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STILLWATER — After winning a national championship in a tough bracket as a true freshman, Landon Robideau hasn’t necessarily slowed down.

Robideau is set to compete at the U20 World Championships next week in Slovakia, with his 70 kg weight class wrestling next Saturday (Aug. 22) and Sunday (Aug. 23).

To get there, Robideau won the U20 U.S. Open bracket in April, the month after getting his hand raised at the NCAA Championships. He then beat top Class of 2027 prospect Melvin Miller two matches to none in May at the U20 World Team Trials.

“I think he’s definitely making jumps,” said OSU coach David Taylor of Robideau’s offseason. “He’s done a good job. Like, he was very driven this year when the season was over. Like, he was ready for what was coming next. That’s a great sign. Not a surprise. Landon’s a pretty unique kid.”

Robideau was dominant in his U20 worlds qualification. At the U.S. Open, he outscored his opponents a combined 70-8. Then at the trials, Robideau’s two matches against Miller ended a combined 17-0.

For good measure, Robideau also entered the Senior World Team earlier in May. There, Robideau beat former Cowboy and U23 World Team Trials champ Jordan Williams twice (combined score of 14-0) and four-time NCAA qualifier Ian Parker.

Robideau’s lone loss at that event came to 2023 World Champion, three-time NCAA champion and 2024 Olympian Zain Retherford by a score of 3-2. Retherford would go on to win at Final X and will again represent the United States at the Senior World Championships.

“He wrestled really well at the senior level,” Taylor said. “I mean, I think Zain’s a really tough opponent, and I think Landon was right there. It’s one of those situations I think it was just an experience deal, where Zain got put on the clock and scored or scored right before he got put on the clock — right around that time that kind of made that match, it went from it being tied on criteria to being down 3-0.

“Good experience for him. Obviously this 20-and-under World Championship for him here in two weeks will be another great experience for him. He’s expecting to go there and kick some butt.”

Taylor and Co. will be smart in terms of managing all of Robideau’s mat time, but with someone as driven as Robideau seems to be, he’ll likely be on to the next thing — which is chasing a second NCAA championship — after his trip to Slovakia.

“That’s the name of the game,” Taylor said. “I think one of the things with our program we talk about is like, man, winning one time is not a goal for anybody here. Like, we want to continue to set ourselves up for continued success. I think as soon as these guys, the mentality is as soon as that tournament was over, you’re instantly getting ready for the next thing.

“We don’t really have the luxury of sitting around and waiting and thinking about how cool last year was. We’re on to the next year and how we can keep getting better and onto the next tournament. So, he definitely has that philosophy, and he’s definitely improved this summer.”

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STILLWATER — It’s not all that often a 300-pounder hits double-digit tackles in a game, but that’s what Fatafehi Vailea II did on the day his 2025 season ended.

Vailea had 10 tackles in North Texas’ overtime win against Army. The last of those was perhaps the most important, but also the most costly.

On a 3rd-and-15 in overtime, Army quarterback Cale Hellums seemingly got to the edge of the Mean Green’s defense, but the 307-pound Vailea ran Helms down and shoved him out of bounds 5 yards short of the line to gain. As Vailea spilled out of the field of play, he went down grabbing his knee. It’d be the final play of his season. An incomplete pass on the next play meant the Mean Green beat Army to start the season 5-0.

“It’s tough,” Vailea said at OSU’s Media Day last week. “It’s something I’ve had to wrap my head around, but I feel like I did all the right things coming into last season, and I played really hard that game. To go out like that was just a setback. Like I said, it was a humbling experience. I’m grateful for it, and I’m just ready for what’s to come this year.”

Vailea, who also goes by June, is part of the group that transferred to Oklahoma State from North Texas with new coach Eric Morris this offseason.

Before arriving in Stillwater, Vailea has almost always been in big cities. He’s from Oakland, California (population of about 440,000) but went to high school at Desert Pines in Las Vegas (about 640,000). Then he spent five years in Denton (about 140,000).

So, Stillwater (about 50,000), is new.

“It’s different,” Vailea said. “Real slow, but it’s a change of pace for me. I love it.”

