STILLWATER, Okla. -- It’s almost like having a first-round draft pick in the NFL.

Few things in college football can match the immediate impact of a graduate transfer. And Oklahoma State has been one of the trailblazers in taking advantage of the chance to bring in an experienced player into its program.

“It’s a confidence booster,” senior linebacker Ryan Simmons said. “A guy who has been through the same things I’ve been through, you can’t expect that from a freshman. That experience is such a difference maker in a lot of things, playing-wise and life in general, it’s different from what a freshman would bring to the table.”

Graduate transfers became a priority at OSU after Tyler Patmon graduated from Kansas to join Mike Gundy’s program prior to the 2013 season. He went on to become a key contributor in the secondary alongside top-10 NFL draft pick Justin Gilbert and Kevin Peterson. It paid off for the Pokes and for Patmon, who made the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 and remains on the roster.

“He really helped our football team and at that point we realized the importance of experience,” coach Mike Gundy said.

In a sport where experience often can be the defining factor, a player such as Patmon is the closest thing to a can’t-miss prospect. A five-star high school signee may have a bigger long-term impact and a junior college signee may adjust immediately to the Big 12 (or may not), but a graduate transfer comes with fewer questions than any other option for a coach searching for experience and proven playmaking in the short term.

“We bring in a young man that's done two things,” Gundy said. “One, he's played a considerable amount of games in his career at another school. Two, he's already graduated from college. He's disciplined enough to get to class and graduate and so there's something to be said about him.”

Gundy and the Cowboys have gone out of their way to create an environment that can welcome a newcomer into the fold while withstanding the added competition -- and potential pitfalls -- of bringing in a veteran to try to take someone else’s job.

“If they fit and they're willing to come and jump in -- and our team does a good job of bringing them in and not making them feel like they're an outsider -- they can jump in and do real well early,” Gundy said.

Michigan transfer Josh Furman followed in Patmon’s footsteps a year ago, becoming a key defender in OSU’s defense before being drafted by the Denver Broncos. This fall, cornerback Michael Hunter, an Indiana transfer, is the next in line. And he’s already impressing.

“Here at OSU, every grad transfer has been a success,” safety Jordan Sterns said. “The way he’s come in and made plays, I think he’s going to follow in that line.”

Hunter could be the latest in a line of graduate transfers to excel with a Pistol Pete logo on their uniform, but he’s unlikely to be the last.

“You respect them because you know they’ve been through it,” Sterns said. “They’re already committed, they want to play an extra year, so obviously they love the sport.”