Three Thoughts on Hauss Hejny’s Injury

The Cowboys aren’t allowed to have fun — or at least, that’s what it feels like.

Oklahoma State beat UT-Martin 27-7 on Thursday night in Boone Pickens Stadium, but in the process, the Cowboys’ starting quarterback Hauss Hejny broke a bone in his foot and could miss an extended period of time. Here are three quick takeaways on what that injury means for OSU moving forward.

1. It Stinks

This stinks most for Hejny himself.

After transferring away from the school he grew up cheering for and going into a four-man quarterback battle in the spring, Hejny came out of all of that and played about as well as anyone could’ve asked through three drives on Thursday night.

He showed his wheels with a touchdown run where he somehow beat the defense to the edge on the short side of the field. He showed he’s more than a runner when he flipped his hips and hit Terrill Davis 34 yards down field. Then as quickly as it came, it left. Absolutely stinks.

It also stinks for the OSU fans who endured the worst season the program has seen since the early 90s just to get teased with a few drives of uber-exciting quarterback play before that abruptly got swept away.

2. All Aboard the Zane Train

I don’t think there was a better-thrown ball Thursday night than Flores’ missile from the right hash to the left sideline that resulted in a 41-yard gain to Davis.

DIME 🎯@ZaneFlores12 ➡️ @__terrill__ pic.twitter.com/Jqfa0fDolH

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) August 29, 2025

Outside of that, Flores might’ve not had as many highlights as Hejny, but Flores still played a fine game considering it was his first live action since he was a high school senior back in 2022.

Flores has had plenty of hype around him since he got to Stillwater, and here is his first big shot.

In his first college game, Flores went 13-for-20 (65%) with 136 passing yards. Along with that dart to Davis, he had a big 19-yard run early in the fourth quarter to extend a drive and give the offense some breathing room.

There will be some growing pains with any inexperienced quarterback (just like there would’ve been with Hejny at some point), but if Flores is as good as grapevines have said he is the past few years, the Cowboys could still have an excellent quarterback behind center.

3. But Flores Can Absolutely Not Get Hurt

Quarterback depth is a luxury in modern college football. The Cowboys had that luxury last season but don’t in 2025.

With Hejny set to miss time, the only quarterbacks besides Flores on the roster are true freshmen Banks Bowen and Mason Schubert.

Bowen signed with Tulsa out of Lawrence High School (Kansas). He enrolled early in the 918 but transferred to Stillwater after spring ball when the Cowboys lost Garret Rangel and Maealiuaki Smith to the portal. Bowen is the son of OSU offensive quality control coach Clint Bowen.

Schubert just graduated from Stillwater High. He had committed to SWOSU in January before an opening became available in Stillwater.

This is no disrespect to those guys. Playing a true freshman regardless of anything else would feel dicey, but that’s not as strong a QB3 and QB4 as OSU had in Flores and Smith last season.

It makes you wonder if wide receiver Sam Jackson V would be the Cowboys’ emergency option. Jackson had stints at quarterback at TCU and Cal before making the switch to receiver at Auburn last year.

In his career, Jackson has completed 55% of his 103 pass attempts for 696 yards and five touchdowns to two interceptions. He nearly threw a pass on a trick play Thursday night, but no one was open, so he tucked and ran.

So, yeah, if Flores gets hurt, the best option OSU might have is a wide receiver.