#17

Drew Mestemaker

Drew Mestemaker packed up and started over at Oklahoma State, and the new tape already reads No.4 9.4 Y/A, qualified QBs.

QB · Oklahoma State · R-So. · #17

6′3″ · 215 lb · Austin, TX · Vandegrift

CFB Index 79 · #15 of 146 QBsHigh confidenceTransferred North Texas → Oklahoma State for 2026

The numbers

882

passing yards · 2026 · through week 3

3 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 608 yds · 4 TD -- top 0.1% passing yards game. -- Best game: 324 pass yds, 5 TD, -6 rush yds, vs Murray State

The play that turned itSwung North Texas from 8% to 54% to win.North Texas at Texas State · 30-28

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Redshirt sophomore quarterback for Oklahoma State. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.

Transferred from North Texas to Oklahoma State in 2026.
Named AAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2025.
OSU fans storm field after upset win over Oregon (Sep 13) Reported

The full story, with sources

How he plays

Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.

Sack rate: 80th percentile.

The full scouting read

Next upSat Sep 26 · 7 pm ETat West VirginiaMilan Puskar StadiumWest Virginia by 1

Drew Mestemaker

QB · Oklahoma State · So · #17

Filling the Shoesas of 2026-09-22

Drew Mestemaker arrives at Oklahoma State with a new fit to prove and an old chapter behind him.

882PASS YDS8PASS TD112RUSH YDS

9.4 Y/A · QUALIFIED QBs

No.4

#4 YPA at 9.40 among qualified QBs.

Read the story so far

He lines up at QB for Oklahoma State.

On the field, the headline is 882 pass yds, with 8 pass td.

He inherited the QB job from Zane Flores (3-star).

The number to watch: No.4 — 9.4 y/a · qualified qbs.

QB successionlow bar

Inherited fromZane Flores 3★

Why nowHe changed programs heading into 2026 — a fresh fit to prove out.

season totals
#4 YPA at 9.40 among qualified QBs.
throne-line + Filling-the-Shoes

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22

Career stats

Season	Team
2026	Oklahoma State	75	114	65.8%	882	7.7	8	4	146.9	62	--	--
2025	North Texas	319	465	68.6%	4,369	9.4	34	9	167.8	83	--	--
2024	North Texas	30	46	65.2%	462	10.0	2	2	155.2	63	--	--
Career		424	625	67.8%	5,713	9.1	44	15	163.1	77	--	--

Season	Team
2026	Oklahoma State	12	106	8.8	1	--
2025	North Texas	57	89	1.6	5	--
2024	North Texas	14	87	6.2	1	--
Career		83	282	3.4	7	--

Game log

Game by game

Drew Mestemaker's 2026 production

Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.

Source CFB Zeitgeist · player_game_stats + power_ratings_weekly

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 3 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	Note
Wk 1	L 10-24@ Tulsa	29/49	241	1	2	4.9	—
Wk 2	W 39-31vs Oregon	26/43	317	2	2	7.4	80.1
Wk 3	W 59-0vs Murray State	20/22	324	5	0	14.7	87.8	Season-high 324 yds
Total		75/114	882	8	4	9.0	83.9

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026

W 39–31

vs Oregon

317 yds · 2 TD · 2 INT · QBR 80.1 · 109 rush yds (6 car) · 1 TD

Edged out Oregon at home in a shootout.

With L. Pozzobon — 44.3 yards per punt · 3 punts · 47 long · W. Young — 5 rec · 121 yds · 1 TD

