I’m no Indy and won’t pretend to be, but I would like to foster some good Osu football discussion. I’ll attempt to do some breakdowns of each position group heading into the spring.
In todays day and age of college football I realize the roster can change fluently, but perhaps this will help give us an idea of what we have at each position.
With the coaching turnover at every position we will take a short look at that also.
Position Breakdown - Qb
Coach outgoing - Tim Rattay
Coach incoming - Kevin Johns
Kevin Johns has grad assistant experience at Northwestern. He has WR coaching experience Richmond, Northwestern, Indiana, and Texas Tech. He has RB coaching experience at Northwestern. He has TE coaching experience at Texas Tech. He has QB coaching experience at Indiana, Western Michigan, Memphis, Duke, and OU. He has OC experience at Indiana, Western Michigan, Texas Tech, Memphis, Duke, and OU.
It’s hard for me to judge the job Tim Rattay did at osu. I guess I’m left to grade him as average. You’ve got some good moments and not so good moments with Spencer Sanders. You’ve got the 3 Qb tryout which I’m not totally blaming on him as I believe that was something Grundy wanted. We got guys on campus with talent but they just never seemed to really develop into big time Qb’s. I felt like our qb play has been average for awhile and I felt like his coaching was average. I wouldn’t say bad but I also can’t say it was good.
Oklahoma state needs to do a better job of developing Qb talent. We have gotten solid prospects on campus in the past but we struggle to get them to play at a higher level. That or the guys we are getting are just average and play as such. If we want to reach big 12 championship games and playoff games we have to get better here.
Enter Kevin Johns. The first thing you have to like about him is his experience. Part of that experience is him having several stints as an OC. If you want to feel some level of comfort with these new hires and with having Doug as our OC it’s that he has guys as position coaches who have experience as OC’s themselves.
The thing you have to like about Kevin Johns is his past qbs and what they had to say about him:
“He coached me to make the right decisions,” Riley Leonard said.
“The things that he teaches us and how to be efficient, even with different footwork drills that he does with us, I've seen improvement so far,” Arnold said. “Even through two to three weeks of my pocket movement getting to progressions quicker and easier, he's really helped us so far.”
“I really enjoyed building that connection with Coach Johns throughout high school, so when I saw he was the new coordinator, I was excited.” - Memphis Qb Brady White
The thing I’ve seen while researching more about Kevin Johns is he does his best to maximize the strengths of the guys in his room. Almost every past Qb he has worked with commented on how he helped them make quick decisions but accurate decisions and maximized what their strengths were as a QB. He really seems to do well at developing guys. What stands out to me is his most recent work in helping Jackson Arnold turn it around a bit in a short amount of time and how effective he is in working with Qb’s. I really like this hire when mixed with our current Qb room.
Players outgoing:
Graduates - Alan Bowman
Transferred out - None
Players Incoming:
Recruiting Class - None
Transferred In - Hauss Hejny Fr. (TCU)
Players Returning:
Redshirt Freshman - Maealiuaki Smith
Sophomore - Zane Flores
Junior - Garret Rangel
I’m going to start by saying we have some talent in this room. Between these 4 guys you’d like to think we have a guy that will be a very good Qb for us. Here is my take on each one:
Garret Rangel - is the oldest most experienced of the group. On past Gundy teams that has been a big deal. His experience and what we have seen from him as been shaky at best. His freshman year he got time when he clearly wasn’t ready. He had moments but his play was not great. He then takes part in the 3 Qb rotation competition and can’t win the job from Alan Bowman or Gunnar Gundy. He then gets spot duty this last season against Utah and looks terrible…..to the point we had to put Alan Bowman back in the game. He then gets the start at BYU and plays the best game of his career…..albeit mostly running the football which leaves the question can he be effective passing the football. So far he has not. Going with Rangel makes me uneasy. I just don’t think he is consistent enough and I don’t think he has the upside of the other guys. Out of high school he reminded me of Clint Chelf a little bit and Chelf didn’t get his shot until later in his career. Maybe Rangel has the same type of outcome but right now I’m doubtful.
