The Oklahoma State Cowboys are a couple of days away from their second scrimmage of fall camp. So many things have yet to be decided.
While offensive players have been racking up spots on preseason awards lists, the defense has been toiling in relative obscurity as they try to put together a unit that can satisfy modest expectations of being better in 2026.
Head coach Eric Morris spoke to the media earlier this week. Based on that and other intel from the week, here are four competitions that are at the forefront of the next scrimmage.
Oklahoma State's Ashton Lepo. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The Cowboys have an intriguing competition developing here. Ashton Lepo transferred to OSU after four seasons at Michigan State , where the 6-7, 320-pounder missed the 2022 season after taking a redshirt and half the 2025 season due to injury. In 2023 he was a full-time player and in 2024 he was a full-time starter at right tackle, where he took 678 snaps.
He's being pushed by Sean Torgeson, who Morris called one of the real surprises of camp. He's not quite the mountain that Lepo is - he's 6-4 and 304 pounds - but he's turned the heads of the coaching staff. He was a left tackle for Portland State last season and logged 788 snaps. Morris said they've been moving Torgeson around, too. He can play guard.
The second scrimmage may decide who gets the job.
Oklahoma State's Carson Kolb. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The competition isn't over, but Morris said the leader in the clubhouse is Carson Kolb , who was not the one expected to take the reins. But the Oregon State transfer - who was once a linebacker and doesn't have a college catch - has impressed the staff with his ability to catch balls in traffic and his blocking ability.
The two players who were expected to lock horns for the starting job - Oscar Hammond and Donovan Green - are still in the race. But the fact that Kolb has overtaken them in the race midway through camp shows just how wide open the position really was coming into fall camp. A good second scrimmage may solidify things for Kolb - or put the job back in flux.
Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Go back and listen to defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity's media availability and you won't hear him use a lot of names when talking about the defense. It speaks to the number of starting jobs still in flux. There is no more uncertainty than who will be the starters up front for his 4-2-5 scheme against Tulsa.
One name he did drop when prompted? Defensive end Malik Charles , who missed part of the offseason conditioning program due to an injury. He appears to be getting some traction on the edge. But there are 20 ends and tackles on this defense so there are too many rotations to count. Another name Morris dropped was tackle Savion Barthelemy, a true freshman. He doesn't sound opposed to giving a true freshman a go in the rotation if he earns it.
Cassity values the experience at the group, whether they got it at OSU or not. Give the lean at any competition to any player with four - or more - years of experience, including end Jaleel Johnson , end James Williams, tackle Iman Oates, tackle Jerry Lawson and more. Plus, tackles that can cover more than one gap will get a hard look from Cassity and the coaching staff.
Oklahoma State's Grant Jordan. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
It doesn't appear one scrimmage ended Morris' flirtation with using a true freshman, Broderick Vehrs, as his primary backup to Drew Mestemaker . Vehrs has gotten good feedback from Morris throughout camp. So has Grant Jordan , the more experienced collegiate who has been in college football since 2020 at Yale . He's been a starter at two different schools.
Morris has put a premium on being able to know the offense, diagnose defenses and process what to do quickly. Mestemaker is by far the best in the group. Whichever one of Vehrs and Jordan can show they're in that zip code may get the job.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahomastate as Four Critical Competitions Entering Oklahoma State Football's Second Scrimmage .
