North Texas Running Back, Defensive Lineman, Offensive Lineman Announce Oklahoma State Interest

There was a wonder of how many North Texas players Eric Morris would try to bring with him up to Stillwater.

We’ll learn a lot more over the coming days, but here are three UNT players who announced interest from their old (and potentially new) coach on Friday.

Ashton Gray

Redshirt freshman running back Ashton Gray announced an Oklahoma State offer on Friday.

OKState Offered!🖤🧡 @PCobbs43 pic.twitter.com/BVMIFJq5x3

— Ashton Gray (@Ashton3Gray) January 2, 2026

Listed at 6-feet, 208 pounds, Gray played in a dozen games for the Mean Green in 2025, turning 58 handoffs into 377 yards and five touchdowns. His big breakout came in the Mean Green’s New Mexico Bowl win against San Diego State, where Gray carried 16 times for 152 yards (9.5 yards per) and a pair of touchdowns.

In fact, a lot of Gray’s work came late in the year. Heading into UNT’s trip to Rice on Nov. 22, Gray had just 18 carries for 94 yards (that’s still 5.2 yards a carry) and a touchdown. But then in the Mean Green’s final four games of the year, Gray had 40 carries for 283 yards and four touchdowns.

Before redshirting in Denton in 2024, Gray was a three-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. The 247Sports Composite ranking listed him as the No. 2,130 player in the cycle.

He’s from Marion, Arkansas and played quarterback at Marion High. He was named the Little Rock Touchdown Club State Player of the Year and was an All-State selection in 2023 after amassing 3,251 total yards (1,332 passing and 1,919 rushing) and 43 touchdowns (30 rushing and 19 passing) as a senior.

OSU was the first offer Gray announced, but it wasn’t the only. He also announced that he had received offers from East Carolina, Boston College, Georgia State and UTEP.

Along with Morris going to Stillwater, OSU hired UNT running backs coach Patrick Cobbs, so a lot could be similar for Gray should he choose the Pokes.

Fatafehi Vailea

A 6-foot-1, 292-pound defensive lineman from California, Vailea announced that he’ll visit OSU on Saturday and Sunday.

I will be visiting Oklahoma St January 3rd-4th! pic.twitter.com/0snvo7QEac

— Fatafehi Vailea (@vailea52) January 2, 2026

He started UNT’s first four games of the 2025 season before suffering an injury that ended his year. He still had 15 tackles.

Vailea redshirted in 2021 at UNT. Between 2022 and 2024, he played in 38 games while making 26 starts. He’s up to 118 total tackles in his career with six tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.

He was a three-star prospect out of Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas. He was considered the No. 1,919 player in the 2021 recruiting class and chose UNT over offers from San Diego State, Charlotte, Nevada and others.

Johnny Dickson III

An All-American Conference Third Team selection in 2025, Dickson started 13 games on the Mean Green’s offensive line at right guard. That came after he made six starts for UNT in 2024.

Before that, Dickson spent two seasons at Virginia Tech along with Bob Schick, playing 10 games with the Hokies in 2023.

Dickson allowed just two sacks in 430 opportunities, according to PFF. PFF also graded Dickson out as the No. 5 guard in the American when it comes to run blocking.

At 6-foot-2, 296 pounds, he should have one season of eligibility remaining.

He’s from Corpus Christi and was the No. 545 player in the 2022 recruiting class with offers to Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Arkansas and others.