Oklahoma State's QB Battle Should be Smoother Than Years Past

Oklahoma State is down to two quarterbacks for the starting job in 2025.

Over the past few seasons, OSU’s quarterback situation has been one of the most interesting in college football. While the Cowboys have had plenty of elite quarterbacks in the Mike Gundy era, there have been plenty of issues deciding who will be taking the snaps under center over the past couple of years.

In 2023, OSU seemingly had no idea who would be the starter going into fall camp. Instead of making the decision before the season started, OSU entered the nonconference slate with a plan to give all three quarterbacks involved an opportunity to earn the starting spot.

As expected, the situation quickly turned into a disaster. With no quarterback having the time to get into a rhythm, OSU’s passing game was subpar throughout the nonconference schedule, culminating in an embarrassing home loss against South Alabama.

After having one of the worst losses in the Mike Gundy era, OSU finally settled on Alan Bowman, who would start for the rest of the year. Bowman entered 2024 as the clear starter after leading the Cowboys to 10 wins the year before.

However, that situation quickly deteriorated and Garret Rangel took over as the starter midseason. Of course, he was injured in his first start and Bowman took over again. Maealiuaki Smith had his opportunity toward the end of the year as he maintained his redshirt as a freshman.

With so many changes happening in the offseason, it’s no shock that the quarterback situation had a massive shift. With Bowman running out of eligibility and Rangel and Smith entering the transfer portal, OSU has no quarterbacks who played for it last season.

With Zane Flores and TCU transfer Hauss Hejny set to compete for the starting job, the Cowboys should have a bit more of a straightforward battle next season. And considering the different playstyles of the two, there could be room for success if OSU chooses to use both players next season, with Hejny being more of a rushing threat.

In any case, OSU should be able to avoid the missteps of past quarterback battles, but only time will tell if that leads to more wins.