The best part of this Saturday Scouting series so far is that it has allowed me to follow players who come across my timeline. And this week, I became enthralled with Drew Mestemaker. The former North Texas redshirt sophomore just transferred to Oklahoma State, and he is firmly on the radar of draft evaluators as a potential part of an extremely hyped 2027 quarterback draft class.
Mestemaker led the FBS in passing yards (4,379) while tying for second in passing touchdowns (34) while operating in the comparatively weak American Athletic Conference. Now as he moves into the Big 12, he will face a higher level of competition that will either push his stock up as a first-round quarterback or show that he was merely a medium-sized fish in a small pond that struggles to level up.
I watched two games of his 2025 season – week 4 against Navy and the Conference Championship game against Tulane.
Drew Mestemaker Profile
Height: 6-3 (Oklahoma State website)
Weight: 211 pounds (North Texas website)
His height is from the Oklahoma State website. They also list the following accomplishments for him:
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 Finalist (1 of 10)
2025 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Finalist (1 of 5)
2025 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Finalist (1 of 5)
2025 Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist (1 of 20)
2025 Walter Camp Award Semifinalist (1 of 20)
Executive Summary
Drew Mestemaker is a quick-trigger pocket passer who put up one of the best quarterback seasons in FBS last year. His tape mostly meets the production profile in part due to the level of competition he faced. Mestemaker led the FBS in passing yards as a redshirt freshman walk-on, then turned that into Player of the Year hardware and a high-major transfer. The question on him is whether the traits and production will translate against a higher level of competition.
His superpower shows up in the intermediate middle part of the field, which is where the best quarterbacks separate themselves from the pack. He attacks that zone more than 87 percent of qualifying starters and wins it at a 96th-percentile grade, driving digs and posts on a line with real velocity. Mestemaker pairs that with a fast release across the short and intermediate field, genuine full-field progression ability, and a second-reaction game that manipulates middle-of-field defenders with the threat of a north-south scramble before punishing them over the top. Those are translatable, hard-to-teach traits, and they show up against the better defense in the sample.
He is not without flaws in addition to question marks, but many of those are coachable. He over-lofts the deep ball and floats it with hang time, a problem that traces to lower-half and core power access rather than arm strength. He gets loose with his platform when flushed laterally, and a couple of times a game he trusts his arm into a window he has not earned. The frame is light at 211 pounds, and the move to the Big 12 in 2026 is going to surface whether he is a for-real prospect or not. The arm, the processing, and the production are all intriguing. But the lack of real competition makes his current eval a crapshoot at best.
2025 Production
Passing
With a low average depth of target and high adjusted completion percentage, Mestemaker was an extremely efficient quarterback in 2025. That usually describes a quarterback who plays within the structure of the system and stays in rhythm. His secondary metrics show a good-not-great profile as his turnover-worthy play, big time throw and pressure-to-sack numbers were all above average but not world-beating. And his average time to throw was one of the quickest in FBS.
Rushing
The radar chart tells it all. Mestemaker isn’t a dual threat who will boost act as a force multiplier in the run game. But his 7.7 yards per carry on scrambles and five rushing touchdowns show a quarterback who can hammer a defense if they completely ignore him as a ground threat.
Strengths
Attacking the Intermediate-Middle of the Field
I want to start with Drew Mestemaker’s superpower. The most dangerous part of the field is the intermediate middle. From 10-20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage in between the numbers is where most traffic and rotation are happening. When quarterbacks attack that area of the field they have to be mindful of players coming from all angles. And it is this area of the field where Mestemaker thrives. His 16.5% target share is in the 87th percentile.
He isn’t shy about attacking that area and when he does, he is one of the best passers in college football.
North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker – Photo by: Reuters Connect
He drives the ball to the intermediate with power and anticipation. Mestemaker loves to find the post or dig to this area. He is patient with the route concept, waiting for clear-outs, outs and crosses to clear the area for late-developing overs to open up and his quick release and quicker processor take full advantage.
And unlike most quarterbacks, who avoid the middle of the field when they are operating on second-reaction or scramble drills, Mestemaker loves to attack it. One of his go-to moves when he is pushed off his spot in the pocket, he will speed up his legs moving forward to the line of scrimmage, either in a drop-stick-climb or as a true scramble. This forces middle of the field defenders to respect him as a runner, drawing them forward before he throws over their heads.