He was at North Texas before the Morris regime even got to town. After not paying in 2021, Vailea would start 30 games over the next four seasons, playing in 42 total. He has 118 career tackles, which again, is a sizeable number for a defensive tackle. He’s also made six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

“He’s been good,” said defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity of Vailea’s progress this offseason. “Obviously we’re trying to slowly integrate him, understand that it’s gonna be tender for him. It’s first live looks and things like that. So, just making sure and being smart with him and being healthy, trying to make sure he’s healthy as much as possible and giving him racks here and there in live settings and letting him build the confidence really in that knee more than anything. That’s the biggest dynamic.”

Although he’s having to bounce back from an injury while jumping up a level in new surroundings, Vailea said the transition hasn’t been all that coarse.

“It’s been a smooth transition, especially coming with Coach Morris,” Vailea said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity him and his staff have given me to give me one more shot at playing at a high level.”

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Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news.

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Three Thoughts

• College football analyst Andy Staples thinks “it’s going to work immediately” at OSU with Eric Morris (PFB) 

• Cowboy Basketball released their nonconference schedule – going to Wisconsin and hosting New Mexico is unique, a home-and-home with each would be awesome (PFB)

• Is playing safety then playing quarterback the new quarterback-turned-wide receiver? OSU’s defensive coordinator thinks it’s super helpful – Drew Mestemaker played safety in high school: 

“With (Mestemaker) playing defense in high school, one of the things that he does such a good job of is processing defensive looks extremely fast,” (Skylar) Cassity said. “He sees tendencies, he sees tips, things like that. He does a really, really good job of that.” [PFB]

Top Quotes

• Hang it in the Louvre. 

Soon. #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/eOGwsElizo

— Wilson F. Ball (@WillyFoosball) August 15, 2026

• Fun to take a peek at what a Bedlam hockey game in Stillwater could (will?) look like:

First look: What Boone Pickens Stadium will look like January 30th, 2027 for the now confirmed Oklahoma State Hockey game against the the sooners for Bedlam.

This will be the first time the sooners return to Boone Pickens Stadium following their football team losing to Oklahoma… pic.twitter.com/ukAq5pm84P

— OKSTProbs (@OKSTProbs) August 14, 2026

One Question

• If you could schedule a series with a basketball opponent, rotating home-and-home each year, who would it be? And why is OSU not playing Arkansas and Wichita State every year?

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Non-OSU Bullets

• Silver Dollar City announced their new roller coaster yesterday

Reminder – make sure to get your significant other out of the house for some rest time over the next couple of weeks, this is on the horizon:

Me explaining to my girl why I can’t go to her sisters wedding in October pic.twitter.com/SH5nlRYder

— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) August 13, 2026

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GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | GAME 4 | GAME 5 | GAME 6 | GAME 7 | GAME 8 | GAME 9

Game 10 of North Texas’ 2025 season was ugly … for UAB, at least.

North Texas beat the Blazers 53-24 in Birmingham, as the Mean Green moved to 9-1 on the season.

In preparation for Oklahoma State’s 2026 season, we’re going back and watching North Texas’ 2025 season. Here are some takeaways from this game against UAB.

It Was Over Instantly

Here’s how this game started:

Caleb Hawkins touchdown
UAB turnover
Caleb Hawkins touchdown
UAB turnover
Caleb Hawkins touchdown

It was 21-0 with 3:11 to play in the first quarter. UAB wasn’t ever actually in this game.

That start meant the Blazers were already in go-for-it mode, and on their third series, they kept the offense on the field on fourth down deep in UNT territory. But Saadiq Clements (now a Cowboy defensive lineman) got a tackle for loss to end that drive.

Then on North Texas’ first play of its fourth drive, Mestemaker hit Wyatt Young with a beautiful pass for a gain of 61 yards before Hawkins scored his fourth TD of the game on the next play. It was 28-0 with 11:07 left in the first half.

Friday Night Lights reference: Eric Taylor would’ve forfeit at half time.

Good Day for the Trio

Drew Mestemaker, Caleb Hawkins and Wyatt Young all shined in this one.

Hawkins earns Player of the Game honors considering he scored five touchdowns and ran for 189 yards. For the most part, he wasn’t having long gashing runs but rather putting drives away inside the 10-yard line. But he ripped off a 51-yard run in the fourth quarter to get that yardage total to look as good as his TD total. He also had a 21-yard catch and run.

Young caught eight passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. The score came on a well-designed play in the third quarter from 7 yards out.

His biggest play was that aforementioned fourth drive. It was officially a 61-yard gain, but I broke down the math on where Mestemaker threw it to where Young caught it, and that ball was in the air for 57 yards and landed right in Young’s breadbasket.

