Which Cowboys Will Surprise in 2025? OSU Players Make Their Picks

FRISCO, Texas — There is little known about this Oklahoma State team.

From last season’s disappointment to a ridiculous amount of incoming players and an almost entirely new coaching staff, it’s tough to guess who to even keep an eye on heading into the season.

So, at Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday, we asked the three Cowboys in attendance for an offensive and defensive player who each thought would surprise Oklahoma State fans in 2025.

Cam Smith: Eric Fletcher, Christian Fitzpatrick

Listed at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds on OSU’s roster, Fletcher was a true freshman cornerback at East Carolina last fall, where in three games, he made one tackle and maintained his redshirt.

He’s a speedster, clocking a 10.68 100 meters as a high schooler and a 4.4 40-yard dash.

Fletcher was the No. 994 player in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite ranking, and initially chose ECU over offers from Indiana, Purdue, Marshall, Liberty and others.

“He’s physical,” said Smith of Fletcher. “He plays with that chip on his shoulder every play. He’s from Florida, I don’t know if y’all know anything about Florida people, but they come in with an attitude like second to none. I love it.”

At 6-foot-4, Fitzpatrick is the tallest receiver on the Cowboys’ recently released roster. He led Marshall in receiving last season, catching 34 passes for 576 yards and six touchdowns.

Oklahoma State is his fourth school. He took a redshirt at Louisville in 2020 before spending the next three seasons at Michigan State. In 28 games as a Spartan, Fitzpatrick caught 22 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown.

“We call him Fitz,” Smith said. “He’s a big guy, 6-(foot)-4, can run. Yeah, I feel like he’s a really good addition.”

Iman Oates: Sam Jackson V, Jaleel Johnson

A transfer receiver from Auburn (and Cal and TCU), Sam Jackson V was one of the stars of OSU’s spring game in April, scoring on an 80-yard punt return and providing a big kick return, as well.

Jackson was a four-star quarterback recruit in the 2021 class. He played quarterback at TCU and Cal, starting three of the Golden Bears’ games in 2023. He then made the switch to receiver at Auburn last season, appearing in nine games and making two catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s an explosive athlete, man,” Oates said. “He’s twitchy. He’s got the big-play ability, the breakaway and everything like that. I just think he’s gonna be exciting to watch for Oklahoma State fans, for sure.”

Jaleel Johnson is entering his fourth season of college football, and all have been at Oklahoma State (somewhat of a rarity in 2025). In 22 career games, Johnson has made 33 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

At 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, Johnson is a physical specimen — a poster boy for the “Body by Glass” moniker.

“I don’t know if Jaleel gets enough credit,” Oates said. “I don’t know if he gets enough credit because of the schemes that we changed, and they don’t know his exact role in the team.

“But Jaleel Johnson is gonna be a real problem this season at that defensive end spot.”

Josh Ford: Offensive Line, Defensive Backs

The Cowboys lost all of their starting offensive linemen from last season, with most exhausting their eligibility.

That’s caused the Cowboys to hit the portal hard at the position, bringing in five traditional transfers (Kasen Carpenter, Lavaka Taukeiaho, Louie Canepa, Markell Samuel, Bob Schick and Grant Seagren) and a junior college transfer (Tyler Brumfield). That group will combine with returners — like Austin Kawecki, Noah McKinney and Jakobe Sanders — to battle it out for snaps up front.

“We got some big dudes,” Ford said. “I’d say we got some big dudes out of the portal. That’s something that, we lost all of our lineman (from) last year, so I think people expect us to kind of have a small line, but I’m excited for this year because we got some good dudes.”

Similarly, the Pokes also brought in a ton of defensive backs. Fletcher, JK Johnson, Mordecai McDaniel, Jaylin Davies, DeAndre Boykins and Zaquan Patterson join the fold, adding to returners like Cam Smith, Kale Smith, Dylan Smith, Cameron Epps, Kenneth Harris, David Kabongo, Landyn Cleveland and others. Some combination of those guys ought to make for a solid defensive backfield.

“We got a lot of DBs,” Ford said. “I don’t know who our starting DBs are gonna be, but we have great competition. It’s gonna be good.

“They have speed. They have speed like no other, and I’ve been able to see that going against them this offseason.”