SOTC Update: Oklahoma State Cowboys

After a nine-game losing streak to end the '24 season, Mike Gundy's squad will look very different in 2025. Does that mean they will look better? Not quite. Let's take a closer look at the Cowboys.

Mar 11, 2025

State of the Chart™ Recap Edition

Live All-In Ranking: 71st
Offense: 66th
Defense: 107th
2024 Results: 3-9 (0-9 in Big XII)

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|||||| STATE OF THE CHART™ SUMMARY

If we were to put money on one Big XII team taking a goose egg in conference play in 2024, it would not have been the steady Mike Gundy-led Cowboys. His tenure here has been built on overcoming obstacles, developing players, and pulling together winning seasons. After they went on a nine-game losing streak and ended their 19-year run of playing in bowl games, it was time to make significant changes. Gundy had to restructure his contract and part ways with the ‘old guard’ on his staff. They need an injection of new voices, and it’s coming in 2025. The defense, in particular, was porous. They allowed over 500 yards of total offense on a per-game basis. That’s almost unheard of and certainly not something you’d expect to see from the Cowboys. Injuries contributed to some of those challenges, but they must do better. What’s worse? The fact that it was just bad luck or bounces to blame for the three-win season. It was deserved. Turning to 2025, the overhaul of the coaching staff is in place. The problem is that the roster talent isn’t exactly keeping up. Unless Gundy pulls another one of his surprise, out-of-nowhere, winning seasons — this long-term relationship may not be able to be repaired.

|||||| HEAD COACH AND COACHING STAFF

Mike Gundy just finished his worst season in his 20-year tenure as head coach in Stillwater. They went winless in the Big XII with things unraveling quickly. Big changes are called for and he overhauls his staff with new blood — including two new coordinators. There was some talk of the administration moving on from him before a restructured contract saved this marriage. The talent level has been decimated and they need to get back to winning football before that seat gets really hot.

Coaching Staff Notes/Changes:

Any time you go winless in conference play, changes are needed. This staff is going through a complete overhaul with Gundy parting ways with multiple coaches who have been with him nearly (or over) a decade.

New offensive coordinator Doug Meacham comes to Stillwater TCU where he was most recently the inside wide receivers coach. For a short time, he handled the play calling duties in Fort Worth back in 2020. He was Kansas’ offensive coordinator back in 2018 and this is not exactly a ‘slash’ hire you look for when re-building a staff. Maybe he’ll surprise us?
Kevin Johns will impact the offense as well. The former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Memphis and Texas Tech’s OC will take the quarterbacks coach job under Meachem. He was at Oklahoma last year as an analyst.
On the defensive side, Gundy goes with veteran NFL staffer Todd Grantham. He was the defensive coordinator at Florida from 2018-21 and was an analyst on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff in 2022 before heading to the NFL as the Saints defensive line coach the past two seasons.
Greg Brown, the former defensive coordinator at Charlotte, is promoted to the safeties coach role here after serving as an analyst in 2024. He came to Stillwater after a season at USC. He served as DC/Secondary coach for the 49ers back in 2022.
DJ Tialavea leaves Utah State, where he spent the past five seasons as tight ends coach (‘21-24) and an analyst (2020). He is just 34-years old and brings a much needed youthful energy to the new-look staff.
Jules Montinar comes to the staff from ECU where he was the cornerbacks coach and pass game coordinator for the Pirates in ‘24. His resume includes a stop at Florida as cornerbacks coach in 2021. His title here is defensive backs coach.
Added Theron Aych as wide receivers coach. He was most recently at Marshall in 2024 as a quality control analyst (offense) and prior to that was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee State in 2022-23.

This means that a lot of the ‘old guard’ at Oklahoma State have been sent packing, this includes:

Joe Bob Clements (Linebackers/Co-DC), Tim Duffie (CB/Pass Game Coordinator), Dan Hammerschmidt (Safeties), Jason McEndoo (Tight Ends/Fullbacks), Tim Rattay (Quarterbacks) and John Wozniak (Running backs).

