Skyler Cassity Built Jerry Lawson’s Confidence Up in the FCS, Now He’s the Cowboy’s Most Consistent DT

STILLWATER — Defensive lineman Jerry Lawson doesn’t look it now, but the 6-foot-1, 312-pound senior rushed for 1,637 yards and scored 29 touchdowns in high school.

​“Majority of time, I remind (OSU running backs) coach (Patrick) Cobbs, ‘I’m ready to get that rock whenever you need to punch it in at the goal line, I got you,’” Lawson said.

​Not sure Cobbs will take him up on that offer anytime soon, but for the longest time Lawson believed his future was to play running back in college, then the coaches at Abilene Christian set him straight.

​“They told me, ‘stop sending us your running back film, send that D-line film,’” Lawson said.

Lawson doesn’t end up a Cowboy without Abilene Christian. That’s where he met Skyler Cassity, who was in his second year ever as a defensive coordinator.

“He was the one that believed in me. … He was like, ‘we know you can play, and you’re going to have to start and all that and have to man up and put your big boy pants on and get it rolling,’” Lawson said.

The then-freshman defender really needed to hear his coaches voice that belief in him because Lawson lacked it himself.

“At that time I didn’t really have that much confidence, for one,” Lawson said. “I was young and still learning how college football works and all that.”

Lawson started for the first time in week three, and he finished the season with seven starts and recorded 41 tackles, including 5.5 for loss. A more confident Lawson showed up the next season and finished with 65 tackles, including 14 for loss and 5.5 sacks.

With that success under his belt, he decided to test the transfer portal out, but even Lawson didn’t know if that decision would result in a Power Conference or even an FBS offer.

“I had no idea,” Lawson said. “I was low-key stressed. I would wake up sometimes, I had an 8 a.m. I would be missing the 8 a.m. because of making phone calls to all these different coaches and all that, so it was really stressful in that moment, but when I got at Louisville it felt pretty good.”

At Louisville, Lawson’s role shrunk smaller than ever in college, and his only start came in the bowl game. With that in mind, it makes sense he would want to reunite with Cassity for the first time since his freshman season.

“It was pretty important,” Lawson said of Cassity’s involvement getting him to Stillwater. “Because I kind of still remember some of the plays that we used to run at ACU, and he still has some of the plays that are the same name, and I was like, ‘Oh, I already knew that and all that.’ Just going out there doing what I gotta do, and just having that connection and chemistry with him. I just know how he’s gonna coach. He knows how I’m gonna play.”

Playing is something Lawson has done quite a bit of this season. Although the Cowboys rotate a lot of guys up front, he has played at least 50% of snaps against all three FBS opponents this season. No other OSU defensive tackle has played more than 40% in more than one such game this fall.

“Jerry’s a little bit undersized, but just the attitude, the grit that he plays with,” Morris said. “He’s been phenomenal. And really a guy that’s been good against the run and against the pass somebody that we’ve been able to count on.

“He’s definitely a guy that’s earned the starts that he’s had around here. … Just a joy to be around every single day. I mean, he does it the right way. Comes out and practices his tail off, so happy for Jerry.”

Lawson was a no-star prospect coming out of high school. The past few years raised his profile quite a bit as he was a three-star transfer ranked 41st and 42nd at his position this offseason according to Rivals and 247Sports.

Yet, in many ways, he arrived at Stillwater as one of many newcomers hoping to prove they could deliver against Big 12 competition. Lawson has eight tackles this season, including a 0.5 sack against West Virginia.

He is tied for fourth in total pressures, with three of those coming against Oregon and West Virginia, and tied for sixth in “stops” which basically is any tackle that puts the offense in a bad spot.

“After week one, a lot of people doubted us when we were going into playing Oregon, and we were like, ‘Well, we gotta prove these people wrong,’” Lawson said. “And I like being doubted because I’ve been doubted my whole life, and I know what it takes to like surpass people and all that.”