Pokes in the Preseason: A Roundup of How Former Oklahoma State Players Performed

A handful of former Pokes got their first tastes of NFL football this past weekend while another group readied for another year in the men’s league.

We’ve already taken looks at how Brennan Presley and Ollie Gordon scored on their NFL debuts, but here are a few other standout performances from the weekend and a look at stats from every former OSU player below.

WATCH: Brennan Presley scores first NFL touchdown

WATCH: Ollie Gordon scores first NFL touchdown

Rudolph Shines in Steelers Return

Mason Rudolph is heading into another year as the Steelers’ backup quarterback, but this one comes after a year away from the team.

After playing in 21 games for the franchise from 2019 to 2023, Rudolph spent last season with the Tennessee Titans before returning to the franchise that drafted him this offseason.

For a while, it looked as if that might be as a starter, but after months of speculation, the Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers, pushing Rudolph back down the depth chart.

But should Rodgers need relief this season (he’s 41 years old, after all), Rudolph showed this weekend that he is a dang good backup to have.

He went 9-for-10 for 84 yards and a touchdown. His only incompletion was a pass behind the line of scrimmage, as he was 8-for-8 on balls thrown between one and 19 yards.

Rudolph’s touchdown was a 19-yard pass over the middle to tight end Darnell Washington.

Darnell Washington scores the @Steelers‘ first TD of the preseason 😤

Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/RkRDyRnC3Z

— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2025

For what it’s worth, Skylar Thompson also had a good game behind Rudolph, going 20-for-28 with three touchdowns and no picks. The Steelers took Thompson in the seventh round of this year’s draft.

Rudolph is OSU’s all-time passing leader, throwing for 13,618 yards and 92 touchdowns in his career which spanned from 2014 to 2017.

The Steelers took him in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He played in 21 games across his first four seasons in Pittsburgh, completing 64% of his passes for 3,085 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Playing in eight games with Tennessee last season, Rudolph threw for 1,530 yards, nine touchdowns and nine picks.

Tay Martin Makes the Most of Commanders Opportunity

The Commanders didn’t sign Tay Martin until July 23, but the former Cowboy made a big impact on Washington’s initial preseason game.

In fact, when Washington signed Martin, the Commanders brought three other receivers in with him for tryouts before Martin showed he was the one the team needed to sign.

Martin caught all three of his targets for 36 yards in the Commanders’ 48-18 blowout loss to New England. That put him second on the team in receptions and receiving yards for the opening preseason game, and all of Martin’s catches came in the first half.

Martin spent two seasons in Stillwater after transferring from Washington State, where he was for three seasons.

He was the leading receiver on OSU’s Fiesta Bowl-winning squad from 2021, finishing the season with 80 catches for 1,046 yards and 10 touchdowns.

In five college seasons across the two schools, Martin caught 238 passes for 2,801 yards and 28 touchdowns.

PFF Loved Josh Sills’ Game

O-linemen don’t get a lot of love, especially in the preseason, but former Cowboy Josh Sills finished with the best PFF grade of any offensive player on the Indianapolis Colts in the team’s 24-16 loss to Baltimore.

Sills took part in 47 snaps, according to PFF, with 42 of those coming on offense and the other five coming as part of a field-goal team. Playing at right guard, Sills didn’t allow a single pressure in his time on the field and finished with an 86.2 PFF grade.

The next closest PFF grade to Sills was rookie tight end Tyler Warren at a 78.4. The next closest offensive lineman to Sills grade was Blake Freeland’s 67.8.

Like Martin, Sills came to Stillwater in 2020. He started 23 of OSU’s 25 games in his two seasons in Stillwater and earned All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2021, the same year his teammates voted him a team captain.

Full Stats from the Weekend

Dalton Cooper (Chiefs) — 20 snaps, 0 pressures allowed

Tre Flowers (Bears) — six tackles, two pass breakup

Anthony Goodlow (Cardinals) — 2 tackles

Ollie Gordon (Dolphins) — 8 carries, 33 rush yards, 1 rush touchdown, 1 catch, 39 receiving yards

AJ Green (Rams) — 1 tackle, 2 pass breakups

Devin Harper (Steelers) — 4 tackles

Chuba Hubbard (Panthers) — 3 carries, 10 yards

Teven Jenkins (Browns) — 18 snaps, three pressures allowed

Tyler Lacy (Jaguars) — 1 tackle

Nick Martin (49ers) — five tackles

Tay Martin (Commanders) — 3 catches, 36 receiving yards

Joe Michalski (Broncos) — 23 snaps, 0 pressures allowed

Emmanuel Ogbah (Jaguars) — 4 tackles

Amen Ogbongbemiga (Bears) — one tackle

Rashod Owens (Bengals) — 1 target

Brennan Presley (Rams) — 2 catches, 11 receiving yards, 1 kick return, 38 kick return yards yards, 1 punt return

Mason Rudolph (Steelers) — 9-for-10, 84 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown

Josh Sills (Colts) — 47 snaps, 0 pressures allowed, best PFF grade among Colts

Tylan Wallace (Ravens) — 1 catch, 9 receiving yards