Eric Morris Has More Returning Talent Now Than He Had Ahead of UNT’s Dominant 2025 Season

STILLWATER — Last year, Eric Morris and his coaching staff, virtually all of whom followed him to Stillwater, guided North Texas to a 12-2 season and the doorstep of the College Football Playoff.

That’s a big reason they are in Stillwater now, but how long will it take Morris and company to rebuild that foundation at Oklahoma State?

Although there’s been plenty of positive buzz this offseason, FanDuel Sportsbook is currently booking win total bets for the Cowboys at 5.5 wins. Although the specific odds suggest FanDuel favors OSU to clear that bar and become bowl eligible. In fact, where win totals are concerned, the Cowboys winning six games is the biggest favorite in the conference.

While North Texas’ ascent to the near top of the American Conference and national relevancy feels obvious now, that wasn’t the case around this time last year when some oddsmakers set UNT’s win total at 6.5. Talk about a steal! North Texas had seven wins before Halloween.

Morris accomplished that with a team that featured only seven full-time returning starters and four guys who contributed enough in 2024 to be worth consideration as returning part-time starters.

Although fans will recognize a handful of returning Cowboy faces this fall, the true returning starters from a development standpoint are guys like quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who followed their coaches from UNT this offseason.

That list includes eight full-time starters and five part-time starters, which helped Morris turn North Texas into a national storyline.

The level of competition for those guys increased this offseason, but Oklahoma State’s coaches arguably have an even better foundation this season than they had at UNT.

The biggest difference between the two groups of returners is the split between offense and defense. Last season, UNT returned five full-time starters (four of whom are now Cowboys), including two safeties (Quinton Hammonds and Evan Jackson), two linebackers (Ethan Wesloski) and one defensive lineman (Fatafehi Vailea).

This season, OSU returns three full-time starters from UNT in Hammonds, Wesloski and defensive lineman Saadiq Clements. They also return three part-timers in Jackson, corner Kollin Lewis and edge rusher Keviyan Huddleston.

From a personnel standpoint, the situation Oklahoma State’s offensive playcaller faces is so much more positive than what he had before. In 2025, Morris built his record-setting offense around a group that included only two full-time returning starters, both offensive linemen (Braydon Nelson and Johnny Dickson, who are now at OSU), and four part-timers, comprising of three wide receivers (including both Wyatt Young and Miles Coleman) and one offensive tackle.

This season, Morris gets to flex his muscles with five full-time returners: Mestemaker, Young, Nelson, Dickson and running back Caleb Hawkins, in addition to two part-timers in Coleman and lineman Desmond Magiya.

While not all of these guys are expected to start for the Cowboys in 2026, it seems safe to conclude that anyone who beats these guys out for playing time this fall has truly impressed the coaches.

Here’s a brief look at all 13 “returning starters” with key 2025 stats:

QB Drew Mestemaker: Led nation in passing yards (4,379) and passing yards per attempt (9.46) while finishing top five in a number of other key stats.

RB Caleb Hawkins: Scored an all-time NCAA freshman record 29 touchdowns

WR Wyatt Young: 1,246 receiving yards ranked third in the nation

RG Johnny Dickson: PFF Run-blocking grade of 72.6 ranked second among UNT OL

LT Braydon Nelson: 961 offensive snaps, second-most on team

S Quinton Hammonds: Five tackles for loss and one sack

LB Ethan Wesloski: Team-high 113 tackles (team-high 59 solo)

DL Saadiq Clements: 11 total pressures created (seventh most on team) on 165 attempts

WR Miles Coleman: Third on team in receptions (47) and yards (550)

LT Desmond Magiya: Topped 50 snaps in four games while splitting time between left guard and left tackle

S Evan Jackson: Two interceptions and two pass breakups

CB Kollin Lewis: Team-best 42.1% completion percentage against him (min. 200 snaps in coverage)

Edge Keviyan Huddleston: Team-high five sacks