Manning Passing Academy Gave Mestemaker More Confidence, Chance to Learn from Peyton, Eli

FRISCO, Texas — Drew Mestemaker’s offseason for the ages hit another milestone recently as he found himself among football royalty.

“There was a little meeting we had that Peyton (Manning) and Eli (Manning) just stood up there, and you know, talked about their approach to the game and everything, and I thought that was really cool,” Mestemaker said Tuesday at Big 12 Media Days.

Mestemaker was one of a select number of high-level college quarterbacks invited to serve as counselors at the Manning Passing Academy from June 25-28.

Other quarterback counselors included CJ Carr (Notre Dame), Arch Manning (Texas), Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), Julian Sayin (Ohio State) and Gunner Stockton (Georgia). Together, that group represents the first, second, fourth, sixth and ninth favorites for the Heisman Trophy based on current FanDuel odds.

Mestemaker was also joined by fellow Big 12 starters Noah Fifita (Arizona), Bear Bachmeier (BYU) and Conner Weigman (Houston).

“Yeah, it was fun,” Mestemaker said. “It was good being around all those guys, and kind of comparing up next to them and throwing with them, and just being around a bunch of guys that have played a lot of football at a high level.”

Perhaps it was just Mestemaker’s humility on display Tuesday, but his head coach seemed even more excited about the opportunity.

“So the cool thing for Drew is, I think, finally starting to get the notoriety,” Morris said. “And then you go to camp, and you’re around some of the best quarterbacks in the nation at your level, and you see yourself against these guys, and then all of a sudden you know these guys that are mocked up to be the, you know, number one, number two, number three pick in the draft mix, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I can do it just as good as this guy.’

“The cool thing about that camp was I got a lot of texts about how he performed and how well he did, but it made me more proud of how many texts I got about what kind of person he was, how humble he was, how he interacted with everybody, and so I think that just speaks volumes about the character that the young man has.”

Mestemaker also discussed his future in the NFL on Tuesday and the potentially tough choice he will have to make concerning the 2027 NFL Draft if everything goes to plan on the field this fall.

On the subject of Mestemaker’s future, Morris has no doubts his current quarterback is destined for the NFL. He said as much to Archie Manning earlier this year.

“Archie Manning called me a couple months ago and started asking questions about Drew, and I’ve known Archie for a while,” Morris said. “So I was like, ‘Listen this kid is a no-brainer. This kid will play for a long time on Sunday.’”

New Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker has quickly become a favorite for NFL Draft folks. Here he is at Manning Passing Academy. pic.twitter.com/YDtw2Phj3V

— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) June 27, 2026

Mestemaker said he felt like he performed well but added the counselors didn’t throw as much there as he expected going in. He still really enjoyed getting the chance to be around so many other talented quarterbacks.

“Good opportunity to kind of meet all those guys and meet all these big names that are just normal dudes out there,” Mestemaker said. “It’s been a good kind of getting to know those guys and starting a relationship with them that, honestly, at the end of the day, is going to go a lot further than football. It was more about the opportunity to know those guys and just be around high-level performers every day, and just kind of work, see how they operate, like compare yourself up to that.”

This is what Morris thinks will be the long-lasting benefit for his quarterback, who is preparing to start at quarterback for only the second season ever in both his high school and college career.

“Think just growing his confidence,” Morris said. “I mean, I think he’s someone that, you know, didn’t play in high school, wasn’t recruited, came in, made a name for himself, had the year he did, led the nation, it all hit so fast for him.

“And so I think just reaffirming what he’s always believed and the confidence, and I think you go out there and you stand in line with the best 15 guys in the nation, from what you know all these experts are saying on the mock draft stuff, and then all of a sudden I think his confidence was built on.

“It’s like, OK, yeah, like, I got what it takes to make it at this level. So, yeah, I mean, I just think not only is it cool experience, you just, as a quarterback, you see it your whole life, and all these quarterbacks come through and working with, obviously, Eli and Peyton, and building those relationships. The quarterbacks have a tight bond. It’s a small fraternity, and I think it’s something that he’ll grow in really, really well.”