Wyatt Young Apologizes for ‘Selfish’ Penalty at Iowa State

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Oklahoma State receiver Wyatt Young was a hot topic following Saturday night’s 51-49 loss to Iowa State, and not for a good reason.

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris spoke of selfishness that would be punished, while quarterback Drew Mestemaker spoke of remorse.

Fans probably won’t see the former, but it didn’t take long to see the latter, as Young posted on X hours after the game.

“I apologize to all cowboy football supporters, my teammates, and coaches for the lack of discipline and selfishness I displayed today,” Young said. “Football is a team sport and one play, like the one I made, can change the outcome of the whole game and I’m sorry for that.”

It’s possible Oklahoma State’s defense might have given up a touchdown anyway, but Young’s penalty earned after walking toward the crowd following his go-ahead touchdown didn’t help.

Oklahoma State kicker Joseph Kim kicked off seven times before the penalty. Those resulted in five touchbacks, one fair catch inside the 25-yard line, and a 21-yard return, which meant Iowa State began all seven drives on its own 25-yard line.

Given Young’s 15-yard penalty, Iowa State returned his final kick 22 yards to set the Cyclones up on their own 37-yard line with 53 seconds to play and multiple timeouts. This meant Iowa State wasn’t really worried about time running out.

The Cyclones picked up 33 yards on first down, setting up a walkoff 34-yard field goal. Young and Oklahoma State must now pick up the pieces quickly before hitting the road once more to face Kansas State.

“The lack of maturity I showed is inexcusable and should have never been displayed on the field,” Young said in his post on X. “I deeply regret representing the loyal and true motto Oklahoma State stands by the way I did. I take full accountability for what happened, our coaches do not teach us or allow us to act the way I did.”