Eric Morris Provides Injury Updates Entering Week 3 Matchup Against Murray State

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STILLWATER — In the midst of their scrap with Oregon, the Cowboys saw a few guys go down with injury.

Oklahoma State beat the Ducks 39-31 this past weekend, but guys like Chris Barnes, Iman Oates and Joseph Hanson all went down at one point or another. At his regularly scheduled Tuesday news conference, Morris gave some updates on his injuries.

“Looks like he’s gonna be able to go this week,” Morris said of Barnes. “… D-line in the trenches, just a little bit nicked up — Iman. Tough. He was mad we wouldn’t let him go back in the game. I mean, you could tell. He’s a kid that has toughness and grit and it means a ton to him. So, I respect it when kids have the fire on the sideline like that.”

Barnes, a transfer receiver from Wake Forrest, took part in 42 of the Cowboys’ 87 snaps against the Ducks before leaving with an apparent shoulder injury. He finished having caught two balls for 51 yards, including a 39-yard catch and run early in the third quarter.

A rare returner, Oates exited after playing 14 snaps on the defensive interior, but it sounds like if it was up to him, he’d have closed the game out.

Morris didn’t give a definitive update on Hanson. A Coastal Carolina transfer offensive lineman, Hanson played 31 snaps at right guard. When he went down, they flipped North Texas transfer Johnny Dickson III from left to right then had Desmond Magiya, another UNT transfer, fill in at left guard.

The OSU line also lost center Tyler Mercer for a bit, but he returned after Jakobe Sanders filled in for a series.

“Hanson came out of the game at one point,” Morris said. “Des (Magiya) came in. We never really missed a beat when we had to make that switch. Tyler Mercer came out for a drive. We’ve had to roll. It’s been the next man up, but really haven’t seen just major drop-offs. It’s been awesome to see.”

The Cowboys were without defensive tackle Braylon Rigsby entirely against the Ducks. Rigsby garnered some preseason love from his fellow defenders and played 11 snaps against Tulsa, finishing with the best PFF grade among OSU defensive linemen who played at least five snaps.

“Rigsby has worked into practice (Tuesday),” Morris said. “So, health-wise, we’re trending the right way. Just like everyone in the country right now, we’re a little nicked up.”

There are also two guys on the precipice of a return who have yet to debut for the Cowboys — tight end Oscar Hammond and offensive lineman Braydon Nelson.

Hammond is a returner with experience with Morris, as he played for Morris at UNT in 2024 before transferring to OSU ahead of last season. But an injury saw him miss all of 2025, and he has now been out the start of 2026.

Nelson started all 14 of North Texas’ games at tackle last season, playing 736 snaps at left tackle and 173 at right. Given some of the early attrition the Cowboys’ line has faced, adding him to the fold sounds like it would be a big deal.

“Oscar’s getting closer and closer,” Morris said. “Him and Braydon Nelson right now are practicing out there and doing stuff with us and will be game-time decisions for us, probably the next two weeks, and then you get a bye. So, we’ll have to be just smart how we handle those situations, but Oscar will add a different dynamic, a little bit more of a receiver type out there that’s a really good route runner and has got speed.”

OSU plays Murray State this weekend before opening up their Big 12 schedule on the road against West Virginia on Sept. 26. The Cowboys then have a bye. By the way the Cowboys’ coached talked it sounds like at the least, those two could be back by Oct. 10 when OSU hosts UCF — barring any setbacks, of course.