By Mark Pszonak
The 2024 season was a disaster for Oklahoma State and head coach Mike Gundy. The Cowboys finished 3-9 overall, 0-9 in the Big 12 and missed a bowl game for the first time since 2005. One big reason for this was the quarterback play. And now as we are less than 3.5 from the start of the 2025 season, the current quarterback situation has somehow gotten worse.
Alan Bowman was the quarterback in 2023 and 2024. Many Oklahoma State fans weren’t happy when he returned last season, and that turned out to be a valid reaction since he led the Big 12 in interceptions both seasons. Overall, he passed for a respectable 5,883 yards during his time in Stillwater, but his touchdown/interception total finished at 31/26. That isn’t a ratio that is going to equate to too many victories.
With Bowman’s eligibility complete, Oklahoma State fans were hopeful that Coach Gundy would hit the portal in an attempt to remedy the quarterback position. He did not. And to make the situation even worse, during the spring the Cowboys lost the only two roster quarterbacks who possessed any game experience, Maealiuaki Smith (Ole Miss) and Garret Rangel (Virginia Tech).
Where does this leave the Cowboys? The three scholarship options for starting quarterback are redshirt freshman Hauss Hejny, redshirt freshman Zane Flores and redshirt freshman Banks Bowen, who transferred to Oklahoma a few hours after Rangel entered the portal. Bowen’s father, Clint Bowen, is an offensive assistant with the Cowboys, which helped the transfer.
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Coach Gundy has always been considered an offensive coach and even a quarterback guru considering his success with the position through the years. Also, as a reminder, he was a successful quarterback at Oklahoma State. Because of all of this, seeing the Cowboys in this quarterback situation is difficult to comprehend.
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None of this bodes well for Oklahoma State or Coach Gundy, who had to fight to keep his job during the offseason. With a short leash, despite the years of success he brought to the program, he will need Flores or Hejny to develop very quickly in the coming months if he hopes to return in 2026.
Is that possible? Sure, but also unlikely. There are opportunities in the conference schedule to start strongly. Three of the first four games are against Arizona, Houston and Cincinnati, which finished a combined 13-23 and 8-19 in the Big 12 last season. That’s a double-edged sword though, because as important as victories would be, a bad start against competition like this will quickly turn Stillwater into a boiling cauldron.
2025 is a huge season for the program and Coach Gundy. Unfortunately the quarterback position they have put themselves in makes it difficult to foresee a positive season for the Cowboys.
