Morris' expectations for OSU return game? 'He wants the ball crossing the goal line'

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Oklahoma State special teams coordinator Drew Svoboda doesn’t have to second-guess what head coach Eric Morris wants from the return game. Morris’ expectations for it are the same as he has for his explosive offense.

Score.

“He’s an aggressive play-caller. He’s aggressive. His whole mentality is if you have possession of the football, go try to score,” Svoboda said Thursday after practice. “When guys catch 5-yard hitch routes, the first thing you hear is, ‘Go score! Go score!’ Catch a punt return, go score. So he is very aggressive.

“He wants the ball crossing the goal line by whichever means necessary. If you have possession of it on a return, let’s go. Now, it’s not gonna be so aggressive that we’re not making the right decisions. He still wants us to be able to play within what makes sense, but he wants the football advanced down the field.”

That mentality runs a little deeper for Morris. He was a punt returner at Texas Tech, and as a senior, he returned 25 punts for 275 yards, including an 86-yard touchdown.

The return game is an extension of Morris’ offense, and the goal there is to always be on the attack.

“He is not satisfied with somebody standing back there and just getting the ball back mentality,” Svoboda said. “Sometimes it is appropriate, depending on how the game is going. Depending on who we have back there, we want to make a play. If we can get a first down for the offense, we want to do it.”

That suits Svoboda, and he has just the guy for the job in redshirt sophomore receiver Chris Barnes. Barnes, 5-foot-7 and 169 pounds, has track speed and already has built a reputation as a return man.

At Wake Forest this past season, Barnes returned seven kickoffs for 263 yards – an average of more than 37 yards a return – and had one return for a touchdown. The Cowboys haven’t had one of those since 2022.

“He has a lot of experience doing it, and he is comfortable back there. He hits it full speed and we have to do a great job blocking for him upfront,” Svoboda said. “He is definitely where it all starts.”

Although Svoboda has Barnes for kickoffs, he’s still looking for a go-to punt returner. OSU hasn’t had a true punt return touchdown (not off a blocked punt) since Jalen McCleskey in 2015.

“We still have a couple of guys that are fighting for it. The punt and kick returns are two totally different animals,” Svoboda said. “There is a way different skill set involved. There is a lot more goes into a punt returner as far as everything.”

On top of speed and athleticism, Svoboda said it takes confidence, and “you gotta run through the smoke and trust there’s gonna be clean air on the other side of that door.” The only two things on a returner’s mind should be to make a good decision fielding the ball – and scoring.

But with a head coach pushing aggressiveness in that phase of the ball, Svoboda expects that to rub off.

“They will absolutely take on the personality of the head coach, especially if the head coach is calling the offense,” he said. “They are going to understand this is what he wants, this is what his expectation is, and he’s aggressive, so he’s gonna be aggressive.”

Brophy not naming backup QB yet

Behind starting quarterback Drew Mestemaker, the Cowboys’ quarterback room has a mix of experience.

Grant Jordan is entering his seventh season of college football. He began his career at Yale during the 2020 COVID season, which was canceled in the Ivy League. Between five years there and one year at UMass, Jordan brings in more than 2,500 career passing yards.

On the other end of the spectrum are true freshmen Broderick Vehrs and Luke Tepas. Vehrs was the higher-rated prospect, with offers from the likes of North Texas and Northern Iowa. Tepas, 6-2, 207 pounds, is more of the Mestemaker mold, not having been a starting QB until his senior year.

“They’re all different, obviously,” offensive coordinator Sean Brophy said. “Grant’s a little bit more cerebral and serious. I mean, we’re talking about a Yale graduate with an economics degree. He’s a little bit more analytical with things. And Luke’s a little bit quieter, but a super confident and competitive kid. And you know, Brodie’s a little bit more of an outgoing personality.”

Brophy said Jordan’s strength is experience, Vehrs has a lot of arm talent and Tepas has been a surprise this fall. But at this point in camp, with the Cowboys’ first scrimmage set for Saturday, Brophy isn’t ready to make any calls yet on Mestemaker’s backup.

“We’re gonna let it ride for a little bit,” he said. “This was Day 6 for us, so we’ve got some good live scrimmages coming up. This Saturday will be a good opportunity for those guys to go out there and see how they move the ball ultimately when bullets start flying. Then we’ll get into the next week, and it’ll be a decision Coach Morris can make then.”

Markeith Williams’ name comes up again

As defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity was breaking down position battles Thursday, one newcomer’s name popped up again.

After Morris said last Saturday that Miami (FL) transfer Markeith Williams has looked good since arriving just before fall camp, Brophy threw Williams in the mix as a potential starter or key contributor at safety.

Williams, listed at 6-2 and 175 pounds, was a four-star prospect out of high school who was offered by Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, Oklahoma and others. He spent the past four years at Miami, where he played in 23 games his first three seasons, totaling 31 tackles and two pass breakups. Williams sat out in 2025 and entered the portal in September.

Cassity said Williams is picking up the system quickly, is showing his experience and has confidence covering slot receivers.

“You see flashes of it all the time in practice when he’s confident in what he’s supposed to do, and he’s able to pull the trigger early. He can get around the football and make plays, and he’s done a good job of that so far. It’s now just all the intricate details that he’s got to continue to pick up to be effective throughout the whole game,” Cassity said. “But really, really proud of what he’s been able to do in such a short time.”

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