Quick Trigger
He works well in rhythm and on time, with a repeatable drop, backfoot stick and release. He can climb the pocket and deliver with anticipation. All of this led to one of the quickest times to throws among all college quarterbacks. And this isn’t a result of just throwing shorter more often. He is consistently one of the quickest throwers when controlling for targeted area of the field with the notable exception of throws beyond 20 yards.
Off-Platform and On-the-Move Arm + Second Reaction Creation
He isn’t a natural scrambler, but he has the foot speed, loose hips and elastic arm to make plays outside of the pocket on the run. His natural arm strength plays up in these settings, especially when he is working towards the line of scrimmage on his escapes. The best thing about Mestemaker is he understands how to get the most out of the play when he has to break the pocket. When structure breaks, he does not bail to the checkdown. He holds middle-of-field defenders with the threat of his legs, then throws over them to the intermediate level.
Full-field Progressions
He works whole the whole field much more often and comfortably than the typical college quarterback. This is especially exciting for a 19-year-old redshirt freshman. For as good as he already is in this area, improvement can be expected which gives him a real NFL projection at one of the most important quarterback skills.
North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker – Photo by: Reuters Connect
Pre-Snap Blitz Recognition + Pocket Movement
He identifies second-level pressure and beats it by throwing behind the blitz to the right outlet on time. He knows where his hots are, how route structures can beat pressure packages and he isn’t afraid to punish when the pressure is late. In the pocket he subtly pivots, steps up, climbs into space and resets to throw. And most importantly his eyes stay downfield while climbing.
Clean ball security
He genuinely makes good decisions with the ball the vast majority of the time. Because of his plus processing he finds the open man more often than not leading to fewer opportunities for turnovers.
Weaknesses
Deep-ball Over-Lofting
Mestemaker tends to float the deep shot with too much air and hang time, which lets defenders re-enter the play. His deep adjusted completion drops to 45 percent as he goes from one of the more accurate passers under 20 air yards to merely a bit above average when he goes deep. This traces to a power-access problem, he arms it and overarches his back rather than driving through his hips and core, so it is a trainable fix tied to his mechanics.
Mechanical Inconsistencies
He has a tendency of over-opening his hips on short throws to the left and goes arm-heavy with a back-arch on deep-right sideline balls. These are all fixable.
Struggles to Give Up on Plays Leading to Additional Negatives
Mestemaker was clearly playing at a level of competition that he was at the best against Navy. That changed when he faced Tulane. When a superior player consistently faces competition that doesn’t match his level of play, he can develop bad habits. That happened with Mestemaker when he chose to bail from the pocket. He could drift and retreat backwards leading to bigger negatives and deeper sacks.
Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker – Photo by: Reuters Connect
Interior Stunt and Twist Recognition
While his blitz identification is plus, he could get confused by line games with stunters and loopers leading to poor decisions and deep sacks.
Tight-Window Arm-Trust
There are a couple of throws a game where he forces a throw into a window he has not earned. These are typically deep sideline arcs where his receiver hasn’t separated, or the occasional middle of the field dig where his anticipation is a bit too early. This is consistent with a good-not-elite 67th-percentile turnover-worthy-play rate.
Frame and Competition
He is light for the position at 211 pounds. But he has room to grow his frame and add some mass. His two worst statistical games of the season came against the only ranked defenses he faced. The 2026 Big 12 slate is a real test of his ability to elevate.
Questions Still To Answer
I didn’t see Mestemaker make any protection adjustments. It’s possible he was and I missed it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is an under-developed part of his skillset. North Texas’ offense was an RPO, shotgun heavy system. He will need to learn how to go under center and use traditional play action at some point.
Scheme Fits
As of right now Drew Mestemaker’s best fit is a shotgun-spread system that lets him read out the defense pre-snap and work to the intermediate portion of the field. He has solid footwork and athletic ability so I have little doubt he will be able to pick up the under center, play-action game that is required to win at the NFL level in the future.
Combining those stylistic features, I think he would fit best in a Ben Johnson or Liam Coen system as both attack the area of the field Mestemaker does his best work.