True Freshman Maealiuaki Smith Starts at Quarterback for Oklahoma State’s Game against Texas Tech

STILLWATER — When the Cowboys took the field against the Red Raiders, a true freshman was behind center.

Maealiuaki Smith earned the start coming out of Oklahoma State’s most recent bye week. Smith has appeared in two games this season, piloting the final drives of the Cowboys’ games against Arizona State and TCU. He’s completed seven of his 10 pass attempts for 103 yards and has thrown one interception.

A three-star recruit in the 2024 class, Smith hails from Sacramento, California by way of Junipero Serra High School. He threw for 1,778 yards and 21 touchdowns as a high school senior and ran for five more scores. In two seasons as a starter for Junipero Serra, Smith had a 25-2 record with more than 4,300 passing yards and 45 touchdowns. He chose Oklahoma State over offers from BYU, Arizona, Arizona State, Florida State, Washington, Missouri, Utah and others.

Seventh-year senior Alan Bowman has started nine of the Cowboys’ games this season. He’s thrown for 2,416 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Bowman was pulled at halftime of the Cowboys’ eventual 22-19 loss to Utah but came back in during that game. He was pulled again in OSU’s 38-14 loss to West Virginia. Garret Rangel, who came in for Bowman on both occasions, then started the Cowboys’ game against BYU, but Rangel broke his collarbone in the second quarter of that outing.

Listed at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, Smith becomes the first true freshman to earn a start at QB for the Cowboys since Rangel was thrown into the fire in the 2022 season after an injury to Spencer Sanders. It’s a similar situation for Smith, as Rangel (now a redshirt sophomore) and Zane Flores (a redshirt freshman) are both done for the season with injuries. The good news for OSU is that Smith can play these final two games and still keep a redshirt.

Before Rangel, Shane Illingworth started as a true freshman in the 2020 season. Before that, Mason Rudolph was the last true freshman to start at quarterback. Rudolph’s first start was also in the penultimate game of the regular season back in 2014.