Sports Illustrated Is Right: Drew Mestemaker Could Be the Most Impactful Transfer in the Big 12

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Every offseason, college football is flooded with transfer rankings. Analysts debate which players landed in the best situations, who fills the biggest roster holes and which newcomers are poised for breakout seasons.

When Sports Illustrated recently named Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker the most impactful transfer in the Big 12, it wasn't simply because of his statistics. It was because no player in the conference has a better opportunity to completely change the trajectory of his program.

Impact isn't measured by passing yards alone.

It's measured by wins.

Oklahoma State enters the 2026 season coming off a 1-11 campaign, one of the most disappointing years in program history. Eric Morris was hired to rebuild the Cowboys, and the biggest piece of that rebuild is a quarterback who already knows exactly how Morris wants to run an offense.

At North Texas, Mestemaker didn't just put up impressive numbers. He led the nation with 4,379 passing yards while throwing 34 touchdown passes, emerging as one of college football's top quarterbacks. Now, he'll bring that same experience and familiarity into an Oklahoma State offense looking for a complete turnaround.

That's what separates him from many other transfers across the conference.

Some transfers are expected to make good teams even better.

Mestemaker has the chance to transform an entire program.

His arrival immediately raises Oklahoma State's ceiling because he isn't learning a new offensive system from scratch. He's reuniting with the coach who helped develop him into one of the nation's most productive quarterbacks. That familiarity should allow the Cowboys' offense to hit the ground running much faster than most first-year quarterback-coach combinations.

It also explains why expectations continue growing around Stillwater.

We've already seen national outlets project Oklahoma State to bounce back in 2026 despite last year's record. Much of that optimism starts with the quarterback position. If Mestemaker performs the way he did at North Texas, the Cowboys should look like a completely different football team.

Of course, football is never a one-man sport. Oklahoma State will need its rebuilt offensive line to protect him, its receivers to make plays and its defense to continue improving.

However, quarterback remains the most important position in college football.

No single player has a greater influence over a team's success.

That's why Sports Illustrated's prediction makes so much sense.

If Oklahoma State climbs from the bottom of the Big 12 back into conference contention, Mestemaker won't just have posted impressive statistics. He'll have changed the direction of an entire program.

That's what makes a transfer impactful.

The best transfers don't simply improve a roster—they change what's possible. Drew Mestemaker has every opportunity to do exactly that in Stillwater, and if the Cowboys become one of the Big 12's biggest surprise teams in 2026, Sports Illustrated's prediction may end up looking less like a bold take and more like an obvious one.

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