All-American RB Set to Take Over Big 12 in 2026 College Football Season

Stillwater, Okla. — When Caleb Hawkins steps into Boone Pickens Stadium this fall, the Oklahoma State offense will look strikingly different from the unit that staggered to a 1-11 finish in 2025. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound All-American arrives in Stillwater as the headliner of a transfer haul designed to restore relevance in a wide-open Big 12, and early returns suggest the Cowboys may have landed the most explosive runner in the conference.

Hawkins, who followed offensive coordinator Sean Brophy and head coach Eric Morris from North Texas, brings credentials rarely seen from a sophomore. In his lone season with the Mean Green, he rushed for 1,434 yards and 25 touchdowns while adding 32 receptions for 370 yards and four more scores. The performance earned him AAC Rookie of the Year and first-team all-league honors, numbers that translate into immediate expectations in Stillwater.

“He’s so talented,” one Group of Six assistant told The Athletic in an anonymous survey of 14 staffers. “He’s going to come in and be one of the best running backs in the Big 12 on Day 1.”

The endorsement carries weight in a league no longer dominated by Oklahoma and Texas. The Sooners and Longhorns exited for the SEC in 2024, and the resulting parity has turned every Saturday into a de facto elimination game. Texas Tech, the reigning champion, visits Stillwater in mid-November in a matchup that could decide the conference title.

Oklahoma State’s path is navigable. The Cowboys draw West Virginia, UCF, Colorado and Kansas—four of the five Big 12 programs that finished 2025 with losing records—and avoid preseason favorites Houston and Arizona State in the regular-season rotation. Road trips to Iowa State and Kansas State loom, but both programs opted out of the 2025 postseason amid coaching transitions, leaving lingering questions about roster stability.

Inside the building, optimism centers on continuity. Brophy will coordinate the same up-tempo spread he deployed at North Texas, now quarterbacked by FBS passing leader Drew Mestemaker and flanked by veteran wideouts Wyatt Young and Miles Coleman. Add Hawkins to the backfield, and the Cowboys believe they possess the league’s most balanced attack.

“We’re not rebuilding,” Morris said during spring ball. “We’re reloading with guys who know exactly what we want to do.”

For Hawkins, the opportunity is simple: three seasons of eligibility, a conference ripe for the taking, and an offense tailored to his dual-threat skill set. If the freshman film translates, the Big 12’s next superstar won’t be hard to find—he’ll be the one carrying the ball 20 times a game in orange and black.