Jerry Lawson doesn't just embrace his nickname, he lives it.
Lawson, Oklahoma State's senior starting nose tackle, goes by "JearBear," has it as his name on social media and has gone as far as having the face of an orange growling bear placed along the entire left side of his car.
He is also a bear on the field for the No. 18 Cowboys, who host UCF at 11 a.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium. Lawson clogs lanes in the middle of the line of scrimmage and has become a key piece of a defensive line unit that coach Eric Morris often calls the deepest on the team.
Teammates have another animal to compare Lawson to, though.
"I mean, he's a dog," safety Quinton Hammonds said. "He plays super fast, especially for someone his size. You see him flying around the field, making plays on the perimeter, tackling guys on the sideline. Just someone you love to play with, especially being in the back end and being able to see somebody on the D-line making plays from sideline to sideline."
Before Lawson – listed at 6-foot-1, 312 pounds – became a dominant college defensive lineman, though, he was a running back at Breckenridge High in Texas.
He rushed for 1,637 yards and 29 touchdowns his final three years of high school and averaged 6.9 yards a carry on 96 carries as a senior. That same season, he also made 47 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and four sacks as a defensive end.
But Lawson knew the latter job would be where his future was and that his running back days would end in high school.
"I wasn't that fast. I was like really big," Lawson said. "I mean, I wasn't as big as what I am now. I was like 225, 230. But when I was getting recruited at (Abilene Christian), they wanted me to play DT and it was like, 'You need to put on at least 50-plus pounds.' So I got all the way up to 285."
Lawson began his career at Abilene Christian, where his defensive coordinator as a freshman in 2023 was now-OSU defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity. He appeared in all 11 games for the Wildcats that season and made seven starts.
Cassity left to take the DC job at Sam Houston in 2024, while Lawson stayed around ACU. He started all 14 games as a sophomore and was named first team all-conference after recording 65 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
Lawson entered the portal after the season, and Cassity, who had just taken the DC job at North Texas under now-OSU head coach Eric Morris, tried to recruit him back to his defense. It didn't work, but Lawson ended up at Louisville playing for another Cassity – Mike Cassity, Skyler's dad, who was on the defensive staff.
"When I first got there for my visit, he was like, 'You know who I am?' I was like, 'No sir,'" Lawson said. "He was like, 'I'm OG Cass.'"
Lawson's run at Louisville lasted just one season in which he played in 13 games and started in the Boca Raton Bowl. He entered the portal after the season and, again, Skyler Cassity came calling.
This time, Lawson said his connection to Cassity stuck out, and he decided to reunite with his old DC.
"It was pretty important because I kind of still remember some of the plays that we used to run at ACU, and he still has some of the plays that are the same name, and I was like, 'Oh, I already knew that and all that,'" Lawson said. "Just going out there doing what I gotta do, and just having that connection and chemistry with him. I just know how he's gonna coach. He knows how I'm gonna play."
So far, it's been a successful move for everyone. Lawson has started each of the first four games and has eight tackles and 0.5 sacks, but the ripple effect of his play reverberates further.
The presence of Lawson forces opposing offenses to work around him and into the reach of defensive ends like Jaleel Johnson and James Williams. The chemistry has really ramped up since the loss to Tulsa in the season opener.
"After Week 1, a lot of people doubted us when we were going into playing Oregon, and we were like, 'Well, we gotta prove these people wrong,'" Lawson said. "And I like being doubted because I've been doubted my whole life, and I know what it takes to like surpass people and all that."
The defensive line shut down No. 6 Oregon, allowing only 90 yards on 30 carries. Against West Virginia, the D-line held the run-heavy Mountaineers to 40 rushing yards on their final four drives, and Lawson got in on a four-yard sack.
"Jerry's a little bit undersized, but just the attitude, the grit that he plays with. He's been phenomenal," Morris said. "And really a guy that's been good against the run and against the pass, somebody that we've been able to count on. He's definitely a guy that's earned the starts that he's had around here."
And there aren't many players talked about more highly among teammates, or compared to an animal on the field, than Lawson.
"He's strong, he's physical, he's fast. He's all the above. But one thing, Jerry is is a dog," said defensive tackle Enai White. "It's really nothing you can explain. It's all in his tape. Just turn that tape on and you'll see he's a dog."
