Spring Position Preview: New Names Set to Step Up in Cowboys’ Receiver Room

It’s a new era in a lot of ways for Oklahoma State football, but that particularly feels like the case in the Cowboys’ wide receiver room.

Brennan Presley, Rashod Owens and De’Zhaun Stribling all gone, and that trio had 2,164 of OSU’s 3,147 receiving yards last season. So there is plenty of opportunity out there for guys to step up. Here’s a preview of OSU’s wide outs heading into the spring.

Other position preview: QB | RB

Returners

Incoming Transfers

Freshman Signees (*Indicates on Spring Roster)

Career Stats

Overview

Let us all manifest a healthy 2025 season for Talyn Shettron.

There was a three-game stretch last season (Tulsa, Utah and Kansas State) where Shettron caught nine passes for 201 yards and a touchdown while playing behind Presley, Owens and Stribling. Shettron’s blend of size and speed was most evident in that Tulsa game, where he caught three passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. If he can stay healthy, I think it’ll be his time to lead this room in 2025.

Like with most of OSU’s team, there’s a lot of intriguing but perhaps unproven talent. Ayo Shotomide-King was the fall camp darling of 2024 but with an already proven group of starters, King wasn’t a major piece in the Cowboys’ offense last season. Da’Wain Lofton and Gavin Freeman both showed flashes of what they could be while maintaining redshirts in 2024, and what they could be is a dynamic duo in the slot.

Transfer I’m Most Intrigued By: The Cowboys brought in three receivers from the portal, and all came from Power Four programs. No one in this room is all that established, so any of these guys could break into the rotation and play a big role. But the guy I’m most intrigued by is Nebraska transfer speedster Jaylen Lloyd.

Lloyd enters the spring with the second-most career receiving yards on the roster, and he is a track star. At the 2022 National Junior Olympic Championships, Lloyd finished first in the long jump and third in the 100 meters. He was a jumper at Nebraska, finishing fourth in the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in the long jump as a freshman. That speed is evident in his highlights.

Jaylen Lloyd has a lot of big play in him.

Watch the @HuskerFootball WR’s explosive 2023 TDs. ⤵️#TouchdownTuesday x #B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/wGef9VB97M

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) July 30, 2024

Developing Receiver I’m Most Intrigued By: Tre’ Griffiths was my favorite player in the Cowboys’ 2024 signing class, and seeing videos him working out with Zane Flores and Hauss Hejny certainly hasn’t quelled my excitement.

Griffiths is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound redshirt freshman. As a senior at Keller High School, he had at least 100 receiving yards in four games. His size helps him stand out in this receiving room, as among returners and incoming transfers, six guys are listed under 6-feet tall. Griffiths is one of four listed at 6-2 or taller.

Two-Deep Prediction

WR1s: Talyn Shettron, Shamar Rigby, Gavin Freeman, , Jaylen Lloyd
WR2s: Ayo Shotomide-King, Tre’ Griffiths, Da’Wain Lofton, Camron Heard

For the third time in as many position previews, I’ll say predicting a depth chart before spring ball with this team feels like blindly throwing darts.

The Cowboys feel stacked in the slot, which could be a product of offensive coordinator Doug Meacham also being the inside receivers coach. But just because someone isn’t 6-feet tall doesn’t mean that can’t play on the outside. Tylan Wallace is listed at 5-11 in the NFL, and he is among the best outside receivers in the Gundy era. So maybe Lofton or Lloyd could play an outside spot, and the trio of Freeman, Lloyd and Lofton could all be on the field at the same time.

Say what you will about Kasey Dunn the playcaller, but Kasey Dunn the receiver coach always kept the cupboard filled with talent. I don’t think that will change under Meacham going forward either. So though I’m not exactly sure where the production will come from with this group, it’s not a position group I’m all that worried about.