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BERRY TRAMEL’S SCISSORTALES
STILLWATER — Evidence abounds on why Hauss Henjy came to OSU.
Familiarity with new Cowboy coordinator Doug Meacham and quarterback coach Kevin Johns. Relatively close to his Aledo, Texas, home. Solid money from the name/image/likeness bucket. Maybe even a name (pronounced Hoss Haney) that jives perfectly with Cowboy culture.
But fundamentally, we know why Hejny is in Stillwater. The quarterback job is open.
And fundamentally, that’s why Garret Rangel, Zane Flores and Maealiuaki Smith stayed in Stillwater. All three OSU holdovers, who had various experiences behind Alan Bowman the previous season or two, are in spring practice.
That’s uncommon retention in the transfer portal era. And while all three talk about culture and tradition, the truth is, all three remain because the QB job is open, or at least they BELIEVE it’s open, and they believe they can win it.
The Friday ScissorTales take a look at the Thunder’s long-range shooting, list the Final Four appearances of women’s basketball programs and offer a small update on conference realignment. But we start with OSU quarterbacking and the novelty of returning three quarterbacks off the 2024 roster.
“It’s rare that we have (four) guys that we think are good players,” Mike Gundy said. “Rangel’s played some. Maea’s played a little bit. Zane’s not touched it. Really Hauss hadn’t played much, either (at Texas Christian). There won’t be many schools in your Power-4 (conferences) that are gonna have the flexibility that we do right now.”
It’s indeed rare to stage a four-man quarterback derby. Gundy held a three-man race in 2023; it became a marathon, not a sprint, and incredibly extended through three games, before OSU settled on Bowman.
That’s not likely to happen again. Gundy even said Tuesday that his staff needs to spend a couple of weeks evaluating the four quarterbacks, then start distributing practice repetitions in favor of two QBs, to get ready for August.
Which means it’s unlikely all four quarterbacks still will be around in June.
“We had a recruiting meeting this morning,” Gundy said. “We have to expect to lose six to 10 guys after April just based on percentages. Now, you would like for that to not have to happen, but I think if you sit around and think it’s not going to happen, then maybe you’re not up to par with the times.
“We don’t need to get into all of this, but roster management is difficult. Can you keep four quarterbacks that are good enough to compete at this level? It’d be difficult.”
Which means the next few practices will have a profound effect on the lives of four quarterbacks. And the three holdovers obviously believe they have a chance to win the job.
All four OSU quarterbacks chatted with the media Tuesday, and I asked each of the three Cowboy veterans why they came back.
Rangel: “I came back because it was the best decision for me. I think everyone’s just bought in. Knows what this program is about and the culture is about and what coach Gundy has made this culture about and transformed it. I just think everyone’s just bought into that.”
Rangel goes all the way back to 2022, when he filled in for the injured (or departed) Spencer Sanders, starting against Kansas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. OSU lost all three games, and Rangel’s numbers weren’t great (52.2% completions, four touchdowns, five interceptions).
Then platooning through those first three games of 2023, Rangel again didn’t show much; 17-of-32 passing, 172 yards. But in 2024 at Brigham Young, Gundy surprisingly started Rangel ahead of Bowman, and the early results were strong. Then Rangel suffered a broken collarbone at the end of a 54-yard run, and his season was over.
Now he’s back, Year 4, with at least one start in each of his first three seasons, hoping to finally win the job for good. He said he never really thought about leaving.
“At the end of the day for me, it was the best decision,” Rangel said. “I’m excited.”
Flores: “I think we all just kind of believe in ourselves, believe in the program. Leaving is not always the best option. So we’re sticking it out together, competing together.”
Flores, who has yet to take the field in two OSU seasons, suffered a foot injury last season, else he would have been in line to replace Bowman or Rangel. Reports of Flores’ potential have been all over the place. In some ways, he’s the least known commodity of the quartet.
But Flores (pronounced “floors”) said what he liked about OSU coming out of high school, he still likes.
“Just kind of the feel, the community, the very, very big family feel,” Flores said. “That was huge for me. Very similar to my hometown (Gretna, Nebraska), so just kind of felt at home. And then Coach Gundy was a huge reason as well.”
Maealiuaki: “I feel strong with coach Gundy and what coach Gundy believes and his system. We have new position coaches, but I feel like he’s going to get the right guys in place for his program, and that’s why I (stayed) with the program and I feel strong about it.”
Maealiuaki, from San Mateo, California, was a true freshman last season who started the final two games, to give Gundy a head-start on what Maealiuaki could provide. It was quite promising in a 56-48 shootout loss to Texas Tech, then quite discouraging in Colorado’s 52-0 rout to end the season. Maealiuaki’s cumulative stats: 44 of 74 passing, 489 yards, two TDs, four interceptions.
Maealiuaki came to OSU from northern California, quite the abnormal recruiting region for the Cowboys.
“I just liked the tradition they have and the legacy they’ve been having for the past 20 years and winning years,” he said. “I wanted to play for a winning coach so I can get to the next level.”
Despite a disastrous 2024 season, all three holdover quarterbacks clearly still believe in OSU football. Still believe in their ability to lead the Cowboys.
But don’t expect all three quarterbacks to still be in Stillwater when summer arrives. The math doesn’t work.
