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Oklahoma State linebacker Bryan McCoy Jr. poses for a photograph during the Oklahoma State Cowboys football media days in Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Saturday, Aug., 2, 2025. SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State 2025 Position Preview: Linebacker

Originally posted on Oklahoma State Cowboys on SI
By Ivan White | Last updated Aug 15, 2025 3:42 PM ET

Oklahoma State’s defense will be in the spotlight in 2025, and its linebackers must perform to turn the program around.

The Cowboys will have some massive shoes to fill in the linebacker department this season. Although Collin Oliver and Nick Martin missed most of the 2024 season with injuries, their complete absence from the program is nothing to take lightly.

While the Cowboys were already tasked with replacing their production on the field last season, their leadership in the locker room will be just as difficult to replace. With veteran linebacker Justin Wright also onto his next chapter, the Cowboys’ linebacker outlook looks significantly different than it did at this time last summer.

Linebackers on roster

Bryan McCoy Jr., Sr.
Brandon Rawls, R-Sr.
Darius Thomas, R-Jr.
Ike Esonwune, R-So.
Trip White, R-Jr.
Carl’veon Young, Fr.
Gunnar Wilson, R-Fr.

Immediate impact transfers

The Cowboys’ linebacker core should be headlined by some of their recent additions through the portal. While there are some returning players to watch, OSU’s newcomers at linebacker might be able to steal the show for Todd Grantham’s unit.

Bryan McCoy Jr. certainly tops the list of transfers, considering his inclusion on the Butkus Award Watch List earlier this summer. An all-conference selection at Akron, McCoy is coming off a season where he racked up 120 tackles, good for fourth in the MAC.

Along with McCoy, Brandon Rawls and Darius Thomas will be looking to carry over their success at smaller schools into Stillwater. Rawls was a star at Saginaw Valley State, and Thomas starred at Western Kentucky.

SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With both being leaders of their respective defenses at their former stops, they could easily come in and be clear contributors next season. Add in Trip White, who is looking to star in a larger role than he could find at Ole Miss, and the Cowboys should have no shortage of capable talent at linebacker from their incoming transfers alone.

Young but ready

Beyond the veteran transfers that OSU is bringing in, there isn’t much experience at linebacker for the Pokes. Ike Esonwune played a small role last season as a redshirt freshman, and Gunnar Wilson never saw the field as a redshirt in his first year with the program.

While either of those two could be thrust into larger roles next season, there’s also a chance that true freshman Carl’veon Young could get a chance to shine. One of OSU’s most highly touted signings of the 2025 class, Young has the potential to be a leader of the OSU defense for years to come.

While there is no guarantee he gets much of a role next season and could be in a position to simply take a redshirt, don’t be surprised if Young breaks out as a freshman star in 2025.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma State Cowboys on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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