How Oklahoma State football QB Zane Flores grew during redshirt year: 'He's ready'
Scott WrightThe Oklahoman
STILLWATER — This football season won’t begin with any kind of quarterback controversy or a three-QB carousel in September.
The job is Alan Bowman’s for as long as the offensive line can keep him upright.
Yet this preseason remains crucial for backups Garret Rangel and Zane Flores, whether their next big moment comes because of an injury to Bowman, or in the battle to be his replacement next spring.
Cowboy fans have seen Rangel in action, both as a replacement for the injured Spencer Sanders in 2022 and as part of the three-quarterback rotation last September.
But the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Flores, a redshirt freshman, offers the intrigue that comes with being the exciting, young prospect who hasn’t yet seen the field.
And OSU coach Mike Gundy boosted the intrigue with his comments about Flores at the team’s media day on Saturday.
“I think he’s ready now, he’s just not experienced,” Gundy said. “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.
“That’s the difference now, compared to this time last year.”
Flores’ name was floated a couple times last season when the Pokes were cycling their quarterbacks, but Gundy’s response was always that the youngster wasn’t ready to be thrown into such a situation.
Now, it seems that’s no longer a concern.
“Quarterbacks that are in this system and understand the concepts of what we try to get accomplished always play better than they do when they just show up,” Gundy said. “Because one, they don’t have experience, and two, they don’t really understand what we’re trying to do on offense.”
For Flores, his knowledge base has grown exponentially since this time a year ago.
“I feel good, a lot better than last year,” Flores said in his first media appearance since arriving at OSU in January 2023. “Personally, the main difference I notice is, last spring, last fall camp, I was kind of second-guessing the play. I was still trying to learn.
“I feel a lot more confident in the playbook this year.”
He credited the slower pace of learning as a benefit, allowing him to get accustomed to the speed of the game while running the scout team offense and gradually work his way toward his current comfort level.
Bowman played a key role in Flores’ early efforts to learn the offense when he arrived last year. They both came in at the same time and worked together in picking up the playbook.
“I spent a lot of time around him,” Flores said of Bowman. “He showed me the ways a little bit, taught me a lot about college football.”
August will remain a critical time for Flores to build on his new confidence, because the quarterbacks will share practice snaps rather equally until the season opener gets much closer.
Once the team transitions to game preparations, Bowman will get most of the work, with the backups seeing their involvement limited.
Physically, Flores has added about 20 pounds of muscle to his lanky frame, which has helped in a variety of ways, including with his confidence. He’s not as scared of the 250-pound blitzers as he was 18 months ago.
And one of his most important developments has been the constant footwork drills quarterback coach Tim Rattay puts his players through.
If something were to happen to Bowman, is Flores ready to compete with Rangel for the job? It sounds like he’s a lot closer than he was a year ago.
“At first, my footwork was not ready for the speed of the game,” Flores said. “There’s bullets flying everywhere on the D-line. The DBs are flying everywhere. My footwork has improved a lot to catch up to the speed.
“It’s tough to say, but anything can happen, so I’m just trying to be ready. If my time comes, I’m gonna do my best to be ready.”
2024 Oklahoma State quarterback depth chart
Name, Class, Ht., Wt., Hometown (Previous school)The starter
- Alan Bowman, RSr.*, 6-3, 220, Grapevine, Texas (Michigan)
- Garret Rangel, RSo., 6-2, 205, Frisco, Texas (Lone Star)
- Zane Flores, RFr., 6-4, 205, Gretna, Nebraska
- Maealiuaki Smith, Fr., 6-4, 185, Antelope, California (Junipero Serra)
- Garret Wilson, Fr., 6-2, 215, Edmond (OCS)
