Report: Oklahoma State Lands Louisville Defensive Line Transfer Jerry Lawson

PORTAL TRACKER

After a few years apart, Cowboy defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity is reuniting with defensive lineman Jerry Lawson.

Lawson signed with Oklahoma State, according to 247Sports’ McClain Baxley. He spent this past season at Louisville, but before that Lawson played at Abilene Christian, where Cassity coordinated the Wildcats’ defense for two seasons.

Listed at 6-foot-2, 295 pounds, Lawson played in all 13 of Louisville’s games in 2025, finishing the year with 16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and a PBU. PFF credited Lawson with 10 pressures this season in 226 defensive snaps.

He was an all-conference selection in his final season at Abilene Christian in 2024. Coming the year Cassity moved to Sam Houston, Lawson made 65 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in 14 starts. He had 15 tackles in a game against Northern Colorado that season.

Lawson played in 11 games and made seven starts at ACU in 2023 under Cassity, a season in which he recorded 41 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss.

He hails from Breckenridge, Texas, a town of about 5,000 northeast of Abilene. It’s sort of hard to imagine given his 295-pound frame, but Lawson also played running back in high school, totaling 1,637 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Lawson is the third defensive line addition the Cowboys have made via the portal, joining Keviyan Huddleston and Fatafehi Vailea II, both North Texas transfers. Lawson becomes the fifth portal pledge for the Pokes who isn’t following the staff straight over from North Texas.