Oklahoma State Can Learn From 2023 Quarterback Battle in 2025

Oklahoma State is under two months away from its season opener, and its quarterback battle could be a leading storyline.

As the Cowboys prepare for the 2025 season, they will need to play much better than they did in a three-win campaign a year ago. Of course, one of the factors in their potential improvement next season will be their quarterback play.

Entering the 2025 season, OSU will be deciding between two quarterbacks, neither of whom has ever taken a snap for the Cowboys. Zane Flores hasn’t played in his first two seasons and will enter next season as a freshman thanks to an injury waiver. Meanwhile, Hauss Hejny spent his first season at TCU with OSU’s new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham, but never threw any passes in his limited playing time.

With such limited reps in games for both players, this battle will be almost exclusively decided by how the two perform in fall camp. As of now, it seems logical that Flores would be the starter, given his two years with the program.

However, that hasn’t mattered as much for Mike Gundy in recent years, as evidenced by choosing Alan Bowman over Garret Rangel and Gunnar Gundy in 2023. Of course, that quarterback battle is something the Cowboys don’t want to emulate in any way next season.

The only way to describe that quarterback battle would be a disaster. Entering the season opener, the Cowboys had yet to name a starting quarterback and chose to play all three throughout the game.

That system continued throughout the nonconference schedule, ending with an embarrassing home loss to South Alabama. While the Cowboys might want to split reps between Flores and Hejny, it would be best to choose one quarterback.

Considering the Cowboys will play UT Martin in the season opener, they should have an opportunity to give the backup plenty of reps in that second half. However, it’s critical for OSU to allow the starting quarterback to find some sort of rhythm in the first game ahead of a tough matchup at Oregon in Week 2.