Why It’s Important Flores AND Hejny Are as Ready as Possible Heading into the Season

Not since 2018 has a single quarterback started every game for the Cowboys in a season.

That year, Taylor Cornelius started all 13 of Oklahoma State’s 7-6 year, but the past six seasons have required at least two different starting Cowboy QBs.

OSU enters its 2025 fall camp with a quarterback battle between Zane Flores and Hauss Hejny, two players who haven’t thrown a forward pass in a college game. Although much of the preseason talk will be about Flores or Hejny assuming the starting role, recent history would suggest that OSU fans should be hoping for Flores and Hejny to be ready should their number be called.

Quarterback depth has been something that is hard to have in the transfer portal era because only one guy plays at a time. For the past few seasons, OSU has seemed like an outlier in that aspect. Take 2024 for example, where Alan Bowman began the year as OSU’s starter, and behind him were Garret Rangel, Flores and Maealiuaki Smith. Rangel and Smith have since transferred to Power Conference programs while Flores is battling for the starting spot in Stillwater. Over the course of a few weeks, that depth vanished.

“I don’t know if there’s anybody in the country that’s got three quarterbacks they can throw out there and feel comfortable,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy at Big 12 Media Days. “It’s just a part of the future. It’s the one area that concerns me. I think anybody in the country could be within a couple of injuries away from a tough year if it’s at that position.”

So, here’s a quick look back at the past six seasons of OSU’s quarterback room and why OSU fans should be hopeful both Flores and Hejny are capable come Aug. 28.

2019: Brown Replaces an Injured Sanders

The 2019 season was the first of the Spencer Sanders era of OSU football. He started most of the Cowboys’ games that year, but his electric style of play left him susceptible to injuries.

Dru Brown, who entered the year in a position battle with Sanders, started the final three games of the season because Sanders suffered an injury.

2020: Early Sanders Injury Sees Freshman Illingworth Play

The 2020 season was an odd one in many facets.

Sanders, and a pair of starting offensive linemen, went down with injury in Game 1 against Tulsa. OSU initially went with Ethan Bullock as Sanders’ replacement in that game before quickly transitioning to true freshman Shane Illingworth.

Illingworth would start OSU’s next two games, including a 265-yard, three-touchdown performance in Lawrence, before Sanders returned.

2021: Sanders Misses the Opener

Illingworth actually started what would become OSU’s Fiesta Bowl-winning 2021 season. Sanders missed the opener with an undisclosed illness before returning and playing his best college season.

2022: Sanders’ Injury Derails Season

The Cowboys’ 2022 season was an example of how the portal can be a detriment to quarterback depth.

Illingworth transferred to Nevada leaving freshmen Rangel and Gunnar Gundy behind Sanders. OSU started the year 6-1 with Sanders, and the only loss was to eventual national runner-up TCU in double-OT.

But rumors started swirling entering that game in Fort Worth that Sanders wasn’t 100%. He led the Cowboys to a win against Texas the next game to get to six wins before OSU went on the road and got thumped 48-0 to Kansas State.

Rangel made his first career start the next week, and then Gunnar Gundy started the next game as OSU was seemingly attempting to juggle redshirts. Sanders came in and saved the day at the end of Gundy’s start against Iowa State and played in the Bedlam game the next weekend before Rangel closed out the rest of the year. Sanders hit the portal after the season and went to Ole Miss.

2023: The Three-QB Rotation

Bowman transferred in the next year to battle with Rangel and Gundy for the Cowboys’ starting spot. The battle lingered well into the season. Those three split snaps fairly evenly in the nonconference up through a 33-7 home loss to South Alabama.

After a bye week, Bowman was the guy, and alongside a blossoming superstar in Ollie Gordon, he helped the Pokes turn that upset loss into one of the better OSU seasons in recent memory, making it to the Big 12 title game before winning the Texas Bowl.

2024: Full-Blown Carousel

Bowman started the year after leading the Cowboys to the Big 12 title game in 2023. After a 3-0 start that included a double-OT win against Arkansas, Bowman was momentarily pulled at halftime of the Big 12 opener against Utah after going 8-for-22 with 89 yards and an interception in the first half. Bowman came back in during that game that the Pokes eventually lost 22-19, but that was a precursor to a quarterback carousel.

After two more losses entering a bye week, Rangel got the start for the Cowboys’ trip to Provo but broke his collarbone in the first half, forcing Bowman back into the fold. He would start the next three games before the Pokes went with Smith after the bowl streak officially ended. Smith started the final two — a 56-48 shootout loss to Texas Tech and a 52-0 thrashing from Colorado to end the year.