How North Texas QB went from high school backup to nation’s leading passer

AI-assisted summary
• North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker went from a zero-star high school backup to the nation’s leading passer.
• Mestemaker was given a walk-on spot by coach Eric Morris despite never starting a varsity high school game.
• The redshirt freshman has thrown for 3,835 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first year as a starter.

After the 2023 high school season, the zero-star recruit — per 247Sports’ Composite — started training with Jeff Christensen, a quarterbacks specialist known for working with Patrick Mahomes. Christensen, who knew North Texas coach Eric Morris, reached out to the Mean Green coach on Mestemaker’s behalf.

“Hey, you need to watch this kid throw,” Morris recalled Christensen telling him.

Morris replied: “I got a walk-on spot, just send me his tape and I’ll get him evaluated.”

There was just one problem.

“He started laughing and said, ‘That’s the thing. He didn’t play last year,’” Morris told USA TODAY Sports. “And I’m like, ‘Come on. You want me to take a kid that couldn’t even play in high school?’”

Morris eventually offered Mestemaker a roster spot, despite him never starting a varsity game at quarterback. Morris, who has built a reputation as a quarterback guru after mentoring Mahomes, Baker Mayfield and Cam Ward, among others, trusted what he saw in Mestemaker’s size and raw ability.

It ended up being one of his best decisions as the Mean Green’s coach.

Fast forward to 2025, and the 6-4 redshirt freshman leads the country with 3,835 passing yards while throwing 29 touchdowns to four interceptions. The first-year starter will compete for a College Football Playoff bid when the 20th-ranked Mean Green (No. 24 CFP) play No. 21 Tulane (No. 20 CFP)  in the American championship game on Friday, Dec. 5, at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans.

Mestemaker is also set to be one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the transfer portal, should he decide to leave North Texas for a bigger school. Morris, who’s finishing the season with UNT, has already accepted the head coach position at Oklahoma State. Morris’ previous starting quarterbacks at North Texas transferred to Power Four programs, a common trajectory for players from non-power school in this era of college sports.

The quarterback is tabling that discussion for now, and is focused on leading North Texas to one of its best seasons in program history. After all, he battled his way from high school backup to “camp arm” — as Morris called him — to one of the best quarterbacks in the sport. 

All he needed was a chance.

“I was just happy to have the opportunity to prove myself finally,” Mestemaker told USA TODAY Sports. “I kind of felt like it was a fresh start to wipe the slate clean and prove that I belong here and this is someplace I belong. I think just taking it one day at a time and kind of having that extra chip on your shoulder of, ‘I’m gonna prove why I belong here and prove the kind of player I am really helped me.”

‘It wasn’t the end of his story’

Prior to college, Mestemaker’s last start at quarterback came for his 9th grade junior varsity team.

He rotated in as a sophomore on junior varsity and was the backup to Brayden Buchanan — who now plays baseball at Baylor — as a junior, when Vandegrift reached the 6A-II state championship game. Mestemaker was set to start as a senior in 2023 until 3-star quarterback Deuce Adams, now at Louisville, transferred in from nearby Canyon High School in New Braunfels, Texas.

The two competed through spring practices and fall camp. Adams won the job.

“We just happened to have two really good quarterbacks and sometimes people have a hard time understanding that,” Vandegrift coach Drew Sanders told USA TODAY Sports. “But they probably don’t live in the state of Texas.”

Rather than transferring to create tape for college programs to evaluate, Mestemaker didn’t sulk, opting to stay at Vandegrift and help his team in other ways.

He played safety and punter as a senior, earning all-district honors at both positions. He also earned the football team’s “Second to None” award, the program’s highest honor and named after Matthew Vandegrift, the school’s namesake. Vandegrift, who was in the Marine Corps, died in Iraq in 2008. 

“He could have easily transferred, easily gone somewhere else,” Sanders said. “But he decided to stay with his team and the community and the coaches he had grown up with. And I think that says a lot about his character.”

Mestemaker drew little college interest as a recruit. A Division III program offered him as an athlete, and he was set to attend Laney College in California, a junior college program, before landing walk-on offers from Sam Houston and North Texas.

“I really didn’t know what or how I was going to be able to end up at a college that wanted me to play quarterback,” Mestemaker said.

Eventually, a tryout invitation came from North Texas, and Mestemaker impressed at the Mean Green’s facilities. Morris said Mestemaker’s technique was “almost flawless.”

Mestemaker wasn’t a typical walk-on, though, which Morris and North Texas soon realized when he moved to Denton, Texas.

“It was a disappointing part of his story but it wasn’t the end of his story,” Sanders said. “And he continued to work.”

‘I felt like I was a last-ditch effort’

Mestemaker started his freshman season buried on North Texas’ depth chart, repping with the fifth- and sixth-string players in practice.

