'The misfits': Cowboy football turning rebuild identity into a rallying call

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The Oklahoma State football roster is a patchwork of what coach Eric Morris could find to best get the Cowboys back to relevance in Year 1.

Eighty-seven newcomers, 65 transfers – 18 of those from North Texas, rising stars, experienced players looking for one last shot and everything in between. The Cowboys aren’t running away from their identity as a team that underwent one of the biggest overhauls in college football history.

In fact, they’re embracing it and using it as a rallying call.

“Our mantra this year is we call ourselves the misfits,” Morris said Saturday at OSU Media Day. “We have a bunch of people from different situations.”

Many of them fall into two groups. The first of which are players who enter the season off of successful years at their previous stop and were big portal targets nationally.

Morris pointed out North Texas transfers in quarterback Drew Mestemaker, running back Caleb Hawkins and receiver Wyatt Young.

“All of a sudden, they have a great season, they produce at a high level, and they’ve got blue bloods all over the country calling them,” Morris said.

Then there’s the other group.

“Some people, on the contrary, are coming over from big schools that came from a bad situation where they don’t have great memories of football,” Morris said.

Players like former Oklahoma offensive lineman Jacob Sexton, who was a four-start prospect in high school and has played well in college but spent much of his career injured and buried on the depth chart. Or tight end Donovan Green, a four-star who flashed his talent as a freshman at Texas A&M but spent the next three seasons at A&M and LSU recovering from injury and falling watching his playing time dindle.

That’s why Morris made the mantra. Everyone is from different backgrounds. Everyone is here to win at OSU. So, everyone has to believe in themselves and come to together, regardless of where their background.

“We’re building to that right now. But I always tell our kids, belief is one of the most powerful drugs in sports,” Morris said. “Belief in themselves, No. 1, and then carrying it on to your teammates and coaches.”

Morris turning the temperature up at practice (literally)

Saturday was the Cowboys’ first day in pads, and there was no easing into it. Morris set practice for around 3 p.m., right in the middle of Stillwater’s 104-degree high.

And he did that intentionally, with OSU’s season-opening 2:45 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 5 at Tulsa on his mind.

“For us to be able to use this weather to our advantage early on in the season, I think it’s important we practice when game times are going to happen. It’s important that we’re used to getting out there in the heat and being able to prepare that way and get our bodies ready and avoid cramping,” Morris said. “… Hopefully we get some hot games early and that we’re well-adjusted to it, and our kids can go out there and play at a high level.”

OSU’s first fall scrimmage is next Saturday, with a second scrimmage the following Saturday. The first will be at 11 a.m., and the second at 6 p.m. Again, that’s Morris trying to expose his team to playing at different kickoff times they’ll experience this season.

Redshirt senior safety Cam Epps appreciates Morris’ plan and knows it’s needed.

“It’s hot out here in Oklahoma,” Epps said. “So, we’re just getting our bodies ready. Summer conditioning and actually playing football is two different things. We’re just getting ready to get in football shape.”

After a tough first day of camp Wednesday, when Morris said his players needed to get “tougher” after several struggled to finish practice, he went back and looked at GPS numbers and how much players ran.

Admittedly, he made adjustments, and he saw a response.

“I thought Day 2 was as sharp of a practice as we’ve had around here,” Morris said, “just holistically on both sides of the ball, which was really good for me to see.”

Morris backed off being as hard on his team Saturday and said he’s hoping they can adjust even more the next three weeks.

“Our kids are in great shape right now. We had a great summer, and so I think now we are getting back in the flow of things with pads today,” he said.

Cowboys added more depth since spring

Morris hasn’t stopped looking for players who can help this season, and he’s added three on defense since the end of spring camp.

Redshirt senior cornerback Jeremiah Piper and redshirt senior safety Markeith Williams joined the program after spring, and redshirt junior safety Bobby Deal Jr. became a Cowboy this summer. Williams, who has appeared in 28 games the past four years at Miami, has particularly been a standout.

Morris said Williams, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, has gained around 12 pounds since arriving.

“Markeith is probably getting the most playing time right now, and a guy that’s kinda shown he can make some plays for us,” Morris said. “Played quite a bit at Miami. When he got here, a little bit undersized. Didn’t know if he was gonna play. He was a little skinny.”

Piper, a Youngstown State transfer, played in 26 games across stints at Western Michigan, Western Illinois and YSU. Deal has spent his entire career in junior college and had 62 tackles, two picks and three pass breakups last year at Coffeyville Community College.

“But all those guys should hold really good special teams value for us, too – older guys – which is an important piece,” Morris said.

Braydon Nelson recovery update

While OSU is still figuring out its offensive line starting lineup and rotations, it’s also still working to get linemen back from injury, including Braydon Nelson. Morris doesn't have an exact timeline with Nelson but said they are “staying super aggressive with his recovery.”

“There's still a chance he could play in the first couple games and then realizing, too, it's not a thing that we're going to push on Braydon either,” Morris said. “With the new rules, five-for-five, he's a guy all of a sudden you’re looking at the roster, and he's got three years left all of a sudden. Just a super valuable player. He can play inside, he can play outside, he's done both for us in the past.”

Nelson, 6-4 and 327 pounds, is a true junior who started in 25 of 26 career games for Morris at North Texas the past two seasons. Most came at left tackle, with some snaps coming at right tackle.

“I'm not worried about Brayden from a mental aspect,” Morris said. “He has so many banked reps of the past, of this offense, the calls. Nothing changed for him.”

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