Jacob Sexton Is Out for the Year, What Does that Mean for Oklahoma State’s Offensive Line?

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STILLWATER — What many feared but probably knew was true was confirmed on Tuesday: Cowboy left tackle Jacob Sexton is out for the year with a leg injury.

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris provided that news Tuesday after Sexton went down with an apparent leg injury just six plays into Oklahoma State’s surprising 24-10 loss to Tulsa this past weekend.

The only change on OSU’s updated depth chart was at left tackle, where North Texas transfer Desmond Magiya and Portland State transfer Shaun Torgeson shared an OR after those two rotated following Sexton’s injury.

Torgeson played the most snaps among OSU tackles in Tulsa, taking part in 69. Of those, 48 came at right tackle, where he was already set to rotate with Michigan State transfer Ashton Lepo as the two battled for that spot. But then with Sexton going down, Torgeson filled in with 21 snaps on the left side.

Magiya was second in tackle snaps, with all 64 of his Saturday snaps coming on the left side of the line of scrimmage, while all 43 of Lepo’s snaps came on the right side.

“Whoever practices the best this week,” said Morris of how the tackle spots will get worked out. “So, we’ll see who gives us the best chance to win.”

Six plays into the season, and the Cowboys were essentially down two left tackle options, as Braydon Nelson, who played 1,190 snaps at the position across the past two seasons for Morris at North Texas, missed fall camp with an injury. Morris said after Saturday’s game that Nelson has recently returned to offensive line drills but hadn’t started working into team drills quite yet.

The offensive line was put under a microscope in the fallout of that Tulsa loss with the Cowboys’ offense having a tough time keeping quarterback Drew Mestemaker clean and failing to convert four fourth-and-short opportunities. Now the Cowboys have to focus on corrections as Oregon, one of the top defenses in the country, heads to Stillwater this weekend.

“Definitely hard with Jacob, but also just motivated,” said center Tyler Mercer of the mood of the O-line room. “Just asking for broader shoulders and realizing that we’ve gotta take another step, evidently, with this unit coming up this weekend. Obviously that’s gonna be a challenge. Kind of just motivated to take that next step and have a good challenge.”

The interior of the Cowboys’ line played every snap against the Golden Hurricane, with Mercer, left guard Johnny Dickson and right guard Joseph Hanson joining Mestemaker as the only offensive players to participate in all 91 of the Cowboys’ snaps.

Mercer played 565 snaps for Morris at UNT in 2024 but was at Kansas last season, where he redshirted while playing only 44 snaps total. So, Saturday acted as a reintroduction to the field of play for him. That center spot is a little extra important, as Mercer also plays a roll in setting protections.

“I think we didn’t give Drew much time,” Mercer said. “I think that’s what we saw on film a lot. That’s a collective effort, keeping him up, giving him time. We have elite skill guys and quarterback, so kind of just focusing on that and getting communication right and playing fast and protecting him.”