Former Freshman All-American Center Tyler Mercer Reunites With Morris, Mestemaker in Stillwater

STILLWATER — Eric Morris said he puts a lot on his centers, which is why it’s probably ideal that the Cowboys have a center with experience in his offense and experience in the Big 12.

Tyler Mercer was a freshman All-American under Morris in 2024 at North Texas, playing in eight games and making six starts. He was named Dave Campbell Texas Football’s Offensive Freshman of the Year.

Those accolades were enough for him to move up to the Power Four in 2025, as Mercer transferred to Kansas. He redshirted with the Jayhawks, playing in three games before reuniting with Morris in Stillwater.

“Some yes, some no,” said Mercer when asked if getting back into Morris’ offense was like riding a bike. “Play calls, similar, but new O-line coach. When I was at UNT, I had a different O-line coach. Coming to Coach (Cody) Crill, there’s different calls, different things they’ve changed up, which I’ve actually come to like — different nuances that I’ve never thought of, never seen before, but that I’m learning and are so crucial to running the ball down the hash, being successful.”

Mercer getting to Denton in 2024 meant he was classmates with new OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker. Mercer said he and Mestemaker clicked that year, hanging out and going golfing. When asked who was the better golfer, Mercer laughed and said that with their time apart, he thinks he can beat Mestemaker now.

But while they were buddies off the field, they had different freshmen seasons. Mercer started a good chunk of the year, finishing with 565 offensive snaps. Mestemaker, a walk-on, started deep in the depth chart and didn’t get much playing time until the Mean Green’s bowl game. By that time Mercer was in the portal, but he knew what UNT had with this young QB.

“He started as deep in the, fifth string, whatever — walk-on quarterback,” Mercer said. “But then quickly you saw leadership qualities of him, him climb the depth chart. And then next thing you know, I’m looking up in second group, and he’s leading the charge, calling the plays and slinging the rock. It didn’t take long to recognize, like, this dude can play. And then, that bowl game my freshman year — didn’t get to play in it because I was in the portal — but I went to go watch him and saw him go off. After that, I was like, yeah, this is gonna be fun.”

After that year in Denton together, Mercer and Mestemaker will likely see a lot more of each other on the field in Boone Pickens Stadium this fall.

Mercer said he was relieved to learn that there was no ill will for leaving UNT since Morris reached out after he hit the portal this time. He said he loved playing for Morris.

For Morris, bringing in a center who has already proven to be capable of what the head coach puts on his plate was a no-brainer.

“We put so much on the center,” Morris said. “He’s going to call all of our stuff for us. Our quarterback does none of that. So first and foremost how smart he is. He’s got a really, really high football IQ. He was really well coached in high school at Prosper (TX). He came in and I don’t want to use the word ‘overdeveloped,’ but he was overdeveloped as an offensive lineman at the time, which gave him the opportunity to play as a freshman. He was a freshman All-American for us at North Texas, but I think when you add his strength now, it’s a lot better now than when we had him at North Texas.

“Last year, redshirting was able to really commit himself to getting stronger in the weight room. You can see the difference in this. He’s a high IQ, blue collar, going to work his tail off everyday. He’s going to lead the charge for us. He’s super vocal.”