Could Dez Bryant be Next Oklahoma State Ring of Honor Inductee?

One of Oklahoma State’s best could be in the running for a special honor in Stillwater.

On Monday, the National Football Foundation announced the ballot for the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame class. The ballot featured many of the best throughout the history of college football, including OSU’s Dez Bryant.

Bryant played for the Cowboys from 2007-09 and was one of the best receivers in the program’s history. He became the second wide receiver in OSU history to be named a consensus All-American, also finishing second in the Biletnikoff race in 2008.

However, Bryant’s college resume relies almost entirely on his sophomore year. After having a successful but still modest freshman year, he blossomed into one of the best in the sport in 2008 before NCAA violations cut his 2009 season short.

Considering the world of college football today, Bryant’s actions that ended his 2009 campaign are easy to forgive. If Bryant can make it into the College Football Hall of Fame, he would join six former Cowboys: Bob Fenimore, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Leslie O’Neal, Terry Miller and Justin Blackmon. 

The first five Cowboys on the list are also the five current members of the OSU Ring of Honor inside Boone Pickens Stadium. With Blackmon’s induction coming later this year, OSU’s Ring of Honor will also mirror its list of former players in the College Football Hall of Fame.

If Bryant can make it into the Hall of Fame, he would seem like the obvious choice to earn a spot in the Ring of Honor in 2026. Even if he isn’t able to become a Hall of Famer, Bryant could still make the most sense as the next Cowboy in the Ring Honor.

With Blackmon’s induction coming later this year, OSU is showing a willingness to put in players from the modern era, with Barry Sanders in 1988 being the most recent time a Ring of Honor inductee played in college. 

If the modern era is on the table, Bryant, who could be seen as the first true superstar of the Mike Gundy era, might be an easy pick. Add in an incredibly successful NFL career that spanned nearly a decade, and Bryant’s football story could be one worthy of being told in Stillwater for many years.