Eric Morris calls 31-year-old defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity “a star in the making” and gives him full autonomy over Oklahoma State's defense. After following Morris from North Texas, Cassity is already making his mark during OSU's 3-1 start.
STILLWATER — Eric Morris has built his reputation around offense. When it comes to Oklahoma State's defense, however, he knows when to stay out of the way.
That's because Morris has complete trust in 31-year-old defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity.
"He has full autonomy over there," Morris said during an appearance on Big 12 Today.
Four games into Cassity's first season coordinating a Power Conference defense, Morris is already willing to go much further with his assessment.
"Skyler, he's a star in the making," Morris said.
The relationship between the two didn't begin in Stillwater. Morris and Cassity were together at Texas Tech in 2017, when Morris was offensive coordinator and Cassity was a graduate assistant.
Cassity later became a defensive coordinator at Abilene Christian and Sam Houston before joining Morris at North Texas in 2025. That one season together was enough for Morris to bring him along when he took the Oklahoma State job.
Morris said the biggest improvement North Texas made during its final season under him wasn't necessarily the high-powered offense featuring Drew Mestemaker, Caleb Hawkins and Wyatt Young.
It was Cassity's defense. North Texas lowered its scoring defense from 34.2 points per game in 2024 to 26.5 in Cassity's lone season coordinating the unit. Passing yards allowed dropped from 264.6 per game to 166.2.
Morris has seen Cassity produce similar turnarounds before. At Sam Houston, the Bearkats went from allowing 26.2 points and 394.4 yards per game the season before Cassity arrived to 20.5 points and 321.4 yards during his lone year coordinating the defense.
For Morris, doing it at programs without unlimited resources also demonstrated Cassity's ability to evaluate and develop players. Now he's getting his first opportunity on a Power Conference stage.
One of the strongest examples came against Oregon. The Cowboys held the then-No. 6 Ducks to 281 total yards in a 39-31 upset and limited Oregon to a combined 5-of-17 on third and fourth downs. Through four games, Cassity's defense ranks among the nation's top 20 in third-down defense.
West Virginia presented a much different challenge. The Mountaineers ran for nearly 300 yards between Cam Cook and quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., and OSU fell behind 21-13 early in the third quarter.
But Cassity's unit made its biggest plays when the game demanded them. OSU allowed only three points the rest of the way while the Cowboys scored 28 of the game's final 31 points.
Morris specifically praised Cassity's halftime adjustments and his patience in holding certain blitzes until later in the game. Oklahoma State sacked Hawkins three times during the second half, including critical late sacks from Tate Romney, Jarry Lawson and Vincent Holmes.
That combination of schematic ability and leadership is why Morris believes Cassity's future extends beyond coordinating defenses.
"He's somebody that's young but is so mature for his age," Morris said.
Morris said Cassity has the characteristics to eventually become a successful head coach, pointing not only to his ability to call a game and understand scheme, but also to his relationships with players.
"Our players absolutely always respond to him in the best ways," Morris said.
For now, Cassity has Morris' trust to run Oklahoma State's defense his way. The two coaches still exchange ideas. Cassity will ask Morris how an offense might attack a particular situation, while Morris can provide the perspective of a longtime offensive play caller. But Morris isn't interested in micromanaging the other side.
"What I have a PhD in is finding ways to get first downs that hopefully end up being touchdowns," Morris said.
Everything else? That's Cassity's defense.
And four games into their first season in Stillwater, Morris believes the 31-year-old running it may only be getting started.
