Height: 6-3

Weight: 215 pounds

Year: RS Sophomore

Pro Comparison: Ryan Tannehill

Pros for Drew Mestemaker

• He’s a touch thrower, showcasing some impressive moments to the intermediate-deep levels of the field 
• Mestemaker is a creative athlete, and it shows as an extender, and when he turns into a runner 
• When Mestemaker is in rhythm, he has some notable accuracy and ball placement at all levels of the field 
• There’s still a lot of untapped upside due to potential physical gain and a lack of overall playing time 

Cons for Drew Mestemaker

• Arm strength is just average for NFL standards. The ball can die when asked to throw with pace 
• Mestemaker comes from an air raid style offense that isn’t the most translatable to the NFL 
• His decision-making can go hot and cold due to his inconsistent quick game

Background

Mestemaker came out of Austin (Texas) Vandegrift in the 2024 recruiting class, where he was not rated by any of the major platforms. He held no D1 offers, opting to take a walk-on opportunity with North Texas. The talented passer hadn’t played quarterback since his freshman season, serving as the team’s safety and punter, and was selected as an Honorable Mention and Second Team All-District 25-6A selection, respectively. 

After redshirting as a freshman in 2024, Mestemaker started the bowl game against Texas State that year, which was a nice preview for things to come. During his breakout season in 2025, Mestemaker was named the winner of the Burlsworth Award, an honor given to the best former walk-on in the country. Mestemaker was also named as a First Team All-American Conference and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Offensive Player of the Year. In 14 games, he managed to throw for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns. Mestemaker also ran for an additional five touchdowns on the ground, while completing 69 percent of his passes. 

Following the 2025 season, Mestemaker decided to enter the transfer portal. He followed head coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State.

Player Evaluation

Mestemaker quickly became one of the coolest stories in all of college football this past season. Despite the stigma around being a former walk-on, Mestemaker is a creative athlete who excels at throwing on the run. He does some nice work as both an extender and when he turns into a runner. Mestemaker is a touch thrower, showcasing some impressive moments on film when attacking the intermediate and deeper levels of the field. When Mestemaker is in rhythm, he has some notable accuracy and ball placement, which flashes to each level of the field. With Mestemaker still being young and inexperienced, there is still some untapped upside to work with. There should be another physical gain on the horizon, which should help his overall arm strength. The new playing time should also be valuable to his abilities as a processor. 

In terms of pure arm strength, Mestemaker is just average for NFL standards. The ball can die on him when asked to throw with pace outside of the numbers. There have been moments when the ball can flutter when pushing vertically, as well. With Mestemaker coming from a heavy air raid style offense, there are some parts of the system that won’t translate smoothly, particularly working the middle of the field. Mestemaker’s decision-making can go hot and cold due to his inconsistency with his quick game. There have also been some notable struggles in games against better defenses, and that will need to be remedied. 

There is a ton of growth that most people are hoping to see from Mestemaker during the 2026 season. As of today, he feels like a player who needs a longer runway and could be best served to be a part of the 2028 NFL Draft class. That can change depending on his maturity this Fall.