Gundy Says OSU Isn’t in a Position to Play Maealiuaki Smith Right Now

STILLWATER — It doesn’t appear as if a quarterback change will be made for the Cowboys heading into the final four games of the regular season.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy was asked Monday about true freshman Maealiuaki Smith, who can play four games and keep his redshirt. Smith is up to QB2 on the Cowboys’ depth chart after season-ending injuries to Garret Rangel and Zane Flores. With four games to play, there’s an argument to be made that the 3-5 Cowboys would benefit more from Smith playing behind center than seventh-year senior Alan Bowman, but it doesn’t sound as if Gundy sees it that way.

“Right now, no,” Gundy said. “I mean, just to put him in? No. We’re not in that position right now. If something happens to Bowman, he’ll be in. But he’s not in a position now — I mean, he’s running and getting work. If he went in, I think he could function fine, but there’s more to it than just throwing him out there.”

It’s been a tumultuous season at quarterback for the Cowboys to say the least — perhaps more tumultuous than last season, which included a three-quarterback rotation.

Bowman entered the year as the unquestioned starter. He led the Pokes to a 3-0 record and won the Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Tulsa. But then things turned south. Bowman was pulled in favor of Rangel twice over the next three games before Rangel took the starting job outright heading into the Cowboys’ clash with BYU.

Meanwhile, Flores had surgery in the week leading up to that BYU game before Rangel broke his collarbone in his first start of the season, putting Bowman back on the field. After the 3-0 start, the Pokes are now 3-5, needing to win three of the next four to keep OSU’s bowl streak alive, and it looks as if the plan is for Bowman to be the man to lead that charge.

If further injuries infiltrate the Cowboys’ quarterback room, Smith would be up next. If he got hurt, OSU would be down to walk-on Garret Wilson, a true freshman from Oklahoma Christian School. Gundy said if things got super weird, the Cowboys would turn to redshirt freshman walk-on Reed DeQuasie. Out of Carl Albert, DeQuasie spent last season with the Oklahoma Sooners before transferring to Stillwater. He’s listed as a safety on the roster and is No. 49.

“(Garret Wilson has) been out there; Garret’s been out there,” Gundy said. “He was down at the game. He’s the last one. I told the officials before the game, ‘If they’re all gone, it’s over. Let’s whistle everybody off the field and get on the bus. Just so y’all know, it’s over. That’s the last one we got.’

“Reed DeQuasie would be next. Ollie throws decent, but if he had to do it more than once or twice a game, it would not look good. Reed DeQuasie could do it if he had to do it.”