Young has had at least 100 receiving yards in three of UNT’s past four games. And (spoiler alert) he is about to have his best game of the season.

Mestemaker was 18-for-25 for 298 yards and two scores. After throwing for 608 yards two games ago, Mestemaker has almost seemed like he’s in cruise control (not in a bad way) these past two games with other guys making plays around him.

No Mercy

There were a few borderline running up the score moments in this one.

The first came when UNT scored to go up 44-18 with 3:26 left in the third when Morris and Co. elected to go for 2. Not only did they go for 2, but a false start moved the ball back and they still went for it — and got it to make it 46-18.

My best guess here is you go for 2 to go back up four touchdowns, but with about a quarter to play and the fact that UAB hadn’t scored four touchdowns all day to that point, I think the lead was probably safe.

Then with three minutes left in the game, Mestemaker hit Cameron Dorner for a 30-yard TD pass to make it 53-24, capping off a 99-yard touchdown drive. Ouch. Sweep the leg.

Other Notes

• North Texas wore all whites in this game. All of their unis are honestly pretty slick, but these were even moreso.

• Morris isn’t new to massive roster overhauls. According to the broadcast, UNT had 68 newcomers last season.

• It was another solid day for UNT-turned-OSU defenders:

Evan Jackson (S) — 9 tackles
Quinton Hammonds (S) — 7 tackles, 1 TFL
Ethan Wesloski (LB) — 6 tackles, 1 forced fumble
Keviyan Huddleston (DE) — 5 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack
Kollin Lewis (CB) — 4 tackles
Saadiq Clements — 4 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 0.5 sacks

• Brandon Hawkins Jr. scored UAB’s first touchdown. That means someone with the last name Hawkins scored this game’s first five touchdowns. Gotta be a record.

• Mestemaker took a big hit on a scramble. He got up. The defender did not. I’m glad the guy was alright, but it was sort of funny as he tried celebrating from a knee while Mestemaker walked away.

• It was another big turnover day for the Mean Green. UNT picked off three passes, forced a fumble and got two stops on fourth down.

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STILLWATER — One of the bigger surprises of my rewatch of North Texas’ 2025 season was that All-American receiver Wyatt Young blocked a punt in the first game of the season.

It’s not every day you see a guy who finished in the Top 3 nationally in receiving yards chasing after a punter, but according to Oklahoma State special teams coordinator Drew Svoboda (who had the same role at UNT last season), everyone can help on special teams.

“Oh yeah, if you’ve got a knack to go block punts, we’re gonna get you in there,” Svoboda said. “We’ve blocked a ton of punts in the last few years and gotten our hands on them and really exploded some games wide open because of it. And there’s a knack for that. It’s not just being a fast guy. There’s a knack for being able to block punts, understanding the timing and the body position and where to put your hands, recognizing what kind of punt we’re talking about.

“Yeah, we’ll put whoever we gotta put out there to get the job done.”

Young played 45 total special teams snaps last season, according to PFF — 23 on kick return, 23 on punt return and 15 on punt coverage. Along with his block, he finished with a special teams tackle.

And it wasn’t just Young being a star playing special teams. Linebacker Ethan Wesloski played 169 special teams snaps last season, which ranked third among North Texas Players.

But just because a guy is a good player at his position, doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the best guy for a special teams job.

“We’re gonna put the best guys that are the best at we need them to do,” Svoboda said. “Sometimes it’s a starter on offense, sometimes it’s a starter on defense, sometimes it’s the backup. Sometimes it might be a third-string guy, he’s just really good at this job.

“Just because you’re a starter on offense or defense doesn’t mean you’re actually better than this other guy on this special teams. So, ideally is it great to have a whole second platoon that can focus on special teams kind of like they do in the NFL? That’s ideal, but there’s still a mix and a match here.”

Svoboda used the word “aggressive” quite a bit when explaining how new OSU coach Eric Morris views special teams.

North Texas blocked two punts last season, which tied for ninth in the country. The Mean Green also blocked a pair of kicks, which tied for 25th nationally.

That aggression extends to the return game, as well, where Svoboda dropped this quote that might hit the average OSU fan straight in the heart.

“We’re not a just a ‘just get us the ball back’ mentality team,” Svoboda said. “If that’s the case, don’t even practice punt return. Just let the ball hit the ground, and where it stops rolling, offense takes over. We’ve had some good returners in the past. If you can gain a first down every single time, you don’t wanna give that punt team 40, 45-yard net every time they go back to punt the football.”

