Oklahoma State Freshmen Take First College Snaps in Cowboys’ Blowout Win

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STILLWATER — With the Cowboys running their FCS foe off the field, some young guys got their first tastes of college football on Saturday night in Boone Pickens Stadium.

As Oklahoma State crushed Murray State 59-0, eight true freshmen and four redshirt freshman played snaps on either offense or defense on Saturday.

The most anticipated of those guys among the OSU fanbase was former Jenks standout KD Jones.

On his first carry as a Cowboy, Jones rumbled in for a six-yard touchdown, and he later broke off a 25-yard gain to put the game on ice, finishing with seven carries for 54 yards and the score.

First touchdown as a Cowboy for the Oklahoma kid @kaydinjoness 🤠 pic.twitter.com/sZOfgxtSjh

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 20, 2026

“Yeah, so it was pretty awesome,” OSU coach Eric Morris said. “We scrimmaged those guys, all the young guys, on Thursdays, and they actually get to get out there and play some football, the guys that are kinda giving us some looks during the course of the week. Our challenge at the end of this week and Thursday football was they have four downs from the 10 to score — no blitzing and you couldn’t throw it. Just a little bit of a toughness drill. KD was the back in that, got all four carries and finally got in the end zone the very last play. It was just cool to see, like, that kinda came true for him today.

“I mean, he hit it. He was running behind his pads today, and obviously that’s a moment he’ll remember for the rest of his life, getting his first touchdown in Boone Pickens. And somebody that didn’t get a ton of reps with the offense this week. But I think that was awesome that that was a spot that he was in. It was in the same exact spot, same end zone that we did in practice that happened in the game.”

Jones took his handoffs from classmate Broderick Vehrs, who also played his first snaps of college football on Saturday night.

The freshman quarterback was 6-for-6 for 37 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Carson Kolb.

First passing touchdown as a Cowboy @brodie_vehrs4 🤠 pic.twitter.com/geOVbxi7B6

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 20, 2026

Vehrs, listed at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds, is an interesting story and another example of Morris plucking a quarterback from where few are looking.

Out of Arizona, Vehrs was committed to Morris at North Texas and signed with the Cowboys shortly after Morris took the OSU job. Despite not being heavily recruiting, he has garnered a lot of praise since getting to campus in the spring, and he got to display why on Saturday.

“Yeah, he came to our camp (at UNT),” Morris said. “Super, super competitive. Probably, maybe has the strongest arm on our team. Really quick release. But the way he competed at camp, and his tape was really good from high school, too.

“I’m not afraid to have a short guy. He really reminds me of Case Keenum, a guy that we had at Houston a long time ago. And just his personality. Like, people are drawn to him. Like, he’s one of the leaders in that freshman group. He’s in our developmental group morning lifts right now. That’s pretty rare for a backup quarterback to be in that right now, but he just brings so much energy and keeps those guys together. I think it was a combination and saying, ‘Hey, we’re not scared of his size.’ 

Vehrs had shared an “OR” with UMass/Yale transfer Grant Jordan on OSU’s depth charts, but it was Vehrs who got the nod when an opportunity arose.

“He’s been great in practice,” Morris said. “He’s gotten so much better. He’s getting a ton of reps, and so I had a ton of confidence in him going in there and just executing the offense right now. Obviously we didn’t open it up. We wanted to take some time off at that time and run the football. But he did a really nice job. He was cool, calm and collected on the sideline. 

“He has such a great personality. He’s really good in the huddle. He directed the huddle. He had a lot of confidence there. He’s got a really, really strong arm, and I think he was able to showcase that a couple times. But I’m happy he’s out there able to do all the operations and hear their calls and operate.”

But it wasn’t just young skill guys who got to play Saturday.

The Cowboys played two true freshmen offensive linemen (Ja’Qwon Evans and Eli Holbrook), a redshirt freshman offensive lineman (Miguel Chavez), three true freshmen defensive linemen (Savion Barthelemy, Nygel Farsee and Landon Bland) and a redshirt freshman defensive lineman (Dominic Macon).

Evans raised a few eyebrows when he was listed on OSU’s first depth chart of the season, listed as a backup left tackle for Jacob Sexton. Evans played at right tackle when he got in Saturday.

He’s listed at 6-foot-5, 295 pounds and was another Morris find. He’s out of Shawnee, but none of the state schools were pursuing him until Morris got the OSU job. Evans was also committed to UNT but looks to be one to watch as his career continues.

“Yeah, I think it’s huge,” said Morris of young linemen playing. “You know, you never know nowadays — I say nowadays, I guess, just in football in general — when you get people injured, and so I thought there were some young offensive linemen that we got in there, two true freshmen that have really come on the last couple weeks. They’re getting reps with the twos right now, and so I think just for them to go out there and feel it for the first time, with the atmosphere, with the crowd, and being able to do it without a coach around them. So yeah, I thought that was huge for on both sides, offense and defense.”