Three Burning Questions as Oklahoma State Starts Fall Camp

After a long, grueling offseason, the Cowboys are back on the field.

Oklahoma State starts its fall camp on Monday in what feels like a new era of Cowboy football. Outside of the head man, just about the entire coaching staff is new, and the offseason has seen north of 40 players transfer to OSU. As the 2025 Cowboys take their first steps, here are three burning questions entering fall camp.

Who Will Win the Quarterback Battle?

There will be position battles popping off all over the place at the Sherman E. Smith Training Center over the next few weeks, but the one most will keep the closest eye on is the QB battle between Zane Flores and Hauss Hejny.

If this was a standard job interview, both made it through the opening phase that was spring practice. There, the Cowboys had four passers competing, but Garret Rangel and Maealiuaki Smith have since transferred to the ACC and SEC, respectively. That’s left OSU with a pair of quarterbacks who haven’t thrown a forward pass in a college game.

Hejny took part in four of TCU’s games as a true freshman last season but was used as a runner, rushing 15 times for 65 yards. Flores has spent the past two seasons in Stillwater but hasn’t taken an in-game snap. He probably would have in the midst of last season’s QB chaos, but an injury sidelined him.

It’s a bit of an odd quarterback battle in that it’s hard to have to strong of an opinion on which way it will go because both guys are so unproven. If you’re a fan of a particular style of play, perhaps you have a preference. Hejny is the more mobile of the two. Flores showed an ability to move in high school, but he is more of the traditional quarterback architype compared to Hejny. Those differing styles of play will force new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham to adjust based on who wins the gig.

“We have to build our offense around the availability we have at quarterback,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said at Big 12 Media Days. “Different than in the past, we recruited a certain type of player. …

“Wherever you find the quarterback who can be productive, provide leadership, and the team will rally around him to get the best chance to win, then Coach Meacham and his staff have to find a way to build the offense around that player. I don’t know that we’ll have the luxury to recruit a prototype quarterback to fit our system, moreso than a quarterback who can play well enough and we’ll design the system around him.”

It also wouldn’t be unheard of for this battle to spill into the season. Neither guy has a ton of in-game experience, so it might be beneficial to see how they perform when the bullets are live.

“I think everybody would rather have one guy, right?” Gundy said. “It’s easier for that player to develop the leadership skills and things we talked about, but we can’t make that happen. That has to happen itself. 

“I’ll give you an example. What if we try to make that happen, a certain person? That’s, to me, worse than not knowing. You’re better off not knowing and let them figure it out versus trying to make this happen and then it could be the wrong way. Because what happens is you lose credibility with the team. If you lose credibility with the team, in my option, you’ve got issues.”

How Will the Offensive Line Come Together?

Among all the work that’ll happen at Sherman E. Smith over the next few weeks, the most important will probably be that of the Cowboys’ new-look offensive line. If the line can’t block anybody, it probably won’t matter who starts at quarterback, running back or receiver.

All of last season’s starters are gone, and that group from last year had, for the most part, held down to O-line spots for the past few seasons. So, it’s an entirely new era, complete with two new offensive line coaches in OSU alums Andrew Mitchell and Cooper Bassett.

It was an area the Cowboys hit heavily in the portal, brining in six players from other Division-I schools and a junior college All-American. Among those newcomers, Markell Samuel (Appalachian State), Bob Schick (Virginia Tech) and Grant Seagren (Nebraska) didn’t arrive until after spring practice, but all three could factor into things come the start of the season.

“Part of that 35 (who came in June 1) are two or three offensive linemen that have a chance to play in the first game,” Gundy said. “They weren’t even here, so they need to train themselves in this month of July. Our coaches have given them what they want them to do four days a week. They have to take it upon themselves to do it because by rule, we can’t coach them in July.”

So, whether it’s the newcomers, developing returners or some combination of the two, this position group needs to hit the ground running in fall camp if the Cowboys’ offense is going to be successful.

How Much Better Will OSU’s Defense Be under Todd Grantham?

I say how much better because it can’t get much worse than it was last season.

The Cowboys ranked 132 (of 133) nationally in total defense in 2024, giving up a disgusting 500.6 yards per game. OSU’s rush defense ranked 128th in the country, allowing 215 yards per game. So, it has to be better, right?!

Enter veteran coordinator Todd Grantham, who has coordinated in the NFL, SEC and ACC. There will be a lot of new faces here, too, with OSU brining in more than 15 defenders from the transfer portal while also adding a handful of junior college prospects.

With all those moving parts, it’d be wishful thinking to assume the Cowboys’ D will look like the 2021 squad that led OSU to a Fiesta Bowl, but if the Pokes can go back to giving up somewhere between 3.5 and 4.5 yards a carry instead of the 5.41 (worst in program history) they gave up last season, that would go a long way in OSU being much more competitive in 2025.