Oklahoma State University Athletics
2018 Football Roster
Roster
Tanner McCalister
- Height:
- 5-11
- Weight:
- 180
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Rockwall, TX
- High School:
- Rockwall-Heath
2019 First Team Academic All-Big 12
2020 First Team Academic All-Big 12
2021 First Team Academic All-Big 12
Career Highs
Tackles
TFL
Interceptions
Pass Break Ups 3, at Texas Tech, 2021
Spent four years at Oklahoma State before transferring to Ohio State to use his extra year of eligibility following the NCAA ruling around COVID-19 ... A regular part of the starting lineup as a junior and senior from 2020-21 after playing on special teams and rotating in on defense as a freshman and sophomore ... Started his career at cornerback and moved to safety prior to his junior season ... Finished his time in Stillwater with 26 career starts, including 24 straight to wrap up his time as a Cowboy ... Played a total of 50 games for the Cowboys, totaling 125 tackles and 12 pass breakups ... A three-time first team Academic All-Big 12 honoree.
2021 (Senior): Started all 14 games at safety, making him one of six Cowboy defenders to do ... A first team Academic All-Big 12 pick for the third straight season ... Finished the year with 42 tackles, six pass breakups and an interception, all of which marked single season highs for his career ... Added tackle for loss vs. Kansas and a quarterback hurry vs. West Virginia ... Highlight plays from the season included him recording the game-clinching interception in the final minutes at Texas and recording a game-saving pass breakup on the final Oklahoma drive in the Bedlam win ... Set a career high with seven tackles in the season opening win over Missouri State ... Also record five tackles each in the wins over West Virginia and Notre Dame ... Named OSU’s so-special teams player of the week for his performance in the West Virginia game and was the co-defensive player of the week after setting a career-high with four pass breakups at Texas Tech ... Served as a game captain vs. Tulsa.
2020 (Junior): Started the final 10 games of the season and played significant time in all 11 ... Served as a game captain vs. West Virginia ... Finished fifth on the team with 41 total tackles, and his 32 solo stops ranked fourth ... His five pass breakups were also the fourth-most on the team ... Added 2.0 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry ... Had multiple tackles in eight games and at least five tackles in six games ... Finished with a season-high six tackles in OSU games vs. Tulsa, Texas, Kansas State and Miami ... Both of his tackles for loss came against TCU.
2019 (Sophomore): Earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors ... A contributor on both defense and special teams ... Season totals included 31 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss ... Credited with a quarterback hurry against Kansas ... Set a career high with six tackles against TCU and had a tackle for loss in that same contest ... Honored as OSU’s special teams MVP of the game against Oregon State and was selected as a game captain for the following week’s contest against McNeese ... Had four tackles - three of which were unassisted - against Texas A&M in the bowl game.
2018 (Freshman): Saw meaningful action in 12 games on defense and special teams ... The lone game he missed was the season opener against Missouri State, when an injury sustained during preseason camp kept him on the sidelines ... Recorded 11 tackles, a career-high four of which came in the Cowboys’ Liberty Bowl win over No. 23 Missouri and three of which came in the Bedlam game ... Had one tackle against TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor and Iowa State ... Credited with a pass break up against Oklahoma.
High School: Played running back and cornerback for coach Mickey Moss at Rockwall-Heath, finishing with 2,443 total rushing yards, 31 rushing touchdowns, 132 tackles, six passes defended, five forced fumbles, four interceptions and 10 tackles for loss ... As a senior, he finished with 1,329 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns on 199 carries ... Also recorded at least 100 rushing yards on five occasions in 2017 ... Averaged 7.8 yards per carry as a junior at Rockwall-Heath and crossed the 100-yard mark twice ... Tallied 90 total tackles over his final two years of high school, racking up 52 unassisted stops in the process ... Forced three fumbles as a junior in 2016 ... Occasionally handled kickoff return duties, averaging 17.0 yards per attempt in limited action ... Also competed in track and field ... Received all-academic honors as a junior ... Rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN and a three-star prospect by Rivals, Scout and 247Sports … ESPN listed him as the No. 41 cornerback prospect in the nation, while 247Sports ranked him as the No. 69 cornerback … ESPN also listed him as the No. 59 overall prospect in Texas ... Chose Oklahoma State over Arkansas, Colorado State, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi State, Missouri, SMU, TCU, Virginia, Washington State and others.
Personal: Tanner Reese McCalister was born Jan. 27, 2000, in Dallas, Texas … Son of Cedric and Alice McCalister … Related to former OSU defensive end Greg McCalister … Studying finance.