Note: This is a “dynamic” article; meaning we will update any information that comes in this “off-season” and post a note when impactful moves are made or news breaks.

|||||| 2024 SCHEDULE / RESULTS ANALYSIS

Nobody is looking to make excuses for the dismal three-win season, but if you are looking for anything to latch on to — this was one of the more challenging schedules in the conference. They got off to a 3-0 start before dropping nine straight in the conference. They had some close ones, with 3-point losses to Utah and at BYU. They lost by 10 to Baylor in Waco and eight to Texas Tech. If you are still looking for nuggets of optimism, this is where you can stop reading. According to post-game win expectancy, they only had a shot to win one of those closer results — BYU. The others were less in reach than the final score indicates. So, it validates the struggles that were 2024 as a whole, accentuated by a 52-0 drubbing at the hands of Coach Prime and the Buffaloes in Boulder in the final week of the season.

||||||| POSITION GROUP CHECK-INS

OFFENSE: This offense was certainly not great, but it was the only thing that kept them in games. They finished at 27.2 points per game (ranked 74th in FBS), which can be a bit misleading since they were playing from behind in most cases. According to our all-in rankings, they played a really tough slate of defenses, with seven teams finishing in the top 40 in defense. They were forced to abandon the run when they fell behind, and one-dimensional attacks against good defenses is not where you want to be. The talent on the offensive line shows that pass protection was not the problem. In fact, they allowed just 13 sacks (ranked 13th) and only 52 tackles for loss (20th). The issue was more so in the run blocking and schemes, as they didn’t allow the backs to get going. Finally, they were not good on third downs and that contributed to a time of possession of just 27:03 — ranked 124th in FBS. So, it’s time for a change here. Kasey Dunn is replaced by veteran Doug Meachem, who hasn’t called plays in a few years, but did so for Kansas in 2018 and had a short stint for his most recent employer, TCU, in 2020. They will need to overhaul this without veteran quarterback Alan Bowman, star running back Ollie Gordon II, and top three receivers from 2024.

||| QB

Veteran Alan Bowman has (finally) run out of eligibility. He’s headed to the NFL. We got a look at Maealiuaki Smith, a true freshman who showed signs of great things and also had some big-time struggles. The whole offense was a bit of a mess, and Smith will now engage in a battle with TCU transfer-in Hauss Hejny, a highly sought-after recruit in the ‘24 class. Garret Rangel sticks around and will try to upend the youngsters to take control of this job.

||| RB

Ollie Gordon II didn’t live up to his 2,000+ total yardage, 22 touchdown season in 2023. There are many reasons, but we don’t have the space here. He heads to the NFL, and the Cowboys are moving on. Arkansas transfer AJ Green was hurt all last season and is heading back to Fayetteville for his final season(s). Sesi Vailahi and Trent Howland return, with Howland looking like the starter heading into 2025. He managed an impressive 5.6 yards per carry in ‘24.

||| WR

The top three in this group are leaving the program after accounting for 281 combined targets. Brennan Presley had 131 of those and will be sorely missed. Former Washington State Cougar De’Zhaun Stribling is going to Ole Miss, and Rashod Owens is also out of eligibility. Talyn Shettron is the most seasoned returning (just 12 catches in ‘24). Jaylen Lloyd is coming in from Nebraska and is a field stretcher. Shamar Rigby (Purdue) and Sam Jackson V (Auburn) will also battle for time.

||| TE

The tight end was not an overly utilized position in this offense as they went five-wide at times. The leader was Josh Ford, who played 392 snaps. He chipped in with ten catches but was more of a decoy and run blocker when needed. The others with any playing time last year are moving on. They are replaced by Oscar Hammond (North Texas), Jordan Owens (Central Arkansas) and Will Monney (Utah State). It’s possible the shift in leadership of the offense will rely on the tight end more, but that remains to be seen.

||| OL

This was a really solid group for a generally average offense. Looking at the top line here, it’s clear they were better in pass pro than in run blocking. That showed as Ollie Gordon II could never really find his footing. It’s a bit unnerving to see all five starters — and the top backup — run out of eligibility. This is a complete re-build. They have brought in three from the portal, but nobody really jumps off the page. If they are relying on internal growth to fill this line, it could take some time and growing pains are to be expected.

DEFENSE: We had to do a double-take on this one. Did they really give up an AVERAGE of over 500 yards per game? Yep. 500.6, to be exact. Aye. From an ordinarily proud defensive unit, there is little doubt where the blame could be placed. Significant injuries contributed to this, but good teams can overcome them to avoid a total collapse. That’s where depth comes into play. They allowed 35.6 points per game (126th); 285.6 yards per game passing (132nd), and allowed a 45.9% success rate on third downs (120th). They allowed big chunk plays way too often — 75 of them, in fact — with both the run and pass defenses equally ineffective. We don’t need to drive it home anymore. It’s time to put that behind us and look towards the future. Todd Grantham inherits one heckuva dumpster fire here in Stillwater. Some of the better players are leaving, and one that they hoped to get back from injury, LB Collin Oliver, is heading to the NFL instead. This will take one heckuva coaching job to get them back to even mediocrity in one off-season. They are dedicating resources to the portal to help bring in bodies, but it sure looks like this may stay where it is, with slight improvement due to injury and general luck/karma coming back their way. It’s never good when you are relying on that.

