In the Week One victory over Montana State, Matayo Uiagalelei racked up two sacks, two hurries and a batted pass, already making a bid for All-American honors and the first round of the NFL draft.
On Saturday he'll be matched up primarily against Oklahoma State right tackle Nuku Mafi, a 6-4, 325 redshirt freshman from Rose Park, Utah who did not play in a game in 2024, getting the first start of his college career against UT Martin.
The starting unit on the Oklahoma State offensive line has good size but it's their first season playing together:
LT — Markell Samuel super senior 6-4 305 transfer from App State
LG — Bob Schick 6-6 305 super senior transfer from Virginia Tech and a two-year starter
C — Austin Kawecki 6-4 300 junior from Frisco, Texas, 1st career start against UT Martin
RG — Noah McKinney 6-4 330 junior, transfer from UNLV
RT — Nuku Mafi 6-4 325 redshirt freshman from Rose Park Utah
After Uiagalelei, the other big challenge for this OSU front is Oregon nose tackle A'Mauri Washington, who enjoys a big edge over Kawecki in size and quickness. The Ducks' junior nose tackle is 6-3, 338, benches 475 and squats 755 with a vertical leap of 36 inches, a certified Feldman Freak.
Look, I know it was an FCS opponent. But Oregon DT A'Mauri Washington was a problem in his first career start. His quickness and burst off the ball are absurd for 320+ pounds.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) August 31, 2025
No. 4 on Bruce's Freaks List (and you can see why). NFL stock way up 📈 pic.twitter.com/gcCJxM5ZTU
In Game One against UT-Martin the unit gave up two sacks and nine tackles for loss. There were issues. The Cowboy running backs carried the ball 33 times for 88 yards, 2.7 yards a carry, against an FCS school.
Kalib Hicks — 21 carries, 56 yards (2.7 yards per carry)
Sesi Vailahi — 9 carries, 32 yards (3.6 yards per carry), 1 catch, 14 yards
Freddie Brock IV — 3 carries, 0 yards, 1 catch, 5 yards
On Monday head coach Mike Gundy said about the running game, "We just gotta get better at what we do. It's not a scheme or a concept issue. We just weren't very physical. We gotta be a little more physical and find a way to create space."
It doesn't help that OSU's most promising runner, redshirt freshman Rodney Fields, missed Thursday's game with an undisclosed injury. He's still questionable for the game with the Ducks. Two of the team's best runs came on quarterback scrambles. Deep in his own territory redshirt freshman Zane Flores shook loose for 19 yards, and starter Hauss Hejney scored on a six-yard keeper before suffering a broken foot.
The backup behind Flores is true freshman Banks Bowen, so he's not likely to run much, other than from sheer terror.
Unless OSU can get the running game going, they'll face a lot of obvious passing situations. The team has good size and speed at wideout, but in the battle in the trenches, the Ducks have a big edge.
Here’s some highlight plays from the Montana State game. Two sacks and a batted ball, but I also posted plays where Matayo held the edge and he was able to create great knockback push on the initial blockers to where Matayo was able to get in those running lanes and crash down or… pic.twitter.com/TSf43WtiK7
— Big Dave Uiagalelei (@DUiagalelei) September 2, 2025