The Oklahoma State Cowboys worked the transfer portal last offseason like few teams in college football history. But head coach Eric Morris doesn't always want it to be that way.

Morris worked the portal intentionally, looking for experienced players who could help the Cowboys turn things around now while he built a program behind it, filled with young players he could develop and younger transfers with multiple years of eligibility that needed opportunity.

It's starting to work. The Cowboys are bowl eligible for the first time since 2023 and the upcoming recruiting class has more four-star players than last cycle, when the Cowboys had none.

Still, there will be transfer churn. The Cowboys will lose some players to the transfer portal. It's inevitable. Some will be players that didn't get the playing time they were hoping for. Others will be freshmen seeking an opportunity elsewhere, perhaps lured by more NIL money. Or it could be players who know they need to move to another school to get one last shot to start.

Below are five players who fit the bill. We're not saying these players will transfer out after the season. But each would have a reason to do so if they chose to.

WR Chris Barnes

When the Cowboys pulled him out of the transfer portal, the hope was that Chris Barnes would be one of their top three or four wide receivers. It hasn't worked out that way.

Barnes seemed to fall out of favor after one play in Houston. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker threw him a pass that turned into an interception after Barnes slipped and fell to the ground. But there was something about the play that head coach Eric Morris didn't like. Since then, Barnes’ playing time has been reduced. He also missed a game due to a shoulder injury.

Barnes has 11 catches for 179 yards and no touchdowns. Much of his playing time has been siphoned off to Terrence Lewis, a North Texas transfer who followed many of the offensive stars to Stillwater.

Barnes still has eligibility left and the only wide receiver expected to leave after the season is Justin Bowick, who is out of eligibility. Barnes could certainly opt for another school in 2027.

RB KD Jones

KD Jones has only played in one game this season, which was Murray State. He rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown in mop-up duty. He hasn’t been seen since. To be fair, the Cowboys have a stable of experienced backs, led by Caleb Hawkins. The Owosso, Okla., native is putting up Doak Walker Award-type numbers, especially in the last four games.

The danger here is that Hawkins will be back in 2027. He can’t leave for the NFL. Many of the backs on the depth chart will be back. Jones can compete with several backs for playing time in 2027. He set Jenks (Okla.) High School career records for rushing yards (4,742), all-purpose yards (5,798), rushing touchdowns (67) and total touchdowns.

He is a talented player that schools might try to poach if he doesn't feel he'll get enough playing time next season. That said, Morris has proven his offense helps running backs put up huge numbers. That, along with Jones’ Oklahoma roots, may keep him patient.

OL Jakobe Sanders

Jakobe Sanders is a Stillwater kid. He grew up there and chose to play his college football there. But he is in his fourth year with the program and after a coaching change, massive roster turnover and a chance in offensive philosophies, he still stuck on the depth chart. These days he’s a backup to Joseph Hanson at right guard.

With so much experience returning on the offensive line in 2027, if he wants to play a year as a full-time starter, he may have to make the move as a transfer for his fifth year to accomplish it.

You never know what hometown kids value when it comes to their college experience. Sanders didn't transfer out when the Cowboys replaced Mike Gundy with Morris. He may be happy going to his hometown school no matter his role. But, if he craves the opportunity to start, his last chance to find a place to land will be this offseason.

QB Luke Tepas

Drew Mestemaker has been so ubiquitous with the program that it's easy to forget there are four quarterbacks on the roster. Broderick Vehrs has won the backup job as a true freshman, which is rare. Yale and UMass transfer Grant Jordan is in his final year of college football and he hasn't gotten on the field yet.

That leaves Luke Tepas, another true freshman, from Barrington Ill., who has been working mostly with the younger players in the weekly scrimmages on Thursdays. He's also done solid work on the Cowboys’ scout team.

If nothing else, he's gotten a great education working under Morris and quarterbacks coach Sean Brophy on a weekly basis. But it's hard to see a trajectory for him in Stillwater. Even if Mestemaker leaves for the NFL, the Cowboys still have Vehrs, their Top 25 quarterback recruit in Carson White and perhaps a veteran they can pull out of the transfer portal.

Mestemaker’s brilliant performance gives Morris the opportunity to go after whatever quarterback he wants in the portal — if he chooses.

It sets up as an opportunity crunch for Tepas, who may need to transfer to another school to get the chance he’s hoping for.

LB Dallas Winner-Johnson

Dallas Winner-Johnson was at one point an FCS freshman all-America selection when he was at Missouri State in 2024. The redshirt put together a terrific season as he finished with 62 tackles. That led him to transfer to Tulane, where he played in 10 games after recovering from an injury. But he wasn't that productive.

He transferred to Oklahoma State in the offseason and found himself buried behind the depth chart. Ethan Wesloski, Tate Romney and Isaiah Chisom are the starters. Winner-Johnson isn't even on it. Now, there will be opportunity to compete for a starting spot next spring as both Wesloski and Romney are out of eligibility. But how does he figure into it?

He'll have one more season to play college football. He could roll the dice and compete for a job in Stillwater, or he could transfer somewhere else where there's a better pathway to regular playing time.