||| DL

Iman Oates played the most from this group but didn’t do a whole lot. Kody Walterscheid was next in line as far as snaps go, but similarly, he didn’t perform. This was one (of many) reasons for the lackluster performance from the entire unit.Oates returns and Waltersheid is out of eligbility. They do get a few back, including Justin Kirkland, who came in from Utah Tech and should see more playing time and growth. Kyran Duhon is a prized portal add from UTEP and should step right into a starting role. Micahel Diatta is in from UVA and should also get meaningful snaps. This should be improved.

||| LB

Kendal Daniels was asked to take on a lead role in the absence of Collin Oliver, who was injured early and played just parts of two games. This entire room either transfers out, which was the case of Daniels (Oklahoma) and second-in-line Jeff Roberson (Minnesota). The rest are graduating or heading to the NFL, including Oliver. This is a complete rebuild, and they don’t have any 4+ stars in the depth of this group. A lot may be asked of Akron transfer Bryan McCoy and/or former Ole Miss Trip White. Real talk: This is scary.

||| DB

Opponents did just about anything they wanted to this group in the passing game. Korie Black was avoided as he was really good as a cover corner. But they could attack elsewhere and find plenty of success. Black graduates, and there isn’t a whole lot to look forward to returning to this group. They hit the portal to bring in CB Jaylin Davies (UCLA via Oregon), S Mordecai McDaniel (Charlotte), and CB JK Johnson (LSU). We don’t have enough data to project them as top-line starters, but it’s a start. There needs to be a lot more here.

SPECIAL TEAMS: They were searching for a kicker late into the summer and landed on Logan Ward, who struggled at times. He hit 12/17, nailing his only 50+ yarder. They bring in former FCS kicker Gabe Panikowski was who was a perfect 15/15 for Idaho State a year ago. They will battle for the job. Wes Pahl and Hudson Kaak split the punting duties throughout the season and while Kaak was slightly better by the numbers, Pahl was just fine. Kaak signed with Auburn to get a full-time role and Pahl will return as the starter here. Brennan Presley was the primary punt returner, but others got action, including Kyler Pearson and Gavin Freeman. Presley moves on. Overall, a solid unit is expected back.

Reader feedback is requested and encouraged! Who knows these teams better than their passionate fan bases? We don’t pretend to know it all and would love your feedback. We will update/edit based (and credit) for anything that is brought to our attention. Let’s do this together…

|||||| TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

The overall number here suggests they did well in the portal. Partially driven by numbers — they have 25 committed to joining up. That’s second only to Southern Miss’ 33 currently. They need all the depth they can get. The hope is that some of them develop into future stars — and they need all the help they can get with the state of the current roster.

Below is a screen shot of the full, live Transfer Portal Tracker over at CFBDepth.com. Click the image or the button below to view it in its entirety…

Live Oklahoma State Portal Tracker >

|||||| 2025 RECRUITING CLASS

The focus has shifted to the portal as they need a quick injection of talent. This recruiting class has fallen a bit as a result. They focused on beefing up the wide receiver and defensive back rooms. The lone 4-star commit is DL Michael Riles from Port Arthur, TX. Gundy never brings in any top-20 classes, but rather focuses on player development and that will be needed more than ever here.

Here is a snapshot of the 2025 Recruiting Class+ with a link to the live page with updates throughout the cycle:

2025 Oklahoma State Recruiting Class+ >

|||||| 2025 SCHEDULE LOOK AHEAD

They add a trip to Eugene (Oregon) in 2025. Yay! Overall, this appears to be a similarly difficult Big XII gauntlet of a schedule. They lose Colorado for Arizona and trade-in BYU for UCF. That’s what makes it slightly easier than a year ago. Again, the key to surviving this schedule is getting your non-conference wins over UT-Martin and Tulsa and not having everybody get hurt against Oregon in week two. Come into the nine-game gauntlet ready to roll — then win some close games.

There is a lot of movement and decisions to be made throughout the off-season, including more portal moves, winter workouts and spring ball. Get all caught up with the full-on State of the Chart Magazine coming in July. If you missed the ad before, get more information and give us your e-mail to stay in the loop on everything SOTC!

State of the Chart Magazine >

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