Drew Mestemaker

Drew T. Mestemaker (born January 2006) is an American college football quarterback for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He previously played for the North Texas Mean Green.

Early life Mestemaker attended Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas. He saw limited playing time at the quarterback position during his high school career. As a junior in 2022, he served as the backup to Brayden Buchanan, who later played college baseball for the Baylor Bears baseball program. In limited action, Mestemaker completed 12 of 13 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns.

During his senior season in 2023, Mestemaker again served as a backup, this time to Louisville Cardinals commit Deuce Adams, who had transferred from Canyon High School the previous year. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He also contributed on defense, playing defensive back and safety, where he earned honorable mention all-district recognition.

Mestemaker additionally served as Vandegrift’s primary punter, averaging 34.7 yards per punt on 15 attempts, including six punts inside the 20-yard line. He was named second team All-District 25-6A on special teams.

A zero-star recruit, Mestemaker committed to play college football for the North Texas as a walk-on after graduating from high school.

College career North Texas Mestemaker enrolled at the University of North Texas on June 1, 2024, joining the program under head coach Eric Morris. He began fall camp as the team’s fifth-string quarterback but moved up the depth chart during preseason practices, emerging as the primary backup to starting quarterback Chandler Morris by the final scrimmage before the season opener.

Mestemaker made his collegiate debut in Week 3 against Texas Tech, completing two of three pass attempts for 56 yards while adding 26 rushing yards. He appeared sparingly in three additional games during the regular season. After Chandler Morris entered the NCAA transfer portal, Mestemaker was named the starter for the 2025 First Responder Bowl. In the game, he completed 26 of 41 passes for 393 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and added a 70-yard rushing touchdown in a loss to Texas State. He finished the 2024 season with 462 passing yards, two touchdown passes, and two interceptions.

Heading into the 2025 season, Mestemaker competed for the starting quarterback job against Miami transfer Reese Poffenbarger. On August 19, 2025, he was officially named North Texas’ starting quarterback for the season opener.

In Week 1 against Lamar, Mestemaker threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns in a 51–0 victory. North Texas then earned wins over Western Michigan (the 2025 MAC champions), Washington State, Army, and South Alabama, starting the season 5–0. During that stretch, Mestemaker maintained an 11-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio while completing nearly 68 percent of his passes for 1,247 yards.

After a loss to South Florida, in which he threw for 336 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions, Mestemaker and the Mean Green rebounded with six consecutive victories. This stretch included a historic performance against Charlotte, where he threw for a school and AAC record 608 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in a 54–20 win.

Mestemaker led North Texas to the 2025 American Conference Football Championship Game against Tulane (North Texas lost, 21 to 34, with Mestemaker going 21 for 34 for 294 yards with 2 TD and 3 INT). In the 2025 New Mexico Bowl against San Diego State, he threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions, helping North Texas win 49–47. The victory secured the program’s first-ever 12-win season and snapped a seven-game bowl losing streak.

He finished the 2025 season with 4,379 passing yards and 34 passing touchdowns, setting single-season program records in both categories. He accounted for 4,468 total offensive yards and 39 total touchdowns, establishing new program marks for total offense and total touchdowns. For his outstanding performance, he was named American Offensive Player of the Year, earned First Team All-AAC honors, and won the Burlsworth Trophy.

On December 29, 2025, Mestemaker announced that he would be entering the transfer portal.

Mestemaker was a highly touted transfer portal prospect, being considered a top ten player in many transfer portal rankings.

Oklahoma State On January 3, 2026, Mestemaker announced his commitment to Oklahoma State University, reuniting with head coach Eric Morris, under whom he had played at North Texas. He signed a two-year, $7 million deal with the program.

Statistics LegendLed FBSBoldCareer high Season Team Games Passing Rushing 2024 North Texas 5 1 0−1 30 46 65.2 462 10.0 2 2 155.2 14 87 6.2 1 2025 North Texas 14 14 12−2 319 463 68.94,3799.5 34 9 168.7 57 89 1.6 5 2026 Oklahoma State 0 0 0−0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 Career 19 15 12–3 349 509 68.6 4,841 9.5 36 11 167.5 71 176 2.5 6