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 2 · Oregon · 3&5 · Q1 · EPA -11.16(06:21) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker pass intercepted by #9 D.Jackson at ORE04 broken up by #0 D.Robinson #9 D.Jackson return 96 yards to the OSU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 06:04 #97 G.Hurych kick attempt good (H: #39 B.Ettridge, LS: #71 R.Todd)
Week 2 · Oregon · 2&5 · Q2 · EPA -6.34(05:39) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker pass intercepted by #10 M.Uiagalelei at OSU12 broken up by #11 D.Williams #10 M.Uiagalelei return 11 yards to the OSU01 (#17 D.Mestemaker)
Week 2 · Oregon · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +4.81(13:40) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker rush middle for 75 yards gain to the ORE03 (#9 D.Jackson), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
Week 1 · Tulsa · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA -4.54(00:15) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker pass intercepted by #4 T.Williams at TLS29, End Of Play
Week 1 · Tulsa · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA -4.47(04:18) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker pass intercepted by #1 Z.Williams at TLS00 QB hurried by #15 T.Davis, Touchback
Week 1 · Tulsa · 4&1 · Q4 · EPA -4.26(08:41) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker pass complete short left to #1 M.Coleman caught at OSU33, for 0 yards to the OSU34 (#1 Z.Williams; #25 S.Stone), TURNOVER ON DOWNS
Week 2 · Oregon · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +4.01(03:47) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker pass complete deep middle to #10 W.Young caught at ORE10, for 52 yards to the ORE00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 03:47, 1ST DOWN #16 S.Keltner kick attempt good (H: #85 N.Ost, LS: #42 C.Yates)
Week 1 · Tulsa · 4&7 · Q3 · EPA +3.63(01:56) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker pass complete short left to #0 J.Bowick caught at TLS01, for 16 yards to the TLS00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:52, 1ST DOWN #16 S.Keltner kick attempt good (H: #85 N.Ost, LS: #42 C.Yates)
Week 3 · Murray State · 3&7 · Q1 · EPA +3.53(04:10) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker pass complete short middle to #0 J.Bowick caught at MSU47, for 28 yards to the MSU32 (#9 D.Rowsey), 1ST DOWN
Week 3 · Murray State · 3&3 · Q2 · EPA +3.09(13:10) No Huddle-Shotgun #17 D.Mestemaker pass complete short right to #0 J.Bowick caught at MSU17, for 24 yards to the MSU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 13:05, 1ST DOWN #16 S.Keltner kick attempt good (H: #85 N.Ost, LS: #42 C.Yates)

2026 snapshot

Since week 2: +324 passing yards, +5 passing TD.

Season context · Team result + system

2024North Texas6-7HC: Eric Morris · Pass-leaning

2025North Texas12-2HC: Drew Svoboda · Balanced

2026Oklahoma State2-1HC: Eric Morris · Balanced, fast tempo

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

79All-Conference level #15 of 146?

High confidence13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sack rate (80th percentile). Strength: pass tds (82nd percentile). Concern: epa / dropback (17th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Sack rate#15 / 74 · 80th pct

2.5%

Success rate#35 / 74 · 53rd pct

46.2%

Explosive rate#35 / 74 · 53rd pct

12.0%

Interception rate#60 / 74 · 20th pct

3.4%

EPA / dropback#62 / 74 · 17th pct

0.09

Box-score rates (8)

Pass TDs#10 / 64 · 82nd pct

Rush yards#15 / 64 · 77th pct

106

Pass yards#16 / 64 · 76th pct

882

Rush TDs#17 / 64 · 57th pct

Completion %#32 / 64 · 51st pct

65.8%

Yards / att#38 / 64 · 41st pct

7.7

Interceptions#55 / 64 · 12th pct

Fumbles lost#33 / 39 · 9th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / dropback

94th → 17th percentile

Success rate

98th → 53rd percentile

Explosive rate

94th → 53rd percentile

Sack rate

82nd → 80th percentile

Interception rate

63rd → 20th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Passing profile

Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)

Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from

75/117 (64.1%) · 8 TD · 4 INT

117 of 114 attempts matched to play-by-play

115 of 117 attempts charted for true throw depth

Adjusted ANY/A

7.2168 of 126 QBs

Sack rate

2.6%28 of 126 QBs

Rarely sacked (28 of 126), but Adjusted ANY/A hasn't followed (68 of 126).

Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

20% of attempts (23)

74%comp1 INT

Air -2.8 · YAC 7.5 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

44% of attempts (51)

63%comp1 INT

Air 4.4 · YAC 2.5 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

27% of attempts (31)

65%comp2 INT

Air 13.9 · YAC 6.4 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

9% of attempts (10)

50%comp

Air 28.5 · YAC 6.2 avg

Overall 64.1% completion on 117 attempts · 50% completion on 10 deep attempts (20+ air yds).

Passer rating

Zeitgeist Passer Rating

2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.

Thin sample: 114 dropbacks

62Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks

--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet

Positive-play rate weight 24%

48.9%75th pct of FBS QBs

share of dropbacks that gained expected points · -0.2% schedule adj.

Yards per attempt weight 56%

7.3060th pct of FBS QBs

sacks excluded · -0.1 schedule adj.

Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)

1.0%98th pct of FBS QBs

the input passer rating cannot see · -0.8% schedule adj.

Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (5 of 119 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2026 season · 3 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Home2g	320	3.5	11.1	1.0
Road1g	241	1.0	4.9	2.0

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Weeks 1-73g	294	2.7	9.0	1.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Eric Morris

Pass share

50.8%

120 pass / 116 run

Plays / game

78.7

3 games

Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2026

Backup

On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

How he plays

Play style

Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.

CFB Index positional classification

DNA match

Player DNA

Scrambler

Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.

His 2026 production profile sits closest to Sean Maguire’s 2015 season.

Sean Maguire

66%match

Florida State · 2015

Zeon Chriss

Louisiana · 2023

63%

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele

California · 2026

63%

Clayton Tune

Houston · 2020

NFL Rd 5

61%

Khalil Tate

Arizona · 2019

60%

Matches Sean on

Total pass EPA (college ability)

Differs from Sean on

EPA / dropback (adj) (lower)

INT rate (higher)

Rush usage (higher)

Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Keelon Russell’s path through Alabama.

Keelon Russell

96%match

Alabama · 2026

KJ Jefferson

UCF · 2024

93%

Dante Moore

Oregon · 2026

All-Big Ten

92%

Jaden Craig

TCU · 2026

90%

Kyle McCord

Syracuse · 2024

All-ACCNFL Rd 6

89%

Matches Keelon on

Height

Completion %

Yards per attempt

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Arch Manning's junior season at Texas (2025).

Arch Manning

46%match

Texas · 2025

All-SEC

Ethan Garbers

UCLA · 2023

45%

Tyler Vitt

Texas State · 2020

42%

Cameran Brown

Georgia State · 2026

41%

Cameron Rising

Utah · 2022

All-Pac-12

41%

Matches Arch on

Height

Differs from Arch on

Rush yards / carry (higher)

INT rate (higher)

Total pass EPA (college ability) (lower)

Player DNA

Players who play like Drew Mestemaker

CJ Carr

Notre Dame · 2025

72%

Heisman trajectory

Heisman futures · sportsbook market

#27 in market ▲ from #41 · 6 books

+50001.0% implied▼ lengthened from +3500

Heisman Trajectory · 2026

Peak #89

Final rank

#105

Avg #294.8

Finalist prob 0%

Peaked at #89 this season.

Background

2025 Burlsworth Trophy Winner 2025 NCAA FBS Statistical Champion (Passing Yards, Passing Yards Per Game, Total Offense, Yards per Pass Attempt) 2025 American Conference Offensive Player of the Year 2025 Freshman All-America Team (FWAA) 2025 All-American Conference First Team 2025 Manning Award…

via okstate.com ↗

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Drew Mestemaker

Attention percentile: 67th · Production percentile: 89th

What fans are saying

fans believe Drew Mestemaker is a key player but argue the team needs better support around him

202514 games

20263 games

Career stats

Game log

Drew Mestemaker's 2026 production

Signature game

Signature plays

2026 snapshot

Passing profile

Passer rating

Splits & context

Awards

Backup

How he plays

DNA match

Scrambler

Players who play like Drew Mestemaker

Heisman trajectory

Peak #89

Background