Injury Could Have Significant Impact on Zane Flores' Oklahoma State Career

Oklahoma State’s quarterback situation continues to evolve, and it could have a significant impact on the rest of the season.

On Monday, OSU interim coach Doug Meacham said that Flores wouldn’t be available this weekend, leaving the Cowboys with a decision. Set to have their third starting quarterback in six games, the Cowboys are facing yet another tough situation.

On Saturday, Flores suffered his injury in the second half after throwing for a season-low 47 yards and an interception while completing 45% of his throws, marking his second-worst performance of the season behind Oregon in that area. It appears that the Cowboys will be replacing Flores with either Banks Bowen, who relieved Flores after the injury, or Sam Jackson V, who has played some snaps at quarterback throughout the season despite now being a wide receiver.

This situation could mean quite a few things for the Cowboys, but it could be especially devastating for Flores’ career, at least in Stillwater. After getting to watch and learn for two full seasons and competing for the starting spot this year, he has been disappointing to say the least.

Of course, the situation has been far from ideal for Flores and the Pokes, but if Bowen or Jackson can come in on Saturday against Houston and put together a solid performance, Flores’ job could be in jeopardy. Add in Hauss Hejny’s timeline originally slating him back for Cincinnati, and Flores could be in legitimate danger of not even cracking the two-deep moving forward.

Even if Flores makes it back onto the field this season, he would need to play much better to be any sort of legitimate option for OSU moving forward. At this point, Flores’ performance has only given fans flashbacks to guys like Daxx Garman and Shane Illingworth.

Looking ahead to next season and beyond, a quarterback playing at the level Flores has this season won’t do anything to help OSU get to where it wants to be. With a new coach coming in and potentially a new quarterback, there’s a non-zero chance that Flores has already taken his final snap as a Cowboy.

If Flores only misses this weekend’s matchup and can come back into the fold against Cincinnati and perform better after an effective midseason reset, he could still have a chance to be the guy in Stillwater. However, no signs point to Flores being the Pokes’ long-term solution at quarterback.