Four Transfers Reveal What It’s Like to Meet Drew Mestemaker After His Breakout to Become a Top QB

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State defensive lineman Braylon Rigsby has a routine when he finds himself squaring off against Oklahoma State QB1 Drew Mestemaker.

“I always look at him, smile, or say ‘hey or something,’ just to joke around,” Rigsby said. “But Drew’s nice, man. I love Drew. He’s really good.”

The hype surrounding Mestemaker both for the season ahead and his eventual pro career seems to grow by the day. But if he and Oklahoma State are going to live up to their potential this fall, Mestemaker will likely need that same amount of respect inside the locker room.

Based on four different conversations with transfers like Rigsby, who didn’t know him before this offseason, it sounds like Mestemaker aced that portion of the transition.

“He’s just like (running back) Caleb (Hawkins),” running back Ayo Adeyi said. “I feel like just his success is really cool to see. But just seeing him outside of football, down-to-earth guy, very humble, fun to be around. Just, he’s a locker room guy, you know. Guys like that are the best people because you want to be around them all the time. So it’s great to group with people like him. So I’m excited.”

Adeyi just missed out on sharing a team with Mestemaker as he transferred away from North Texas the same offseason that the quarterback joined. His impression of the Cowboys’ quarterback wasn’t unique to the offense.

Rigsby, a Texas Tech transfer, identified Mestemaker’s character as the thing that impressed him the most.

“He’s humble, really humble,” Rigby said. “You won’t really hear much from him. He’ll just go out there and do his job.”

Michigan State transfer Ashton Lepo didn’t voice those things, but likely feels similarly, considering he said he hangs out with Mestemaker on the weekends cooking steaks and stuff like that.

When asked what stands out about the Cowboys QB, Lepo focused instead on how he leads the offense.

“I think he is just really detailed at his craft,” he said. “A lot of the plays and stuff, he is really detailed, detail-oriented, making sure everyone knows what we’re doing, where exactly he has to read and stuff like that. Kind of the little things, making sure that he knows what he is doing.”

That attention to detail has more than paid off this offseason, according to UCLA transfer Isaiah Chisom. Despite ranking second on the Bruins with 84 tackles last season, the linebacker said he struggles to anticipate his new quarterback, which is something he hopes proves true for his counterparts throughout the Big 12. It also echoes some of the praise OSU’s defensive coordinator offered recently when explaining how Mestemaker’s time as a high school defender helped him develop as a quarterback.

“He’s a great quarterback and a great guy,” Chisom said. “I think, you know, it’s hard to find people who are able to read stuff so well and look off. He’s really hard to read during practice and see what he’s about to do.”