OSU QB Commit Zane Flores Reaffirms Commitment to Cowboys After Nebraska Interest

Former Nebraska coach Scott Frost and his coaching staff curiously did not show interest in homegrown quarterback prospect Zane Flores as he blossomed into a borderline four-star recruit and one of the best talents in the state. That changed recently as the program fired Frost and hired Matt Rhule as the Cornhuskers showed long-overdue interest in the Gretna product.

But Flores this week reaffirmed his commitment to the Cowboys amid late interest from Nebraska. In an exclusive interview with Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World, Flores said he is not considering a late-cycle flip and remains steadfast in his loyalty to Mike Gundy and his staff.

“They pushed pretty hard,” Zane’s dad, Mel, told the Tulsa World. “I’ve talked to Matt Rhule a few times. He’s called and texted me a few times. He wanted to come out to the house and visit and I was like, we’d rather you didn’t. Nothing against him. We just told him we appreciated the fact that they reached out.”

“I just pretty much let [Nebraska] know I appreciate it, but I’m still 100% committed to OSU,” Zane added.

In an even better twist for OSU fans, Zane might just be a recruit made in a lab for Mike Gundy. Gundy’s always banging home the “control what you can control” mindset (in the same category of respectful, never says a word), and wouldn’t ya know it: so is Zane. Match made in recruiting heaven.

“Zane’s a big kid on controlling what you can control and don’t worry about what you can’t control,” said Mel. “He uses that a lot and, hey, if Nebraska wasn’t recruiting him he couldn’t control that. We learned in the recruiting process pretty quick that it’s pretty fun to go to a school where they want you.

“When Oklahoma State really showed that, he just kind of forgot about the rest of them and said this is where I’m going to go. He doesn’t like drama.”

OSU offered Flores a scholarship in February 2022 back when he was an unranked recruit with only one Power Five offer. At the time it seemed like a gamble on a player with a talented arm and big frame, but he was far from a sure thing. Since then, he has earned a trip to the Elite 11 Finals, climbed up the recruiting rankings and drawn interest from a ton of programs. But OSU’s early eval on the Nebraska product and its expressed desire to get him to Stillwater has paid off in a big way. He’s expected to sign on Wednesday with OSU without drama. Exactly as Flores (and Gundy!) would have it.