What Do QBs Zane Flores, Hauss Hejny Think of Each Other as They Battle to Become the Cowboys’ Next Starter

STILLWATER — Zane Flores always felt like the young guy in the room this summer.

Now the redshirt freshman who joined the team in 2023 has one year of college experience on his closest competition and two years on the other quarterbacks.

“It just seemed weird (being the oldest) … I think I’ve grown a lot as a player and as a person and as a leader too,” Flores said.

The competition to be Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback began with four guys, but when the dust cleared in the spring, only Flores and TCU transfer Hauss Hejny remained.

Although neither of them had attempted a forward pass at the college level, they outlasted former Cowboys Garret Rangel and Maealiuaki Smith, who both chose to transfer despite starting for OSU at different points last season. Since then, both guys have been replaced on the roster, but not in the competition, by freshmen Banks Bowen and Mason Schubert.

“It definitely felt good after spring, you know, getting to this point of like, being down to the final two guys,” Hejny said. “But at this point, me and Zane are just going to be there for each other and supportive of whatever happens, whatever the decisions the coaches make, so I’m just trying to focus on ball right now and do the best I can to help this team win.”

Both quarterbacks said the battle between them is good for each of them.

“We’re still pushing each other every day,” Flores said. “We’re close to each other, we’re trying to bring the best out of each other.”

Although both guys want the job, they also expressed a desire to remain friends despite the competition.

“It is not salty, we’re not the type of quarterbacks that don’t talk to each other,” he said. “That is what I really enjoy about Zane, we’re really good friends.”

Although Flores is the veteran where Stillwater is concerned, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said that didn’t give him an advantage heading into fall camp, which began this week.

“I think they both started at the same spot,” Gundy said. “There’s a lot of similarities to what we’re doing now with Coach (Doug) Meacham. A lot of what he’s doing is what we did when he was an assistant here, before then when he came back. There’s some similarities there, but not enough to actually help in a carryover from a communication stage to those guys.”

It’s worth noting that Hejny has a longstanding relationship with Meacham, who coached receivers at TCU last season, dating back to his high school days. Hejny said OSU’s new offense might have a few similar plays to what he ran at TCU last year, but there are not many similarities between the two systems.

When asked about a timeline for the quarterback competition, Gundy said, “all options are on the table,” including playing both guys in the first game if necessary.

For now, each quarterback will get the chance to win the job throughout the rest of fall camp. Gundy said the number one thing he will be looking for in the coming weeks is “production.”

“At some point, the team will start to migrate towards one guy,” Gundy said. “That doesn’t mean that the other guy is not a good player, it just means that the team might start migrating to another guy, and they have to be productive.”

Gundy said both Flores and Hejny are splitting the reps with the first and second string offenses. That would be tough to manage if OSU still had three or four guys in the mix.

“The good news about where we are now is there are enough reps for two guys,” Gundy said. “When you have more than two, you cut into a guy who has the opportunity to get better, in my opinion.”

Flores said the best way to approach the upcoming practices is to focus on “controlling what I can control.”

“A lot easier said than done, but just every day I’ve been coming in to compete and supporting all the guys,” Flores said. “All of the quarterbacks in the room are amazing people.”

Hejny said it’s important not to focus on the competition and instead be present.

“You can’t think what is going to happen tomorrow. … Take it play-by-play,” Hejny said. “And just trust whatever is going to happen for a reason, and it is all part of God’s good plan. So, it is your job to make the most of it. And that is what I go into every day saying.”