Zane Flores - it’s funny to me the amount of osu fans that have already just blown this kid off. That have basically said he should transfer. That have given up on him. I guess I’d like to see the kid play before we just totally move on from him. His first year on campus he redshirted. Absolutely the right move however, why his foot injury that required surgery was not taken care of his freshman year is beyond me. We waited until his 2nd year on campus to fix it and it wasted an opportunity for him and for us to see what he could do. I’ll never understand that. Having said that, I still really would like to see what we have in Zane. Nobody knows and so it will be interesting to watch what he does in the spring and fall. I personally think this kid has a lot of upside. Does he have the it factor? What if he does?
Maealiuaki Smith - Zane Flores loss is Smith’s gain I guess you could say. We got a look at this kid. Sticking with facts he was up and down. The TCU game was up and down. The Texas Tech game was fantastic. The Colorado game was terrible. About what you would expect from a true freshman thrown into our crappy season. I would not write this kid off. He can run and pass and he is 6’4. I know there is a lot of excitement with some other guys in our Qb room but don’t sleep on this kid.
Hauss Hejny - I know we missed out on taking a high school Qb when ou took Jett Niu from us but how can you not like that we got Hauss Hejny. I’d say we won in how this turned out. Yes, there is a lot of hype around this kid. From his high school tape and hype to the rumors that West Virginia wanted him bad and the old QB whisperer himself Lincoln Riley wants this kid at USC. Without seeing him play at this level the kid seems to have the moxy and it factor. Having said that, that needs to be proven on the field and that he has not done. He has the advantage of working with Doug Meacham prior to osu. He will be the fastest Qb in our Qb room. Is his height something that would be considered a negative for him? I saw some osu fans compared him to JW Walsh. I don’t love that comparison at all for a few reasons. 1. JW Walsh throwing mechanics were terrible and it held him back from being more of an all around Qb. 2. JW never was an upper echelon Qb in the big 12 and it’s time we get that. Hauss seems to have good throwing mechanics in the film I have seen. My opinion on a good comparison would be old KU Qb Todd Reesing. However, we also have to remember that Hauss is still very young.
Ultimately this will come down to who can go through their reads, who can check down, and who can make the best decisions. You can have a great arm but not be able to make good decisions. You can be the best athlete but not have a great arm. You can have better measurables but it doesn’t make you the best Qb. We have to find a guy that gives us the best chance to win games and the best chance to develop into a very good Qb. We need a difference maker.
My predicted depth chart (2 deep):
QB - Hauss Hejny (Zane Flores) or (Maealiuaki Smith)
I think Garret Rangel will transfer out at some point in the spring. I just don’t think he is the guy after being given multiple chances to be the guy. I think Flores and Smith stick around until after the season and one or both will move on if Hejny takes over the position. You have to remember injuries can be a reality in how this plays out. A guy given the starting nod at the beginning of the season may not be the guy at the end of the season.
For example, what happens is Hauss is our starter, gets hurt and Zane comes in and takes over and turns out to be a gamer and takes over for the next few years. Anything and any scenario could happen. What happens if I’m way off here and Smith wins the job and is the guy and we move Hauss to WR? Anything can happen here.
A few categories to put some guys in:
(The time is now) - Without question this is Garret Rangel. He has the most experience and he is older than everyone in the room. If he can’t win the job now he just isn’t meant to be the qb at osu.
(Question marks) - we could probably put almost every qb we have in this category but I’m going to go with Zane Flores. We just have zero clue what this kid can do. I’d like to see him in a game.
(Young guys with Big Upside)- Hauss Hejny and Maealiuaki Smith.
This freshman class:
None - lost Jett Niu and did not take a Qb in this class. Will need to take 1 in the next class.
Sunmary:
I like the idea of Kevin Johns working with this group. If you want to look at it like Johns recruited Hejny and Meacham worked with Hejny that may give some comfort as to him winning this job. If you like experience maybe Rangel gives that comfort that he is the guy. If you liked what you saw from Smith last year maybe you lean toward him being the guy. And maybe some are going with the most unknown in Flores that he can be the guy.
