This Big 12 Assistant Coach Quote Will Make Oklahoma State Football Fans Happy
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
One of the most watched stories in 2026 in the Big 12 will be how the Oklahoma State Cowboys do under first-year head coach Eric Morris.
It will be the first time since 2004 that Mike Gundy hasn't been the head football coach. His accomplishments were considerable, even if it ended with a whimper. Morris, who was the head coach at North Texas last year, has experience in the Big 12. He spent several years as an assistant coach at Texas Tech, which served as his springboard to his first head-coaching job with Incarnate Word in 2018.
Cowboys fans are hoping Morris can start erasing the last two years, which has seen the program lose 18 straight league games. At least one Big 12 assistant coach believes Oklahoma State has the right guy – and the right personnel – to improve.
One Big 12 Assistant's Take on OSU
Athlon Sports recently published its 2026 college football preview, which is on newsstands now. In that preview, a Big 12 assistant coach was asked about his view on Oklahoma State. His anonymous quote should make Cowboys fans feel good about the new hire and what Morris has done so far in Stillwater.
"Yes [the North Texas offense] can translate to the Big 12 because of the trigger man," the anonymous assistant coach said. "[North Texas transfer] Drew Mestemaker is special. He has great vision and he has a quick processor. They'll have a chance because he's playing quarterback. Now I know that they brought a lot of players in, I get that. But having that elite quarterback, they'll have a chance. What that means, I don't know. But they'll definitely have a chance on offense. … [Head coach] Eric Morris has all the right pieces, and he brought pretty much his entire staff from North Texas. I expect them to pick up right where he left off, and he has a background in this conference as well that holds weight."
Morris led North Texas to an 11-2 record and the American Conference title game, where it lost to Tulane. He left for the OSU job after the championship game. He has a career record of 46-34 including his four years at Incarnate Word.
He worked the transfer portal hard after most of Gundy's last roster and recruiting class turned over. That included 17 transfers from the Mean Green, none more important than Mestemaker. He led the nation in passing yards with 4,379 in 2025 and with other Mean Green transfers like running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young, there is built-in chemistry that doesn't always exist in the transfer portal era.
If the Cowboys are as entertaining as this assistant believes they could be, then Oklahoma State could have an encouraging first year under Morris.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahomastate as This Big 12 Assistant Coach Quote Will Make Oklahoma State Football Fans Happy.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos