In 2023, Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State struggled to find their starting quarterback early in the season.

The Cowboys played Alan Bowman, Garret Rangel and Gunnar Gundy through the first four games of the season before Bowman finally took full control of the starting job. Despite the seemingly open competition last fall, then-true freshman QB Zane Flores didn’t see any action, recording zero snaps in his first season of college football.

That could change this year, however, as Flores battles Rangel and true freshman Maealiuaki Smith for the Pokes’ backup signal caller position.

After his team completed practice on Saturday, Gundy commented on his confidence in the redshirt freshman quarterback.

“I think he’s ready now, he’s just not experienced,” Gundy said. “He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s smart, he’s tough. His attitude is good. He’s humble, he’s hungry. He hasn’t played. That’s the difference now, compared to this time last year.”

If Flores is able to beat out Rangel and Smith for the Cowboys’ backup quarterback spot, the 6-foot-4 signal caller would finally log his first collegiate action, gaining the experience Gundy alluded to in spot situations.

With the possibility of Kasey Dunn’s offense jumping out to an early lead against Tulsa in Week 3, the Pokes’ backup quarterback may get on the field for a few drives late in the game against the Golden Hurricane.

Additionally, Bowman dealt with injuries during his time at Texas Tech, meaning OSU’s backup QB will have to be ready to step in and run Dunn’s offense, incase he is thrust into action.

While Flores has great size and high upside as a quarterback, beating out the more experinced Rangel will be a tall task. In his two seasons with the Cowboys, Rangel has played in nine games and started four, throwing 147 passes and tallying 883 yards and six touchdowns in his young career.

In addition to earning valuable reps behind Bowman this season, whoever wins Oklahoma State’s backup quarterback job will also have a good chance at starting for the Pokes in 2025 when Bowman’s college career is over.

Flores came to Stillwater as a 3-star prospect from Gretna, NE, rated the No. 27 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.

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With the beginning of the school year for several Oklahoma districts only weeks away, teachers across the state are confused by a new mandate involving the use of Bibles in the classroom.

Educators and parents, both for and against the new mandate, are protesting with signs and chants at Wednesday’s state board of education meeting.

Additionally, some teachers could lose their teaching certification if the board votes accordingly.

In total, six teachers from across the state could have their teaching licenses suspended or revoked.

One of those is Ardmore band teacher Alison Scott, who gained national attention in early July when she posted a comment on social media that seemingly supported the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

After the post made waves on social media, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters spoke out and threatened the teacher’s license.

“I think it was absolutely disgusting to see an Oklahoma teacher out praising or celebrating the assassination attempt on President Trump,” Walters said. “This is incredibly dangerous territory that we’re in, and it’s just completely inexcusable behavior for a teacher.”

Walters is also expected to discuss teaching using historical documents such as the Bible, and what the meeting agenda is calling “rogue” district administrators.

Also, according to the agenda, Walters says he’ll discuss illegal immigration and what he says burdens Oklahoma schools.

The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m.

RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail.

Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state.

A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder.

Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. 

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