Who do you think wins the job?
In todays day and age of college football I realize the roster can change fluently, but perhaps this will help give us an idea of what we have at each position.
With the coaching turnover at every position we will take a short look at that also.
Position Breakdown - Qb
Coach outgoing - Tim Rattay
Coach incoming - Kevin Johns
Kevin Johns has grad assistant experience at Northwestern. He has WR coaching experience Richmond, Northwestern, Indiana, and Texas Tech. He has RB coaching experience at Northwestern. He has TE coaching experience at Texas Tech. He has QB coaching experience at Indiana, Western Michigan, Memphis, Duke, and OU. He has OC experience at Indiana, Western Michigan, Texas Tech, Memphis, Duke, and OU.
It’s hard for me to judge the job Tim Rattay did at osu. I guess I’m left to grade him as average. You’ve got some good moments and not so good moments with Spencer Sanders. You’ve got the 3 Qb tryout which I’m not totally blaming on him as I believe that was something Grundy wanted. We got guys on campus with talent but they just never seemed to really develop into big time Qb’s. I felt like our qb play has been average for awhile and I felt like his coaching was average. I wouldn’t say bad but I also can’t say it was good.
Oklahoma state needs to do a better job of developing Qb talent. We have gotten solid prospects on campus in the past but we struggle to get them to play at a higher level. That or the guys we are getting are just average and play as such. If we want to reach big 12 championship games and playoff games we have to get better here.
Enter Kevin Johns. The first thing you have to like about him is his experience. Part of that experience is him having several stints as an OC. If you want to feel some level of comfort with these new hires and with having Doug as our OC it’s that he has guys as position coaches who have experience as OC’s themselves.
The thing you have to like about Kevin Johns is his past qbs and what they had to say about him:
“He coached me to make the right decisions,” Riley Leonard said.
“The things that he teaches us and how to be efficient, even with different footwork drills that he does with us, I've seen improvement so far,” Arnold said. “Even through two to three weeks of my pocket movement getting to progressions quicker and easier, he's really helped us so far.”
“I really enjoyed building that connection with Coach Johns throughout high school, so when I saw he was the new coordinator, I was excited.” - Memphis Qb Brady White
The thing I’ve seen while researching more about Kevin Johns is he does his best to maximize the strengths of the guys in his room. Almost every past Qb he has worked with commented on how he helped them make quick decisions but accurate decisions and maximized what their strengths were as a QB. He really seems to do well at developing guys. What stands out to me is his most recent work in helping Jackson Arnold turn it around a bit in a short amount of time and how effective he is in working with Qb’s. I really like this hire when mixed with our current Qb room.
Players outgoing:
Graduates - Alan Bowman
Transferred out - None
Players Incoming:
Recruiting Class - None
Transferred In - Hauss Hejny Fr. (TCU)
Players Returning:
Redshirt Freshman - Maealiuaki Smith
Sophomore - Zane Flores
Junior - Garret Rangel
I’m going to start by saying we have some talent in this room. Between these 4 guys you’d like to think we have a guy that will be a very good Qb for us. Here is my take on each one:
Garret Rangel - is the oldest most experienced of the group. On past Gundy teams that has been a big deal. His experience and what we have seen from him as been shaky at best. His freshman year he got time when he clearly wasn’t ready. He had moments but his play was not great. He then takes part in the 3 Qb rotation competition and can’t win the job from Alan Bowman or Gunnar Gundy. He then gets spot duty this last season against Utah and looks terrible…..to the point we had to put Alan Bowman back in the game. He then gets the start at BYU and plays the best game of his career…..albeit mostly running the football which leaves the question can he be effective passing the football. So far he has not. Going with Rangel makes me uneasy. I just don’t think he is consistent enough and I don’t think he has the upside of the other guys. Out of high school he reminded me of Clint Chelf a little bit and Chelf didn’t get his shot until later in his career. Maybe Rangel has the same type of outcome but right now I’m doubtful.
