‘Dream Come True’: Jakobe Sanders Proves Oklahoma State Still Has Plenty to Play for in 2025

STILLWATER — Sometime between the dismissal of Mike Gundy’s and Oklahoma State’s 0-2 start in Big 12 play it became increasingly clear that the Cowboys had fallen into a lost season.

Each week, the conversation around the Cowboys centered on the ongoing coaching search, reports of players redshirting, and even conversations surrounding which key players OSU’s next coach needed to keep out of the transfer portal.

All of which makes sense given the money at stake and the sport’s obsession with championship culture. And yet, all of that talk of the future ignores how much these Saturdays mean to the Cowboys, who stayed Loyal and True this fall. For some of them, like Stillwater local Jakobe Sanders, the chance to represent the Cowboys remains the opportunity of a lifetime.

“I mean, it’s everything,” Sanders said. “I don’t know any Stillwater kid who doesn’t dream of starting a Homecoming game and being able to play. So to have that happen, and that to be my first collegiate start, is a dream come true.”

To say Sanders played pretty well in that start would actually be insulting. The right guard finished with the fourth-best overall offensive Pro Football Focus grade (73.3) and the best pass-blocking grade (84.9) among Cowboys against Cincinnati.

If that wasn’t proof enough, OSU’s offense far outperformed its averages in several, if not all, statistics, thanks in no small part to Sanders.

“Well, he’s a super strong kid,” interim coach Doug Meacham said. “He’s a little bit undersized in terms of height-wise, length-wise, but he went out there and battled, did a good job. It’s the same thing you tell all the guys that are backup players. I mean, you’re an ankle away, you’re a shoulder away from being in the game, so you have to prepare like you’re a starter.”

It’s fitting that Meacham started off complimenting Sanders’ strength. When reporters asked him about that, the Stillwater local described OSU strength coach Rob Glass as a long-time mentor and said it wasn’t uncommon to find himself lifting more than some of his peers.

When asked for some numbers, Sanders mentioned he could bench 420 pounds and squat roughly 550 for two reps at a time. His most memorable milestone came when he squatted 605 pounds ahead of his senior year at Stillwater.

“Oh yeah (teammates went crazy),” Sanders said. “I mean, just see that much weight on the bar. A lot of them, a lot of those guys haven’t seen six-plus plates on a single bar. The bar is bending, and it was a great atmosphere.”

That strength definitely paid off as 30% of running back Rodney Fields’ yards came when he ran between Sanders and center Austin Kawecki.

The fact that Sanders spent almost all of the last 2.5 years on the bench, except for a few limited snaps here and there, made his first start even more memorable.

“All the work I’ve done for the past three years to get to that point, I mean, it definitely means something,” Sanders said. “I mean, all the stadium steps and workouts. I mean, nothing with Coach Glass comes easy. So to go out there and being able to finally get my chance. And I mean it just means the world.”

Of course, even that doesn’t quite tell the full story, considering his grandfather, Robert Turner, also played for the Cowboys, rushing for more than 1,800 yards in four seasons from 1973-76.

“Growing up, he’d always tell stories about his old teammates and what they did and their bowl games and their big wins,” Sanders said. “And to go out there and have him be able to watch me go out there and do the same thing, I mean, I know it makes him proud, and I feel great for doing it.”

Right after that quote, a reporter asked Sanders if the strangeness of the season, including a coaching change and the number of losses, affected how he felt about the program.

He responded with a respectful but definitive quote that made it clear how he, and likely many others on the team, feel about the season.

“Whatever’s going on, I mean, this is still Oklahoma State University, and I mean, it’s gonna live on.” Sanders said. “So I just go out there and put on the jersey that says Oklahoma State and go out there and play.”

It’s almost like he spent his whole life somewhere preparing to perfectly embody the spirit of OSU…

“I love it here,” Sanders said. “I mean, I grew up here. My family went to college here. My grandpa played here (and) went to college here. My high school coach played here, went to college here. I mean, everything in my life’s always been Stillwater and Oklahoma State football, so to go out there and play it’s a dream.”