It certainly seems as if the Cowboys have the ponies to be players in the return game. The two instant standouts in that aspect are Wake Forest transfer receiver Chris Barnes and North Texas transfer receiver Miles Coleman.

Barnes housed a kick return at Wake Forrest last season and finished the year with seven returns for 263 yards. Among players with at least five returns, Barnes’ 37.7-yard averaged ranked fourth nationally.

CHRIS BARNES TAKES THE OPENING KICKOFF 98 YARDS TO THE HOUSE!!! WHAT A START FOR WAKE FOREST! pic.twitter.com/7RmzK8FS56

— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) September 11, 2025

Coleman returned 10 punts in 2025, gaining 42 yards on those efforts.

Svoboda also noted that running back Caleb Hawkins could get some work in the return game. Hawkins, based on my UNT rewatch, is a menace in the checkdown passing game because it gives him the ball in space with usually a bunch of defensive backs around him — a similar position he would find himself in while returning.

As for the Cowboy kicking game, last week Morris noted that SMU transfer Sam Keltner is in the catbird seat to be OSU’s kicker, while Stephen F. Austin transfer Lachie Pozzobon is in the lead to do the punting.

Standing at 6-foot-4, Pozzobon is an Australian, joining Tom Hutton and Hudson Kaak as Aussie punters in Stillwater. Pozzobon was an FCS Football Central Freshman All-American last season as a Lumberjack after punting 53 times for 2,217 yards and an average of 41.8 yards per punt.

“He’s got a lot of different ability,” Svoboda said. “He can spiral, he can end over end it, banana ball, roll right kick left, roll right kick right. He’s got a lot of skillset, lot of tools in his toolbelt. He’s trying to flip that field every time we get an opportunity. We’re not scared to fake the ball. We did that in our last football game. We’re going to be aggressive as a punt unit, as well.”

Keltner was the Mustangs’ primary kicker last season, going 14-for-20 on field goals, including six makes from 40+ yards.

He has ties to Stillwater. His dad and sister both attended OSU, and he said at OSU’s Media Day last weekend that he’s grown up an OSU fan because of that.

“I was in the portal for maybe an hour,” Keltner said. “I jumped in, I got that offer, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll take it.’

“This was the offer I wanted, and it was the offer I got. It’s just surreal. It’s an awesome experience, and it’s sometimes hard to believe that I get this opportunity and I’m really grateful for it.”

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The national media is still talking about the Pokes entering the 2026 football season.

On3’s Andy Staples went on the Brandon Walker College Football Show this week, where Staples was asked to breakdown his personal preseason Top 25, where he included Oklahoma State at No. 23.

“I’ve been an Eric Morris guy since he was at Incarnate Word,” Staples told Walker. “I just think he’s really good at finding talent. He’s really good at running an offense. He knows what he’s doing. The fact that these guys were really good at North Texas and then you port them and add pieces out of the transfer portal that are capable of playing in the Big 12, I think it’s going to work, and I think it’s going to work immediately.

“Because what I think what was going on last year is Mike Gundy said it himself. Like, he came on our show at Big 12 Media Days, and Ari and I’s jaws just dropped when he’s like, ‘Yeah, I didn’t believe in it. I thought NIL was a flash in the pan and was gonna go away.’ And I’m like, ‘Excuse me?’ So, Oklahoma State’s donors obviously knew that long ago, and they were basically starving him out. They didn’t give him any resources. There’s a reason they were the worst team in school history last year despite having the best coach in school history. They turned the faucet back on when Eric Morris got there and made sure that he had what he needed. … There’s an opportunity to be one of the best three or four teams in the conference.”

If Staples’ reference to Gundy went over your head there, the Cowboys’ former coach went on Staples’ podcast — Andy & Ari On3 — at Big 12 Media Days before the 2025 season, where Gundy was rather forthcoming about OSU’s slow entrance into the NIL world.

“Three years ago when this started, I almost refused to believe it was ever gonna happen, and I just thought it would go away,” Gundy told them. “It was almost like getting in an argument with your wife, and then you just hope it goes away. …

“The truth be known, this portal class from January (last year) is the first class that we ever bought. We had not bought portal kids. That hurt us. It hurt us the last year or so from a depth standpoint. That was nobody’s fault. That’s not the administration’s fault, not the donors, that was really kind of my fault because what I had done was taken money that had been raised through donations and spread it amongst the troops, somewhat evenly to the current players. We didn’t go out and solicit for players and pay them to come to our team.”