Zane Flores - it’s funny to me the amount of osu fans that have already just blown this kid off. That have basically said he should transfer. That have given up on him. I guess I’d like to see the kid play before we just totally move on from him. His first year on campus he redshirted. Absolutely the right move however, why his foot injury that required surgery was not taken care of his freshman year is beyond me. We waited until his 2nd year on campus to fix it and it wasted an opportunity for him and for us to see what he could do. I’ll never understand that. Having said that, I still really would like to see what we have in Zane. Nobody knows and so it will be interesting to watch what he does in the spring and fall. I personally think this kid has a lot of upside. Does he have the it factor? What if he does?
Maealiuaki Smith - Zane Flores loss is Smith’s gain I guess you could say. We got a look at this kid. Sticking with facts he was up and down. The TCU game was up and down. The Texas Tech game was fantastic. The Colorado game was terrible. About what you would expect from a true freshman thrown into our crappy season. I would not write this kid off. He can run and pass and he is 6’4. I know there is a lot of excitement with some other guys in our Qb room but don’t sleep on this kid.
Hauss Hejny - I know we missed out on taking a high school Qb when ou took Jett Niu from us but how can you not like that we got Hauss Hejny. I’d say we won in how this turned out. Yes, there is a lot of hype around this kid. From his high school tape and hype to the rumors that West Virginia wanted him bad and the old QB whisperer himself Lincoln Riley wants this kid at USC. Without seeing him play at this level the kid seems to have the moxy and it factor. Having said that, that needs to be proven on the field and that he has not done. He has the advantage of working with Doug Meacham prior to osu. He will be the fastest Qb in our Qb room. Is his height something that would be considered a negative for him? I saw some osu fans compared him to JW Walsh. I don’t love that comparison at all for a few reasons. 1. JW Walsh throwing mechanics were terrible and it held him back from being more of an all around Qb. 2. JW never was an upper echelon Qb in the big 12 and it’s time we get that. Hauss seems to have good throwing mechanics in the film I have seen. My opinion on a good comparison would be old KU Qb Todd Reesing. However, we also have to remember that Hauss is still very young.
Ultimately this will come down to who can go through their reads, who can check down, and who can make the best decisions. You can have a great arm but not be able to make good decisions. You can be the best athlete but not have a great arm. You can have better measurables but it doesn’t make you the best Qb. We have to find a guy that gives us the best chance to win games and the best chance to develop into a very good Qb. We need a difference maker.
My predicted depth chart (2 deep):
QB - Hauss Hejny (Zane Flores) or (Maealiuaki Smith)
I think Garret Rangel will transfer out at some point in the spring. I just don’t think he is the guy after being given multiple chances to be the guy. I think Flores and Smith stick around until after the season and one or both will move on if Hejny takes over the position. You have to remember injuries can be a reality in how this plays out. A guy given the starting nod at the beginning of the season may not be the guy at the end of the season.
For example, what happens is Hauss is our starter, gets hurt and Zane comes in and takes over and turns out to be a gamer and takes over for the next few years. Anything and any scenario could happen. What happens if I’m way off here and Smith wins the job and is the guy and we move Hauss to WR? Anything can happen here.
A few categories to put some guys in:
(The time is now) - Without question this is Garret Rangel. He has the most experience and he is older than everyone in the room. If he can’t win the job now he just isn’t meant to be the qb at osu.
(Question marks) - we could probably put almost every qb we have in this category but I’m going to go with Zane Flores. We just have zero clue what this kid can do. I’d like to see him in a game.
(Young guys with Big Upside)- Hauss Hejny and Maealiuaki Smith.
This freshman class:
None - lost Jett Niu and did not take a Qb in this class. Will need to take 1 in the next class.
Sunmary:
I like the idea of Kevin Johns working with this group. If you want to look at it like Johns recruited Hejny and Meacham worked with Hejny that may give some comfort as to him winning this job. If you like experience maybe Rangel gives that comfort that he is the guy. If you liked what you saw from Smith last year maybe you lean toward him being the guy. And maybe some are going with the most unknown in Flores that he can be the guy.
Who do you think wins the job?
