Oklahoma State Coaches Praise Mestemaker’s Poise in Win Over Oregon

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STILLWATER — Oklahoma State fans certainly hope Drew Mestemaker has more big-game moments left in his Cowboys career, but it’s safe to say the QB has already delivered one of those defining visuals that resonate with fans for years, perhaps decades.

​“He jumped higher than I thought and the picture is cool,” coach Eric Morris said of Mestemaker’s go-ahead rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. “I hadn’t seen the picture yet when we talked about it here (Saturday). There’s going to be a really cool picture of it for him to have for keepsake for the rest of his life and really cool photos.”

Offensive coordinator Sean Brophy said “those plays in those critical moments” are the ones that live on in infamy. He referenced John Elway’s Super Bowl helicopter in the end zone as one such example.

After the final kneel-down against Oregon, Brophy celebrated by hugging Mestemaker.

“Just another special moment on our journey together,” Brophy said. “Probably the most special, just because of the magnitude of that moment and what it meant for him.

“To be there for every step of his journey so far in college, to watch where he was when he came in as a fifth-string walk-on, obviously, it’s a very well-documented journey, to being with him when he threw for over 600 yards last year at North Texas and broke every conference and school record, to winning 12 games, to winning the first bowl game there in a decade, to becoming a highly touted, high-paid transfer here, winning the Burlsworth Award (nation’s top current or former walk-on). Being with him and his mom, his girlfriend and her mom in Arkansas for that. …To share that moment (after beating Oregon on Saturday) with him and tell him I was really proud of him and to experience that was really special.”

That was Mestemaker’s first-ever start against a Power Four opponent. He rushed only six times for a career-high 109 yards, shattering his previous best of only 55 yards.

Mestemaker threw for 317 yards, four more than he averaged in his first 16 starts, and completed 60.5% of his pass attempts, which is more than a full point better than his showing at Tulsa.

“I thought he was efficient,” Morris said. “He didn’t really put the ball in harm’s way, which is a big deal. I thought he was anticipating, getting the ball out on time, knowing we need to stay ahead of the chains. And so I thought it was really good. Some phenomenal throws mixed in there, a couple of deep throws with some people that were around him on the flea flicker. Some crossing patterns were really good. I thought he saw the middle of the field really good on some digs. Super accurate. Those are hard balls to throw.”

He did throw two interceptions, but Morris made it clear on Tuesday that he thought of those two turnovers as great defensive line play and not as mistakes made by his quarterback.

Mestemaker finished 2-of-4 for 85 yards on 20-plus passes and 7-of-13 for 150 yards when targeting guys 10-19 yards downfield on Saturday. In both ranges, Mestemaker showed improvement in accuracy, number of targets and completions.

It’s safe to say this is the version of Mestemaker most OSU fans and national media members pictured when the Cowboys got some hype during the offseason.

On Tuesday, Morris was asked if Mestemaker’s value to the program creates a fine line between playing it safe and being aggressive, involving his decision-making on plays like his touchdown run.

“Not in that situation,” Morris said. “He’s so competitive. The game’s on the line, a top-10 team at home, third down and long, he’s trying to score a touchdown to (give) your team a chance to win. Absolutely, he’s gonna do that. And I’ve been around great ones.”