Eric Morris Praises Versatility of Tight End Group

STILLWATER — The tight end position at Oklahoma State has had a microscope on it for the past decade or so from fans who want to see the position used more.

Last season, Oklahoma State tight ends accounted for 17 catches. Under Eric Morris, North Texas tight ends nearly doubled that number, bringing in 32.

Those numbers start to get a little closer as you continue to go back. Over the past three seasons, OSU tight ends were responsible for 60 catches, while North Texas tight ends brought in 68 balls. OSU’s numbers were juiced in 2023 by Josiah Johnson, who caught 22 passes as part of OSU’s 27 tight end catches. But in 2025 and 2024, OSU tight ends had 33 catches to UNT tight ends’ 57.

How exactly Morris will use the position group in Stillwater remains to be seen, but in discussing the position after Wednesday’s first fall practice, Morris praised the group’s ability to be multifaceted. He ran down just about the whole room and gave thoughts on each guy.

Morgan McPhaul: Listed at a bruising 6-foot-2, 265 pounds, McPhaul joined the Cowboys from the Virginia Military Institute this offseason. He’s made 23 starts across the past two seasons.

In 2025, McPhaul caught 15 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown.

He’s from Kinston, North Carolina and went to high school at Arendell-Parrott Academy, where he primarily played running back on an eight-man football team.

“Morgan McPhaul is a guy, if you looked at him, looks a little bit more like a tight end,” Morris said. “But he’s a guy really as we watched him over the course of the summer, he can really run and he has a great skillset to catch the football.”

Oscar Hammond: Morris is familiar with Hammond, as the two spent the 2024 season together at North Texas before Hammond transferred to OSU in 2025 and Morris got the coaching job in Stillwater for 2026.

Hammond missed his first season as a Cowboy with injury but has made an impact basically everywhere else he has been.

In his lone year at North Texas, Hammond played in 10 games and started six times where he caught 19 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown. He had at least one catch in nine of UNT’s games.

Before that, Hammond (out of Collinsville) got his college career started at UCO. He earned third team All-MIAA honors as a true freshman after catching 25 passes for 327 yards and a touchdown before again being an all-conference third teamer as a sophomore after catching 33 balls for 463 yards and four touchdowns.

“I think Oscar’s, obviously, your guy that’s a hybrid, that’s a great receiver,” Morris said. “You can split him out. You can match him up against linebackers and have the advantage. He’s a great pass catcher, great route runner.”

Bodie Boydstrun: Now listed at 6-foot-5, 239 pounds, Boydstrun’s college career started at quarterback, as he walked on at Southwestern Oklahoma State out of Oklahoma Bible Academy (another eight-man football program).

Boydstrun started two games as a true freshman quarterback in 2023, throwing for 134 yards. He then moved to tight end in 2024, playing in 10 games and catching three balls for 49 yards before being an all-conference selection last season after catching 14 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think Bodie is a big guy that can do some inline tight end stuff,” Morris said. “Big body. Physical. You can put his hand in the dirt. You can run some power behind him. All those different things.”

Donovan Green: All of the guys mentioned to this point had to work their way up different divisions of college football. That wasn’t the case with Green, the group’s presumed starter.

Listed at 6-3, 238 pounds, Green was a Top 5 tight end in the 2022 recruiting class, initially choosing Texas A&M over offers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, Florida LSU, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Ole Miss, Penn State, Texas, USC and others — basically anywhere he wanted to go.

He had an outstanding freshman campaign in College Station, catching 22 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns, but an injury in fall camp the next year sort of derailed things.

He transferred to LSU ahead of last season and played in all 13 of the Tigers’ games, catching two balls for 40 yards.

“Donovan Green is a little bit of everything, right?” Morris said. “And Donovan’s an old soul. We call him the old head around here. He’s been through a lot. He’s seen it. His body looks good right now. He’s had some injuries in the past.”

Carson Kolb: Lastly, Carson Kolb has already had a cool moment in Stillwater before even taking an in-game snap.

A transfer from Oregon State, Kolb joined the Cowboys as a walk-on this offseason before quickly being put on scholarship.

Scholarship. Earned. 🤩@CooperLai4 @HarrisonD2003 @CarsonKolb3 #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/V4FlVdlPyf

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) June 19, 2026

Kolb played in all 12 of Oregon State’s games last season, excelling on special teams, something that has apparently stuck out about his short time in Stillwater.

“Carson Kolb is a guy that walked on that we ended up putting on scholarship because he’s provided such experience, especially on special teams,” Morris said. “A guy that’s going to start on all four special teams, and then do some spot stuff for us at tight end.”