Three Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s Quarterback Room with Rangel and Smith in the Portal

This has been one of the more interesting Oklahoma State quarterback battles in recent memory, and this week, we learned a little more about it.

The battle is interesting because there isn’t a ton of public examples to base many opinions off of. Garret Rangel, Zane Flores, Maealiuaki Smith and Hauss Hejny are all relatively inexperienced, so predicting who would come out on top felt like chucking a handful of darts at a board and seeing what stuck.

Well, Rangel and Smith entered the portal this week, meaning (unless something unforeseen happens), Flores or Hejny will run out into Boone Pickens Stadium on Aug. 28 as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback.

Here are three takeaways I have about OSU’s quarterback room after Rangel and Smith hit the portal.

1. Zero College Pass Attempts

OSU wide receiver Sam Jackson V has thrown 103 more pass attempts than OSU’s entire quarterback room put together … because OSU’s quarterback room hasn’t thrown one.

Flores hasn’t played a college snap. Hejny played 18 snaps at TCU this past season but didn’t throw a ball. It’s not like the room lost a ton of experience, but Rangel and Smith combined for 254 pass attempts.

2. But I Still Feel Optimistic About the Position

With that inexperience noted, I still feel rather optimistic about the position moving forward.

The reason for that is that I think Rangel and Smith were fine players. So, Flores and/or Hejny assumingly winning this battle means those guys must be pretty good. If Rangel or Smith was the floor for what the room could be, that’s not a bad spot to be in.

Although I don’t like that neither have experience, there are things about each guy I like.

Flores is built like a brick house. He looks every bit like a Division-I quarterback.

Additionally, despite not having proven it in actual games, all the scuttlebutt about Flores since he got onto campus has been positive. Gundy himself added to that discussion last fall.

“I think he’s ready now, he’s just not experienced,” said Gundy last August. “But he’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s smart, he’s tough. His attitude’s good. He’s humble. He’s hungry.”

As for Hejny, guys will not stop talking about his speed. It sounds like it could be quite the X factor.

“Hauss is fast — Hauss is fast, the quaterback,” corner Jaylin Davies said. “One of the plays in team (period at practice), he showed me he’s fast.”

“He can roll,” running back Trent Howland said. “I mean, we’ve got quarterbacks who can run, but the way he puts his foot in the ground and gets up field.”

So, sign me up for either.

3. Rangel Really Went for It

In a world where players are transferring multiple times in the same offseason, I think Garret Rangel should be applauded for sticking it out in Stillwater as long as he did.

I feel like I’ve written the “Rangel has had a ton of unideal circumstances” story five times by now, so I won’t again go through all the ups and downs. But, it comes down to the kid was thrown into the fire as a freshman when Spencer Sanders got hurt, he played in one of the stranger quarterback rotations I’ve ever seen in 2023 and then when he took the reigns for what seemed like a permanent basis for the first time, he broke his collarbone less than two quarters in.

There were plenty of opportunities for him to explore other options. He could’ve when Alan Bowman transferred in. He could’ve after Bowman was granted the extra year for 2024. Shoot, he could’ve when OSU brought Hejny in and set up a four-man battle. But he kept sticking it out and really went for it. It’s been made easy to run from in-house competition, but Rangel stuck it out much longer than most probably would have in an attempt to be the Cowboys’ starter.

It makes this quote hit that little bit harder:

“It was definitely tough,” said Rangel earlier this spring. “It was really tough. My career has been up and down here. Just to have my shot — my true shot — been playing good, we were rolling, and then I’m out. Definitely tough for anybody to go through that, but I know I can handle anything. But it was tough, yeah.”