OSU's last QB competition came in 2019. What lessons can be applied to the 2023 battle? (2024)

STILLWATER — In 2018, as the transfer portal began taking shape into its current state — but hadn’t quite exploded as it has five years later — Oklahoma State took a chance on Hawaii transfer quarterback, Dru Brown.

He spent a year at College of San Mateo, two more with the Rainbow Warriors before hitting the portal and landing in Stillwater. After redshirting his first year with the Cowboys, Brown’s starting job came down to a competition.

Either Brown or redshirt freshman Spencer Sanders.

Through an arduous process, Sanders would win the job, a title he held for four seasons. But with Sanders out of the picture, the Cowboys again undertake another quarterback battle. And like the one in 2019 between Brown and Sanders, OSU coach Mike Gundy isn’t prepared to name a starting quarterback.

“Guys are playing good. Right now, you couldn’t do it,” he said. “As soon as we think that it’s beneficial to our team, we’ll make that decision. If you would’ve watched today, you wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

The contenders range from sixth-year senior Alan Bowman (previously Michigan and Texas Tech) to redshirt freshman Garret Rangel, a three-game starter last year. In the mix is Gunnar Gundy, Mike Gundy’s son and a redshirt sophom*ore walk-on with limited playing experience.

Gundy’s often been quiet about quarterback competitions in the past, but what lessons can be learned from the last one?

Like Brown, Bowman transferred into the program. At 6-foot-4, Bowman appears the likely starter based on his experience compared to the rest of the group, but as Gundy admits, it didn’t come at OSU.

“Dru played in Hawaii, but never for us,” Gundy said of 2019. “You really have the same situation with Bowman. He played at Tech, but never played for us.”

At their respective former schools, Bowman and Brown posted comparable numbers. But unlike Brown, Bowman served as a backup the past two years, attempting only 11 passes at Michigan.

Brown redshirted his first season in Stillwater, sitting behind Taylor Cornelius before contending for the job.

As for the underclassmen contenders, Rangel and Gunnar Gundy combined to make four starts in 2022, In Sanders’ case, not a single snap was taken the year before earning the starting gig.

“Both of the young quarterbacks are automatically going to be better because of what they went through last year,” Gundy said. “It’s just an advantage in being out there, feeling it, then coming back and it doesn’t bother you as much.”

Rangel and Gunnar Gundy appeared in a game more recently than Bowman, with each appearing throughout the second half of the season. Bowman’s most recent throw came in a 59-0 win against Connecticut last September. He attempted one pass, completing it for a 20-yard reception.

But Bowman’s depth of experience stems from his time at Texas Tech, when the 6-foot-4 quarterback threw for 5,260 yards and 34 touchdowns to 18 interceptions. That experience overshadows Rangel and Gunnar Gundy’s combined experience, as does Bowman’s 67.1% career completion rate.

In 2019, Gundy teased a two-quarterback system being possible in his final press conference of fall camp.

Last week, Gundy delivered the same sentiment when asked about who the opening week starter would be, saying “if there’s two guys that deserve to play, we’ll play two guys.”

The Sanders-Brown debate wouldn’t be settled until mere days before OSU traveled to Corvallis, Oregon, for the season opener against Oregon State. Sanders would start, ushering in a four-year tenure before transferring to Ole Miss in January.

Brown would still play in six games his final year, throwing 810 yards and seven touchdowns to one interception. As for how 2023 shapes up is still to be determined.

“It’s not like any of them aren’t playing good,” Gundy said. “They’re all playing good.”