OSU Center Kasen Carpenter Is Playing for the Team His Grandfather Led Him to Cheer For

STILLWATER — Marlin Trissel could talk about his grandson Kasen Carpenter all day.

Unless Thursday night comes up. The thought of watching Carpenter take the field as an offensive lineman for his favorite team, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, is almost too good to put into words.

“Probably indescribable,” Trissel says initially before pausing for a while. “It would be, man, maybe the best way to put it would be very special.”

Trissel’s love for the Cowboys was one of the reasons he moved to Stillwater in 2013, and somewhere between then and now, he shared his passion for the team with Carpenter, who has fond memories of watching Cowboy games with his grandfather.

Now the Cowboys have rewarded Trissel’s dedication by giving him more quality time not only with his grandson, but other members of the family who will drive in to help him cheer Carpenter on this fall and throughout his Oklahoma State career.

“The more we’re together, the better,” Trissel said of his family. “It’s just always a special time, you know, when we all can get together. In fact, his sister’s driving in from Lubbock, Texas, tomorrow for the game Thursday night.”

Speaking of Thursday, Carpenter appears to be one of two left competing to start for the Cowboys at center that night, according to the first depth chart. Regardless of whether that happens it is safe to say Carpenter has made the most of his journey since high school.

“He wanted to come here in the beginning. … But his, he just didn’t have the measurements,” Trissel said. “But there’s two things that are unmeasurable, and I’ll share those with you, and that’s a brain and a heart. And that boy’s got them both. He’s got the heart to get ‘er done, and he’s got the smarts.”

Now he finally has the size to match.

“I’ve already seen gains in myself,” Carpenter said, praising strength and conditioning coach Rob Glass. “When I’ve (only) been here since January. So he’s definitely got a mojo he’s got going on and it’s working.”

His grandfather isn’t surprised. After one week on campus, Trissel asked his grandson what the best part of joining the Cowboys was and Carpenter didn’t hesitate to say “Rob Glass.”

Carpenter said he weighed about 288 when he moved to Stillwater in January. These days, the lineman tips the scale at 305 pounds which is a far cry from the 265-pounds listed on his high school recruiting profile back in 2022.

“No one ever straight up told me that it (my size) was an issue, but it was something that was kind of just known,” Carpenter said. “You know, I go on these visits, and I’m standing around guys who are two inches taller than me and obviously have 40 more pounds. So it was kind of, I understood it as well, and that’s why I took the path I did.”

Instead, Carpenter spent the first two seasons of his college career at Tulsa including a redshirt year in 2023. Last fall, he played 873 snaps for TU and was the starting center for almost all of them.

Carpenter said getting the chance to play so much time last year at center, a position he didn’t have live game experience with before, was crucial to preparing him for the season ahead in Stillwater.

“It was eye opening for sure,” Carpenter said. “Playing at the college level for a full season, obviously, there’s a speed difference, there’s a strength, size difference, so I was able to see that and just getting a feel for the game. … And you learn so much from it, technique wise, and getting the feel of leverage, and you know, all those things you can just build on that as the years go.”

But Carpenter made it clear he isn’t content with personal growth this season. He’s been on the wrong side of celebrations enough.

“The main goal right now is to win games,” Carpenter said. “I didn’t come here just to keep losing. I had two pretty rough seasons over at Tulsa, and I’m ready to win.”

To say his three position coaches (Cooper Bassett, Andrew Mitchell and support staff member Grant Garner) share those feelings would be an understatement.

“Obviously, any coach wants to win,” Carpenter said. “But when they’re here where they played, where they’ve won in the past. They want to bring it back, and we can feel it in the room. We can feel the intensity. We can feel their love for the school, and it pours into us. Honestly, it just helps us go even harder.”

Carpenter has enjoyed hearing their war stories from their Cowboy careers, both the funny and serious ones, this offseason. But he’s ready to make his own memories in the place his grandfather helped him learn to love.

“You always dream of it as a kid to play at a level like this,” Carpenter said. “And now it’s coming, and we’ve been working our butts off for it. We’ve been working so hard, competing to play, and so I’m just ready.”