NFL Conversation Gets Louder, but Drew Mestemaker Stays Focused on ‘Special’ Season at Oklahoma State

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STILLWATER — It feels like everyone is talking about Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker’s future.

Except, well, Drew Mestemaker.

“I think this team’s special and this season’s special, honestly,” said Mestemaker on Tuesday when asked about the NFL Draft. “There’s no point in thinking about that after because there’s nothing I can do about it right now.”

It’s very much in character with the kind of comments Mestemaker made to reporters in the final weeks of last season when he was expected to transfer following Morris’ decision to leave for Oklahoma State.

“It’s something I honestly haven’t even thought about,” Mestemaker said ahead of the American Conference Championship Game last season. “I think if you’re in the season thinking about what you’re going to do after the season, you’re just missing out on what we play the game for.”

Mestemaker said being the center of speculation last season has helped prepare him for the attention he’s getting now.

“Definitely good going through that last year because I honestly feel like it’s pretty similar,” Mestemaker said. “Just like my process of blocking that stuff out, and you know it’s just outside noise at the end of the day, and you just got to stay locked in.”

That noise increased in volume just a bit on Tuesday as announcements rolled out that Mestemaker is one of 18 finalists for the Maxwell Award given to the nation’s best player. He is also one of 10 up for the Burlsworth (top former walk-on) and one of 30 for the Davey O’Brien (top quarterback).

He’s the fifth-favorite for the Heisman Trophy (+1,500), and notably the only one in the top six who doesn’t play for a team that ranked 12th or higher in the CFP rankings last week.

“I feel like every little kid that wants to play football is like NFL is the goal, and it looks so far away when you’re young,” Mestemaker said. “And then you start getting closer to it. But you can’t get caught up in all that noise. But it’s always been a dream for sure.”

According to FanDuel, Mestemaker is the No. 2 favorite to be selected first overall in the upcoming NFL Draft at odds of +210. Only Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith (+150) sits ahead of him.

He’s much closer to Smith than No. 3 favorite Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr (+450) and fourth-favorite Miami quarterback Darian Mensah (+1,200).

“He’s shown no signs of letting it factor in,” coach Eric Morris said. “Same guy every day. And I think anytime you build a relationship with somebody, and you know them for that long, it’s a little easier to talk about things.

“We’ve already had the discussion like, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna talk about this stuff until the end of the season.’ I think that’s right for everybody in this program, right? He owes that to our team, I owe that to this team, so yeah, we’ll continue to keep going and chopping this wood every single day. At the end of the year you sit down and have a discussion with him and his mom and figure out what’s the best for the kid and his future.”

Whether he wants it or not, the attention coming Mestemaker’s way is well-deserved. He leads the nation in passing touchdowns (29) and ranks second overall in passing yards (2,962), though he sits first among P4 QBs by 168 yards.

Perhaps most impressively, Mestemaker sits second in total offense (3,139) by only 23 yards despite taking 58 fewer offensive snaps than national leader Oregon State quarterback Braden Atkinson. The closest P4 player sits 210 yards behind Mestemaker.

“Like, I just love playing football, and you know, this week is like a dream football game you dream about playing,” Mestemaker said, brushing aside questions about the NFL Draft.

Mestemaker might want to plug his ears, but when the nation turns its attention to Stillwater on Saturday night, and it will, considering no other ranked team kicks off within 90 minutes of Oklahoma State’s game vs AP No. 10 Texas Tech, they will do so to watch the quarterback expected to go first overall in the 2027 NFL Draft.

“I hate whenever people start talking about that,” Mestemaker said. “And like all the extra stuff. … So like my close circle and my friends and family, like we don’t talk about that.

“And you know there might be a decision after the season to make, but that’s an after-the-season decision to make.”