UTEP Transfer Tabbed as Oklahoma State's Most Important Portal Pickup

Oklahoma State is set for one of its most interesting seasons in a while.

Last season, the Cowboys won only three games and ended on a nine-game losing streak. That forced the Cowboys to not only make some serious changes with the coaching staff, but also hit the transfer portal hard.

OSU brought in more players through the portal than almost any other team in the country, and it will be relying on the new additions to get the team back to its winning ways. In a recent article from The Athletic picking the top transfer addition for each power conference school, Manny Navarro chose UTEP defensive line transfer Kyran Duhon for the Cowboys.

Duhon is coming off an impressive freshman season for the Miners. In his first year of college football, Duhon had 43 tackles, seven tackles for loss, seven sacks and a couple of pass breakups.

One of the things that gave Duhon the edge for The Athletic is his youth. Duhon will be playing in only his second season of college football in 2025, and he is projected to have a sizeable role for the Cowboys.

As new OSU defensive coordinator Todd Grantham looks to build the program back up on that side of the ball, having some stars who are around for multiple years will be massive. While Duhon might not be the absolute flashiest player or most impactful defender in year one, his potential longevity as a Poke plus his expected development in Stillwater could make him one of the top transfer additions Mike Gundy has ever had.

Of course, Duhon’s production will need to remain at a high level throughout his tenure in Stillwater. To truly become a prized addition, he will need to adjust to the Big 12 quite quickly.

As a sophomore, there won’t be an immense amount of pressure on Duhon to perform, but that could change if he can establish himself as a difference-maker in the early stages of the season.

While that can be a daunting proposition for a young player, there’s likely a reason that Duhon chose to move to OSU, and he knows there will be pressure to perform for a historically successful Big 12 program. 

Whether Duhon reaches his full star potential in his first season with the Pokes doesn’t matter much. As long as he can be a consistent performer and play his part in helping OSU get back on track, fans in Stillwater will be happy to embrace the youngster.