Caleb Hawkins scored 29 touchdowns as a freshman -- an NCAA FBS record that stood since 2012. Now he's taken that production to the Big 12, following his coaches from North Texas to Oklahoma State. His Big 12 debut got the volume but not the scores: 24 touches for 108 yards from scrimmage, no touchdowns, in a 24-10 road loss to Tulsa.
6′0″ · 219 lb · Shawnee, OK · North Rock Creek
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
rushing yards · 2026
1 TD · 4.6 per carry · 8 catches
2 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 27 car · 189 yds · 5 TD -- top 0.1% rushing TDs game. -- Best game: 110 rush yds, 1 TD, -2 rec yds, vs Oregon
The play that turned itSwung Tulane from 43% to 74% to win.North Texas at Tulane · 34-21
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Caleb Hawkins scored 29 touchdowns as a freshman -- an NCAA FBS record that stood since 2012. Now he's taken that production to the Big 12, following his coaches from North Texas to Oklahoma State. His Big 12 debut got the volume but not the scores: 24 touches for 108 yards from scrimmage, no touchdowns, in a 24-10 road loss to Tulsa.
How he plays
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series.
Success rate: 54th percentile.
The full scouting readAura™ · Him Watch
-14aura tax
95th pctl our rushing-value metric (wEPA) RBs · 140 qualified, n=65
— the discourse is fair.Buzz vs Tape
Every angle we can check here reads about where you'd expect this season.
Also checked out fine:
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
The reason that Oklahoma State will not be scoring 30 to 40 points per game is because it's not enough to have a Drew Mestermaker and a Caleb Hawkins.....somebody has to pass protect, and open holes.
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Jul 28, 2026 · via Big 12 Conference
His freshman year at North Texas was historic: 1,434 rushing yards, 25 rushing touchdowns to lead all of FBS, 32 catches for 370 yards and four more scores -- 29 total touchdowns, breaking Kenneth Dixon's 2012 NCAA FBS freshman record. When his coaching staff moved to Oklahoma State, he followed, carrying a record-setting résumé into a power conference. The forward stakes are the level-up every G5-to-P4 star faces: the production was real, but Big 12 defenses are a different proposition. His debut split the difference: 18 carries for 79 yards and six catches for 29 more -- 24 touches, plenty of work as the backfield's clear headliner -- but the finishing touch that defined his freshman year, the touchdowns, didn't show up, and Oklahoma State lost at Tulsa 24-10. The volume travels; whether the scoring rate does is still an open question one game in.
His career
He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.
Hawkins is a dual-threat scorer whose game is built on finishing and versatility. Our play-by-play (from his North Texas tape) is strong across the board: an 87th-percentile rushing-touchdown rate and 92nd-percentile success rate from a back who found the end zone at a historic clip, plus an 78th-percentile explosive-run rate -- he finishes AND breaks them. The receiving is no afterthought: a 89th-percentile catch rate makes him a true weapon out of the backfield. The profile is a complete, every-down back who scores from anywhere -- on the ground, through the air, at the goal line. The only unknown is competition level, and that's exactly what 2026 in the Big 12 will answer.
Written by our staff.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 1ST TEAM
All-AAC 1st team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Doug Meacham → Eric Morris. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Oklahoma State
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: receptions (80th percentile). Concern: explosive rate (25th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 94.5 YDS/g, 4.6 YPC, 0.5 TD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Eric Morris
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2026
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Oklahoma State | 41 | 189 | 4.6 | 1 | -- |
| 2025 | North Texas | 231 | 1,424 | 6.2 | 25 | -- |
| Career | 272 | 1,613 | 5.9 | 26 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Oklahoma State | 8 | 27 | 3.4 | 0 | -- |
| 2025 | North Texas | 32 | 370 | 11.6 | 4 | -- |
| Career | 40 | 397 | 9.9 | 4 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 39–31
vs Oregon
110 rush yds (23 car) · 1 TD
Edged out Oregon at home in a shootout.
With D. Mestemaker — 317 yds · 2 TD · 2 INT · QBR 80.1 · 109 rush yds (6 car) · 1 TD · L. Pozzobon — 44 AVG · 47 LONG · 3 NO
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 10-24@ Tulsa | 18 | 79 | 4.4 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 2 | W 39-31vs Oregon | 23 | 110 | 4.8 | 1 | 26 | Season-high 110 yds |
| Total | 41 | 189 | 4.6 | 1 | 26 |
Play style
Hawkins is a dual-threat scorer whose game is built on finishing and versatility. Our play-by-play (from his North Texas tape) is strong across the board: an 87th-percentile rushing-touchdown rate and 92nd-percentile success rate from a back who found the end zone at a historic clip, plus an 78th-percentile explosive-run rate -- he finishes AND breaks them. The receiving is no afterthought: a 89th-percentile catch rate makes him a true weapon out of the backfield. The profile is a complete, every-down back who scores from anywhere -- on the ground, through the air, at the goal line. The only unknown is competition level, and that's exactly what 2026 in the Big 12 will answer.
Our classifier reads him the same way: just keeps getting the ball, series after series.
Player DNA
Built to take 20+ carries per game. Volume is the value.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Jaylon Armstead’s 2022 season.
Matches Jaylon on
Differs from Jaylon on
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Charles Pierre Jr.’s path through South Dakota.
Charles Pierre Jr.
Matches Charles on
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Terrance Shelton Jr.'s sophomore season at Buffalo (2025).
Matches Terrance on
NCAA FBS Record Holder for Most TDs Scored by a Freshman (29 in 2025) 2025 NCAA FBS Statistical Champion (Total Touchdowns, Rushing Touchdowns, Scoring) 2025 All-America Second Team (Walter Camp, Sporting News) 2025 All-America Third Team (Phil Steele) 2025 Freshman All-America Team (FWAA, PFF, T...
2 more on the roster · Oklahoma State team page