Drew Mestemaker wasn’t even the starting quarterback in high school, and now he’s the odds-on favorite to be the first quarterback drafted in next April’s NFL draft. During his senior season at Vandegrift High School in Texas, Mestemaker backed up Deuce Adams, now a backup at the University of Wisconsin. Instead of passing the ball, he was punting it as the team’s primary punter.
However, Mestemaker wanted to be a quarterback. So he worked with Jeff Christensen, a quarterback coach in Dallas. That connection got him an opportunity to throw for The University of North Texas quarterback coach Sean Brophy. The workout went well, but Brophy couldn’t offer Mestermaker a scholarship. So he walked on instead.
During his time with North Texas, he impressed head coach Eric Morris. Morris made him the starter in 2025. That was a huge season for the pair: North Texas went 12-2, and Mestemaker went 319 of 463 for 4,379 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.
He led the nation in passing yards, earned American Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, won the Burlsworth Trophy, and was a First-team All-American Conference selection.
Coach Morris was offered and accepted the head coaching job at Oklahoma State. So Mestemaker entered the transfer portal and followed his coach to OSU. So far, he has been great in seven starts, going 5-2 with 2,326 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions while adding 150 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.
The season’s highlight so far was Oklahoma State’s 39-31 upset win over No. 6 Oregon. He went 26 of 43 for 317 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, including a rushing touchdown.
Two weeks ago, Oklahoma State took on No. 20 Houston and went toe-to-toe with them. Ultimately, they lost 35-32, but Mestermaker was once again impressive: 22 of 34 for 365 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
Last week he got OSU back in the winners column with a 57-24 victory over The University of Colorado. He went 21 of 36 for 386 yards and 4 touchdowns.
These eye-popping passing numbers have helped him climb draft boards. Just today, ESPN’s Pete Thamel wrote about how he is likely to be the first quarterback taken off the board. From Thamel’s article.
“Seventeen of the 25 scouts in the midseason poll voted for Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker. The 17 votes are the most a quarterback has received in the three years ESPN has conducted the poll, with the overwhelming conviction about Mestemaker perhaps more a surprise than his general emergence. (Mestemaker got zero votes in the August poll.)
One scout summed up his vote this way: “Mestemaker seems like the only real choice at this point.”
It is the kind of story everyone can get behind, from zero-stars to a potential first-overall pick. It is what makes football so special.
