Will Zane Flores Make an Appearance This Season?
Oklahoma State has no questions at quarterback, but finding reps for the team’s future could prove difficult.
On Saturday, OSU used a second quarterback for the first time this season. After Alan Bowman finished his day against Tulsa with 396 yards and five touchdowns, Garret Rangel earned some time late in the second half.
Rangel is in his third season in Stillwater and has started games for the Cowboys in his first two seasons. Against Tulsa, he completed four of his eight passes for 35 yards and had two rushes for 14 yards.
Rangel’s familiarity with the system makes him the obvious choice for OSU’s backup behind Bowman. However, he is still listed on the depth chart as an “or” along with Zane Flores for the backup role.
A three-star quarterback out of Nebraska, Flores took a redshirt last season and is a freshman again in 2024. Throughout last season’s quarterback controversy, OSU coach Mike Gundy said Flores simply wasn’t ready yet. However, he has said that Flores is ready to play college football in his second year, which begs the question of when he will get on the field.
The Cowboys and Kasey Dunn already know what they have with Rangel, eventually deciding that Bowman was the right option last season. While Gundy has typically rewarded experience within the system and gone with quarterbacks who have waited their turn, it would be ideal if Flores could make an appearance at some point in 2024.
Of course, OSU does not want to have to rely on Flores for any results, but simply giving him a chance to air it out in the fourth quarter of a blowout could help the Cowboys see what they have next year.
Most importantly, it could be a way for OSU to decide early if it needs to go after a quarterback in the transfer portal like it did with Bowman or if it can trust its young quarterback room to produce in 2025.
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IVAN WHITE
Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.