Five 2025 Performances That Highlight How Explosive Oklahoma State’s Offense Could Be in 2026

STILLWATER — When Eric Morris leads the Cowboys onto the field for the first time this season, it will be in large part because of his prowess as an offensive playcaller.

He put North Texas at or near the top of several offensive stats, and many of his core pieces followed him to Stillwater. At some point, the numbers all run together a bit, but some of the individual game numbers seem mind-boggling, especially compared to a Cowboys program that saw the starting quarterback top 200 passing yards only four times last season.

Here are five individual performances by offensive skill players last season that highlight what Morris could accomplish with both former UNT players and new players alike this fall.

QB Drew Mestemaker

2025 at Rice: 19-of-23 for 469 yards (82.6%), three touchdowns and no interceptions; two carries for one yard and a touchdown

Advanced stat: 9-of-11 on passes 10-plus yards downfield

Last time an OSU player threw for 400+ yards without an interception: Spencer Sanders vs Central Michigan on Sept. 1, 2022.

Mestemaker topped 600 yards against Charlotte, but the win over Rice stands out as his best performance from 2025 because of the yardage total, the lack of interceptions and a near-season-high accuracy.

It helps that Rice is a much better team on paper than Charlotte, plus Mestemaker made the Owls pay when he went for the big play. That’s something he thinks he can do a better job of in his second season as a starter. If true, his game against Rice could be a warning to the rest of the Big 12 for what is coming this fall.

RB Caleb Hawkins

2025 vs Navy: 33 carries for 197 yards and 4 touchdowns (6 YPC); 3 receptions for 9 yards (3 targets)

Advanced stat: Forced 10 missed tackles, the third-most by him on the season

Last time an OSU player scored four or more rushing touchdowns: Ollie Gordon vs BYU on Nov. 25, 2023.

Navy, of all teams, had no answer for Hawkins. Clinging to a 7-point lead with less than five minutes to play in the third, UNT again leaned on the then-freshman. Hawkins started the drive with a 6-yard reception. He added five more carries, two of which went for 9 and 10 yards, before putting the game just about out of reach with a 6-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the third quarter.

WR Wyatt Young

2025 at Rice: Eight receptions for 295 yards and two touchdowns

Advanced stat: 196 yards came after catch, and he forced 6 missed tackles

Last time an OSU player topped 250 receiving yards: James Washington vs Pittsburgh on Sept. 17, 2016.

Although OSU fans haven’t seen it in a while, it’s not that crazy to see modern quarterbacks throw for 400-plus yards. It’s still much stranger to see receivers topping 250, and Young was pushing for 300. Washington’s 296 yards against Pittsburgh and Adarius Bowman’s 300-yard performance back in 2006 are the only times a Cowboy has topped 250 yards receiving in one game.

WR Jani Weir

2025 vs Orange Coast: Seven receptions for 267 yards and three touchdowns

Advanced stat: No PFF numbers for Weir, but he did average 38.1 yards per catch against Orange Coast.

Last time an OSU player averaged 38 yards per catch with at least three receptions: James Washington vs Baylor on Oct. 14, 2017.

Weir still has to prove he can get things done at the highest level of the sport after dominating junior college ball last season, but the fact that the Cowboys could potentially have a guy with this kind of performance in him running with the 2s or the 3s has to excite Morris. It sounds like the Cowboys will continue to use more than one group of receivers under the new regime, which means this kind of playmaker could come off the bench against a potentially worn-out secondary.

Tre Page

2025 vs Southern Utah: 19 carries for 198 yards and two touchdowns

Advanced stat: 11 missed tackles forced. For context, his other 94 carries resulted in 24 missed tackles forced.

Last time an OSU running back forced double-digit missed tackles: Ollie Gordon vs South Dakota State on Aug. 31, 2024.

Like everyone on this list, Page will have to prove he can remain dynamic now that he’s in the Big 12. Assuming he can earn a spot in the rotation, he will have the benefit of playing behind Hawkins, who should have no issue wearing out defenses on his own. For further context, though Page didn’t hit 200 yards, it’s still worth pointing out that Cowboys have only ever hit that mark in one game 50 times, and seven of those belong to Barry Sanders.