Next Man Up: Eric Morris Weighs In on Backup QB, RB Competitions

STILLWATER — There’s a lot of reason for optimism this fall with a potential future first-round draft pick at quarterback, but life isn’t always fair.

Eric Morris is well aware of that and on Wednesday, even went so far as to acknowledge one of those what-ifs that no Oklahoma State fan wants to even voice out loud. What if QB1 goes down?

“Obviously, I think what Oklahoma State went through last year, you get excited about a kid, starts off good and then series two or three he’s out for the rest of the year, and it’s like, ‘Holy crap, what do we do now?’” Morris said.

The rather ominous turn in that quote was largely unprompted, though the Cowboys head coach was asked to evaluate his backup quarterback options. Morris wanted to go there so he could voice his comfort with the depth of the position.

“Coach (Sean) Brophy does a phenomenal job with that,” Morris said. “I think Grant (Jordan) is a seasoned veteran, he’s played football, he’s been around it, he’s installed. Super smart and continues to get better. And then Brodie’s a guy who’s right on his tail right now. A young guy who got all those reps in the spring. We’ll give them a ton of reps and scrimmage live situations and see who can put it all together.”

Freshman Broderick Vehrs continues to linger in the backup competition, and Morris’ quote lines up with the relatively even performance media members have seen in limited practice viewings from both Vehrs and Jordan, who completed 57% of 110 pass attempts for 595 yards and three touchdowns last season at UMass.

Prior to that, Jordan started nine games at Yale in 2024 and finished the season with 1,938 passing yards and 22 touchdowns after completing 66% of his 250 pass attempts.

Oklahoma State also has a guaranteed superstar at running back in Caleb Hawkins, but the Cowboys have some question marks behind him at the position.

Ayo Adeyi seemed like a favorite when spring began, considering he was Morris’ top running back in 2023 when he rushed for 1,017 yards and six touchdowns. However, he only carried the ball 44 times during the last two seasons at James Madison, in large part due to a season-ending injury after two starts in 2024.

“I think Ayo’s gotta stay healthy,” Morris said. “He knows that. He’s somebody that’s been banged up the last couple years.”

Freshman KD Jones was the No. 24 back in the nation, according to 247Sports, after he rushed for 1,264 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior at Jenks.

“He could push for some playing time this year. … I could definitely see him getting some reps this year,” Morris said at Big 12 Media Days.

Tarleton State transfer Tre Page rushed for 839 yards and seven scores last season, but he and Central Oklahoma transfer William Mason (735 yards and five touchdowns last season) have as much experience against Power Conference foes as Jones.

In fact, between the three of them, Page is the only one to even face an FBS team. He averaged 6.4 yards and scored once on 14 rushing attempts against Army last season. That alone might suggest he’s the guy to beat unless Adeyi can recapture who he was back in 2023.

Still, it sounds like Morris expects to rotate through several guys this season. Three UNT backs topped 55 carries last season with a fourth finishing with 45.

“KD has shown some explosion and has matured a lot,” Morris said on Wednesday. “Tre Page is super fast. He has speed to take it the distance. William Mason is a bigger, stronger kid — 225 pounds. They all have a little different skill set. I think we’ll use the majority of them in different situations.”