no stranger to that. Look back at Rangel last season in BYU or the myriad ailments Spencer Sanders battled through during his time in Stillwater.

Rushing Leader: Rodney Fields Jr.

Rodney Fields was a beacon of promise in an otherwise tough year for the Cowboys. The former Del City standout carried 21 times for 99 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman while catching a pair of passes for 23 yards and another score.

Murmurs of Fields’ promise started to crop up before his freshman season even started, with some players dropping his name as guys who had been impressive in practice. When he was given the opportunity to spell Ollie Gordon, Fields showed that he was on track to being a pretty good tailback.

I’d give Fields the edge in a competitive running back room because of his evident skill and potential, but I’d also expect Trent Howland to earn a healthy role, especially with how he finished the year. Over OSU’s final five games, Howland averaged 6.1 yards a carry in the 24 opportunities he had. At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Howland also provides a change of pace to the 5-9, 185-pound Fields. Sesi Vailahi and OU transfer Kalib Hicks are other guys to watch.

Receiving Leader: Talyn Shettron

Near the top of every OSU fan’s wish list for 2025 should be a healthy year from Talyn Shettron.

Shettron has shown flashes of his blue-chip pedigree during his first three seasons with the Cowboys, but injuries and having good, established receivers ahead of him have meant we haven’t quite gotten that full taste of what he can be. I’d be excited to see what a full season of Shettron on the outside looks like. At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, he was one of the faster players on last season’s team. He exploded for 110 receiving yards and a touchdown against Tulsa but also put together solid outings against Utah and Kansas State the next two weekends.

OSU’s wide receiver room is sort of like the Cowboys’ quarterback room in that there are a lot of guys who haven’t quite had the opportunity to be the guy quite yet. Yardage leaders tend to be outside receivers, so maybe Purdue transfer Shamar Rigby is another good shout to compete for the Cowboys’ receiving yards title. But I’m also excited about the slot position, with guys like Gavin Freeman, Da’Wain Lofton and Nebraska transfer Jaylen Lloyd.

Tackle Leader: Bryan McCoy

There have been instances where a safety has led a Todd Grantham defense in tackles, but more often than not it’s a linebacker. OSU’s linebacker room has gone through almost an entire retooling this offseason, so this to some extent feels like a shot in the dark. But Bryan McCoy certainly brings with him a high-tackle resume.

McCoy, listed at 6-0, 225 pounds, made 120 tackles for Akron in 2024 after making 94 for the Zips in 2023. That’ll certainly do. Another reason to pick a linebacker over a safety in this stat is because the Cowboys have added so many defensive backs through the portal and junior college ranks that it feels tougher to say who is going to play and how much on the back end of the Cowboys’ defense.

Sack Leader: Kyran Duhon

Grantham’s past handful of defenses have seen defensive ends and linebackers lead the team in sacks, so this could be an area McCoy doubles up in. But for the sake of mentioning other guys, give me UTEP transfer Kyran Duhon.

As a true freshman in El Paso last season, Duhon recorded seven sacks. That’s made all the more impressive by the fact that five of those game in the Miners’ last three games.

OSU is bringing in a handful of edge rushers through the portal and junior college ranks, so there will be plenty of competition. Then guys like DeSean Brown and Jaleel Johnson have shown promise in limited roles throughout the early parts of their careers. Johnson physically seems to have all the tools. Every time I’m near him, it looks like a bigger Jaleel Johnson came and ate the previous Jaleel Johnson. All that is to say, this is another prediction that I wouldn’t bet the farm on, but I certainly feel good about Duhon’s numbers as a true freshman.