So, that’s the context.

As far as this current team, Staples went on to point out that there’s some turnover in the Big 12 this year — whether that be at Utah or Kansas State — before he noted that it’s possible this OSU squad is fighting at the top of the Big 12.

OSU was fifth among Big 12 teams in Staples’ poll, coming in behind Texas Tech (No. 8), BYU (No. 12), Utah (No. 19) and Houston (No. 21).

Considering the Cowboys were 1-11 last season, there has been a lot of talk about OSU from a national perspective given the excitement Morris’ hiring has injected into Stillwater. The Cowboys received votes in the preseason Coaches Poll, and it seems like twice a week, the major college football podcasts are picking the Pokes to be one of the better teams in the Big 12.

With all the newness in Stillwater (plus how the past two seasons have gone), it’s hard to be certain about anything, but it does make for some exciting times in August.

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STILLWATER — James Madison transfer Ayo Adeyi was borderline unstoppable the last time he played for Eric Morris.

In 2023, Adeyi was the Mean Green’s top back, rushing for 1,017 yards and averaging 7.1 yards per carry, which ranked eighth in the nation among backs with at least 50 attempts that season, according to Pro Football Focus.

All of that success ran out when Adeyi suffered a turf toe injury in the second quarter of the second game of 2024. It required surgery, and that was the end of Adeyi’s first season at JMU.

“Missing the whole season is like, you kind of go your whole life (with your) identity being an athlete, and then throughout college being a football player,” Adeyi said. “So having that stripped from me was really tough.”

The back estimates he missed maybe two games ever leading up to that injury across his first three seasons of college and his entire high school career. Facing life on the sidelines was difficult.

“My mom (Taiwo Adeyi) came out actually and stayed with me for like that week,” he said. “I’m a man of faith, and so having her there really kind of grounded me, you know, doing Bible study every night kind of helped me just see life. It’s a lot bigger than football, but yeah, it was really tough.”

During the last two years, Adeyi rebuilt his foundation to include not just football but family, friends and even hobbies like going to the movies to watch superhero films.

This was helpful considering he had yet another setback on the football field last season. According to Pro Football Focus, Adeyi played 35 snaps spread out over weeks 1, 2 and 4 of last season. He then played three in week six and didn’t take the field as an offensive player again until the College Football Playoff game against Oregon.

“We play running back, and so going through a whole year taking no hits coming back the next year, and you’re just playing a lot,” Adeyi said. “Like I think this past year, I think it was like Week 4. My body just wasn’t really used to that big game I had in Week 3, and so at practice, the last play is just my hamstring snapped.”

It’s safe to say Adeyi placed a huge emphasis on rehab during the offseason.

It also sounds like the decision to become a Cowboy was relatively easy for him.

“To be honest with you, just the success I had with this staff at UNT,” Adeyi said when asked what brought him to Stillwater. “It was just for me, a no-brainer to get back with this staff. I know how explosive the offense can be, so I was excited to come back.”

That familiarity could help him earn significant snaps this fall.

Morris made it clear on Saturday that he would like to reduce the workload on starting running back Caleb Hawkins. Assuming he can stay healthy, something Morris hinted at almost challenge-like, Adeyi would be a favorite on paper to emerge as the No. 2 back.

“Obviously, Ayo Adeyi, who’s been in our program at North Texas a couple years ago and is familiar with this offense,” offensive coordinator Sean Brophy said while addressing the team’s depth at the position. “He’s a guy that’s gonna be able to come in and be really productive for us, and you can count on.”

Adeyi was asked on Saturday about what he needs to do to prove he can be the complementary back behind Hawkins.

“I think it just starts with consistency in practice,” he said. “You know, just showing up every single day. So that’s what I’m trying to do every single day. Starting from spring ball to fall camp. Now, just I want to be that relief in any way I can to ultimately help us to win the game.”

Morris has had a lot of success both with and without Adeyi in recent years. The reunited running back made it clear that both he and the team have high hopes for the start of this new era in Stillwater.

“Seeing what they did last year was like really impressive, really cool,” Adeyi said. “So I think we’re not looking at it as like a starting from the ground zero (this year). I feel like everyone’s here to get to work starting from game one, and so the expectation is simple, just win. However that looks, just win.”

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