BERRY TRAMEL’S SCISSORTALES
Why did 3 OSU quarterbacks return for 2025 season? | Berry Tramel's ScissorTales
- 4 hrs ago
Berry Tramel
Sports ColumnistSTILLWATER — Evidence abounds on why Hauss Henjy came to OSU.
Familiarity with new Cowboy coordinator Doug Meacham and quarterback coach Kevin Johns. Relatively close to his Aledo, Texas, home. Solid money from the name/image/likeness bucket. Maybe even a name (pronounced Hoss Haney) that jives perfectly with Cowboy culture.
But fundamentally, we know why Hejny is in Stillwater. The quarterback job is open.
And fundamentally, that’s why Garret Rangel, Zane Flores and Maealiuaki Smith stayed in Stillwater. All three OSU holdovers, who had various experiences behind Alan Bowman the previous season or two, are in spring practice.
That’s uncommon retention in the transfer portal era. And while all three talk about culture and tradition, the truth is, all three remain because the QB job is open, or at least they BELIEVE it’s open, and they believe they can win it.
The Friday ScissorTales take a look at the Thunder’s long-range shooting, list the Final Four appearances of women’s basketball programs and offer a small update on conference realignment. But we start with OSU quarterbacking and the novelty of returning three quarterbacks off the 2024 roster.
“It’s rare that we have (four) guys that we think are good players,” Mike Gundy said. “Rangel’s played some. Maea’s played a little bit. Zane’s not touched it. Really Hauss hadn’t played much, either (at Texas Christian). There won’t be many schools in your Power-4 (conferences) that are gonna have the flexibility that we do right now.”
It’s indeed rare to stage a four-man quarterback derby. Gundy held a three-man race in 2023; it became a marathon, not a sprint, and incredibly extended through three games, before OSU settled on Bowman.
That’s not likely to happen again. Gundy even said Tuesday that his staff needs to spend a couple of weeks evaluating the four quarterbacks, then start distributing practice repetitions in favor of two QBs, to get ready for August.
Which means it’s unlikely all four quarterbacks still will be around in June.
“We had a recruiting meeting this morning,” Gundy said. “We have to expect to lose six to 10 guys after April just based on percentages. Now, you would like for that to not have to happen, but I think if you sit around and think it’s not going to happen, then maybe you’re not up to par with the times.
“We don’t need to get into all of this, but roster management is difficult. Can you keep four quarterbacks that are good enough to compete at this level? It’d be difficult.”
Which means the next few practices will have a profound effect on the lives of four quarterbacks. And the three holdovers obviously believe they have a chance to win the job.
All four OSU quarterbacks chatted with the media Tuesday, and I asked each of the three Cowboy veterans why they came back.
Rangel: “I came back because it was the best decision for me. I think everyone’s just bought in. Knows what this program is about and the culture is about and what coach Gundy has made this culture about and transformed it. I just think everyone’s just bought into that.”
Rangel goes all the way back to 2022, when he filled in for the injured (or departed) Spencer Sanders, starting against Kansas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. OSU lost all three games, and Rangel’s numbers weren’t great (52.2% completions, four touchdowns, five interceptions).
Then platooning through those first three games of 2023, Rangel again didn’t show much; 17-of-32 passing, 172 yards. But in 2024 at Brigham Young, Gundy surprisingly started Rangel ahead of Bowman, and the early results were strong. Then Rangel suffered a broken collarbone at the end of a 54-yard run, and his season was over.
Now he’s back, Year 4, with at least one start in each of his first three seasons, hoping to finally win the job for good. He said he never really thought about leaving.
“At the end of the day for me, it was the best decision,” Rangel said. “I’m excited.”
Flores: “I think we all just kind of believe in ourselves, believe in the program. Leaving is not always the best option. So we’re sticking it out together, competing together.”
Flores, who has yet to take the field in two OSU seasons, suffered a foot injury last season, else he would have been in line to replace Bowman or Rangel. Reports of Flores’ potential have been all over the place. In some ways, he’s the least known commodity of the quartet.
But Flores (pronounced “floors”) said what he liked about OSU coming out of high school, he still likes.
“Just kind of the feel, the community, the very, very big family feel,” Flores said. “That was huge for me. Very similar to my hometown (Gretna, Nebraska), so just kind of felt at home. And then Coach Gundy was a huge reason as well.”
Maealiuaki: “I feel strong with coach Gundy and what coach Gundy believes and his system. We have new position coaches, but I feel like he’s going to get the right guys in place for his program, and that’s why I (stayed) with the program and I feel strong about it.”
Maealiuaki, from San Mateo, California, was a true freshman last season who started the final two games, to give Gundy a head-start on what Maealiuaki could provide. It was quite promising in a 56-48 shootout loss to Texas Tech, then quite discouraging in Colorado’s 52-0 rout to end the season. Maealiuaki’s cumulative stats: 44 of 74 passing, 489 yards, two TDs, four interceptions.
Maealiuaki came to OSU from northern California, quite the abnormal recruiting region for the Cowboys.
“I just liked the tradition they have and the legacy they’ve been having for the past 20 years and winning years,” he said. “I wanted to play for a winning coach so I can get to the next level.”
Despite a disastrous 2024 season, all three holdover quarterbacks clearly still believe in OSU football. Still believe in their ability to lead the Cowboys.
But don’t expect all three quarterbacks to still be in Stillwater when summer arrives. The math doesn’t work.