It didn’t take long for the walk-on to move up the ladder. He was the only North Texas quarterback to take snaps in 2024 behind starter Chandler Morris, who’s now at Virginia and also aiming at a CFP berth.

Morris entered the transfer portal prior to North Texas’ First Responder Bowl vs. Texas State, opening the door for Mestemaker to start his first game at quarterback since his freshman year of high school.

“He had practiced so well but kind of by the same token, we’d never seen it in live action with the lights on in a stadium with 30,000 screaming fans,” Morris said of Mestemaker’s opportunity.

Mestemaker quickly put those doubts to bed, passing for 393 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for 55 yards and another score. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the 30-28 defeat, but made his case to be the starter going forward.

It was his first extended action at quarterback in over four years, after all.

“I had the pressure off me because they didn’t really expect much of me,” Mestemaker said. ‘I felt like I was a last-ditch effort. They kind of just threw me in there because I had been the backup the whole year.”

A few weeks later, North Texas added Reese Poffenbarger, a transfer from Miami who backed up No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward in 2024. Poffenbarger, who passed for more than 6,000 yards and 60 touchdowns in two seasons at Albany, was expected to compete with Mestemaker for the starting role.

Mestemaker once again found himself in a similar situation to his senior year of high school. This time, he couldn’t give up his chance.

“Once I got that taste of being out there on the field, I knew I couldn’t give it up,” Mestemaker said. “And so, this offseason I really did everything I could to be in a great mental state and win the team over, and win the battle eventually.”

Mestemaker has rewritten the record book in his first season as the starter, even breaking an American Conference record for passing yards in a game (608) in a 54-20 win over Charlotte on Oct. 24. It was the most passing yards in an FBS game since 2020, and was the most by a freshman in the past 30 years, according to North Texas.

It’s no surprise to see one of Morris’ disciples put up huge numbers: Morris worked with Case Keenum as a low-level offensive assistant at Houston. He also coached NFL quarterbacks in Mayfield and Mahomes as the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech from 2013-17. He found Ward as a 0-star recruit as the head coach at Incarnate Word from 2018-21. In his lone season as the offensive coordinator at Washington State, Morris recruited now-Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, who was previously committed to FCS Central Arkansas.

Mestemaker might not become the caliber of player Keenum, Ward, Mayfield or Mahomes are, but Morris says his latest protege shares a similar trait with the high-level passers:

“I think they all have the unique ability to process information really fast,” said Morris, who played receiver at Texas Tech from 2004-08 under Mike Leach. “And I think when you’re able to do that in this system, I think you really get rewarded for it.”

The pairing of Morris and Mestemaker has led North Texas to new heights. The Mean Green broke into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1959 this season, breaking the longest streak of any program in FBS.

The Mean Green are also peaking at the right time, with six consecutive wins after their 63-36 home loss to South Florida on Oct. 10. And Mestemaker has been a huge reason why, with only one turnover in those six games since throwing three interceptions against the Bulls in October.

‘Keeping the main thing the main thing’

Eric Morris’ past two starting quarterbacks — Chandler Morris and Chandler Rogers — transferred to Virginia and California, respectively, after big seasons. When Eric Morris left Incarnate Word for Washington State in 2022, he brought Ward to Pullman before Ward left the next season for Miami. Mateer, who replaced Ward the next season at Washington State, left for Oklahoma after his first season as the starter.

Mestemaker told USA TODAY Sports he isn’t thinking about his next move yet. Still, he’ll have plenty of options that’ll be hard to pass up, including reuniting with Morris at Oklahoma State.

“I love coach Morris and everything he has done for us and for me, specifically,” Mestemaker told reporters after North Texas’ 52-25 win over Temple to close the regular season. “But it’s something I honestly haven’t even thought about. I think if you’re in the season thinking about what you’re going to do after the season, you’re just missing out on what we play the game for, honestly.”

Morris, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports prior to taking the Oklahoma State job, has watched prior North Texas quarterbacks leave for Power Four opportunities the past two seasons. He said his and Mestemaker’s relationship is one that goes beyond whatever comes next for the young quarterback.

“You just build great relationships with kids and you do things for the right reasons,” Morris said. “And once decision time comes for different decisions, you handle it with maturity and being able to talk about it. I think this one’s a little bit different just because we were the ones that gave him the opportunity and I think that’s something he’ll forever be grateful for. 

“I mean, shoot, he didn’t get an opportunity to throw a pass for his high school football team. I mean, that’s a crazy statement when you think about it. Those things I think naturally will take care of themselves when you treat people the right way.”

For now, Mestemaker is focused on finishing what he started after going from relative unknown to one of the sport’s best in a matter of months.

“Just keeping the main thing the main thing,” Mestemaker said. “Especially at this point in the season whenever we have a chance to do some big things here. You just gotta take it one day at a time and do everything you can to win each game.’