Is it Time to Begin the Zane Flores Era at Oklahoma State?
At what point does the Oklahoma State coaching staff finally pull the trigger on a new starting quarterback? Senior Alan Bowman has been the guy at quarterback for the past two seasons but a deeper dive into his numbers may show the end is inevitable.
Bowman had a tremendous season in 2018 with the Texas Teck Red Raiders in which he threw for 2,638 yards. He tossed 17 touchdowns with seven interceptions to go along with an immaculate completion percentage of 69.4. From that point on Bowman’s numbers slowly took a downward spiral.
He managed to reignite his career a season ago with Oklahoma State. Bowman threw for 3,460 yards and a career-high 15 touchdowns. Despite the swollen offensive numbers, Bowman also had a career-high 14 interceptions and saw his completion percentage drop to a career-low 60.7 percent.
In the first five games of the 2024 season, Alan Bowman has been all but forgettable. He is on pace to set new career numbers in all the wrong categories. His current completion percentage of 59.3 would be a new career-low and he is on pace in 2024 to shatter his interception numbers from a season ago.
Redshirt sophomore Garret Rangel came off the bench in last week’s loss to West Virginia, where he threw for 80 yards and a touchdown. Yet, the overwhelming whispers around Cowboy Nation all sound the same. When will redshirt freshman Zane Flores make his debut?
#Okstate vs WVU pregame pic.twitter.com/kGqq8c4bzD
— Colby Daniels (@Colby_Daniels) October 5, 2024
Listed at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Zane Flores picked OSU over offers from Kansas State, Washington and Missouri. He was one of the top quarterback prospects in Nebraska and sat his freshman season with the Cowboys. He had a full redshirt year to learn the ins and outs of the Oklahoma State program and now all he is missing is repetitions.
At some point, the Cowboys have to realize that a move to Flores at QB1 may be in the program’s best interest for the future. The real question concerning Zane Flores, and the starting quarterback position may not be ‘when’ Flores takes over at quarterback but ‘if’ he even cares to. At some point the organization needs to address the rumor mill concerning Flores’ potential foot injury, as speculation grows concerning a possible medical redshirt. Until then Flores needs to see some game time.
With the all-powerful transfer portal consuming college football, the transition to Flores may be crucial to the future of the position. If the Cowboys ride with Garret Rangel for the remainder of the season, don’t be surprised if Flores tests the waters of the transfer portal in 2025.
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Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.