What Braydon Nelson’s Cowboy Debut Means for OSU’s Offense Against UCF and Beyond

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STILLWATER — It’s common for players to return from injury following a bye week, but on Saturday offensive lineman Braydon Nelson will finally make his Oklahoma State debut. And this isn’t just a nice add for the Cowboys.

Nelson could very well prove to be a missing piece for the offense, considering coach Eric Morris described him as a “key contributor” the Cowboys needed to get healthy since the spring scrimmage and has repeatedly given progress reports on Nelson’s recovery throughout the last several weeks.

“Braydon is someone I’ve got a ton of trust in,” Morris said on Tuesday. “He’s a kid that kind of got thrown in the fire as a true freshman for us at North Texas. He started a ton of games. I don’t even know what that number is up to now, but he was having a great spring.”

Nelson started all 14 games for the Mean Green last season, with 12 coming at left tackle and two at right tackle. He also started 11 games for Morris during 2024 when he nearly evenly split time between right guard and left tackle.

On Tuesday, he was listed as a potential co-starter at both tackle positions alongside Shaun Torgeson and Ashton Lepo, suggesting that any combination of the three of them could see the field against UCF on Saturday. The Cowboys’ head coach seemed to shoot down the idea that Nelson would start over either guy this weekend.

“Working him back into things, obviously feel really comfortable,” Morris said. “I think you’ll see all three of those tackles during the course of this game. None of those tackles, Torgeson or Lepo, has done anything for us to take them out of the game right now, right, and so those are the guys that you’ll see we start the game with.”

The more Morris spoke on Saturday, the more it sounded like the coaching staff plans to use this game as something of an audition to see where Nelson fits best.

“Have a ton of confidence in Braydon playing inside, playing some guard,” Morris said. “He’s done that for us. Super smart. One of the smartest kids we have up front on the offensive line. You’ll see Braydon in this game in some capacity.”

It sounds like the entire offensive line could shuffle a bit, likely with the exception of center Tyler Mercer.

Here’s where the other five guys, including Nelson, have lined up in their careers:

?? Braydon Nelson: 1,836 snaps played (1,190 LT, 468 RG, 173 RT)
LT Shaun Torgeon: 1,248 snaps played (1,013 LT, 48 RT, 7 C)
LG Johnny Dickson: 1,721 snaps played (1,273 RG, 341 LG, 105 C)
RG Joseph Hanson: 1,275 snaps played (920 RT, 192 RG, 161 LT)
RT Ashton Lepo: 1,212 snaps played (1,117 RT, 94 LT)

Among the four who have seen the field already this season, Hanson appears to be the safest at first glance. His overall PFF score of 75.1 leads the other three by at least eight points. He’s the top run-blocker by nearly 8.5 points and is the best pass-blocker by more than 4.5 points.

Torgeson and Lepo grade out the worst from a pass-blocking perspective, with Lepo holding a slight edge there but losing to Torgeson as a run blocker by nearly the same amount. However, according to PFF, it’s Torgeson who leads OSU with 10 pressures allowed this season, though Lepo has given up two sacks, according to PFF.

When asked how those two and Nelson have handled shuffling along the line recently, Hanson said all three were handling the situation with maturity. He then spoke about the difficulties of changing sides from left to right or vice versa on the offensive line.

“Shoot, a big tackle in the NFL went from right to left and he had like a mental breakdown there,” Hanson said. “I don’t want to say that is how it always is, but it is just you understand it is on the opposite side, but it is almost like a different mentality there because everything is flipped. And you just got to understand that it is going to take a couple days for you to get back into it, but it is always doable.”

On Nelson specifically, Hanson said he’s been a resource for the younger players on the team even when he wasn’t able to participate himself.

“It’s always good,” Hanson said of adding Nelson. “Just getting more experience on the line. I know he’s a younger guy, but he’s been playing the past two years (in this offense), I believe, and he’s just a great player. Excited for him to come back.”

For running back Caleb Hawkins, picking a spot behind Nelson’s blocks won’t be anything new. It’s safe to say the OSU running back is eager to celebrate his former UNT teammate’s return to the field this weekend.

“Obviously, knowing him, I just feel that he’s going to go out there and show exactly what I know he’s going to do,” Hawkins said. “And that is absolutely kill it every play and give everything he has.”