What Oklahoma State football positions are most intriguing entering 2025 spring football?

Posted by author February 16, 2025 Football

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STILLWATER — While the start of spring football practice is still over a month away, the combined level of intrigue and unknown might be as high as it’s been since Mike Gundy’s first season as the Oklahoma State coach.

And you could argue that this spring, because of the circumstances, is even more intriguing than 2005 was.

Major turnover on the roster and the coaching staff leaves a lot of question marks as spring ball approaches.

Let’s take a look at three of the most intriguing positions to watch this spring:

Quarterback

No reason to start anywhere else.

The Cowboys have three returning players — Garret Rangel, Zane Flores and Maealiuaki Smith — who are joined by transfer Hauss Hejny.

Outsiders want to hand the job to Hejny already because he followed new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham from TCU. And Hejny has running ability that surpasses anything the other three bring to the table, which could pay dividends in Meacham’s offense.

But to anoint him the starter in February is foolish.

Rangel is easily the most experienced of the quartet and showed promise at BYU last October until he broke his collarbone. He’s an agile and effective runner. And he’s seen a variety of defensive looks at the college level. No one else in the room can say that.

Hejny and Smith each played in four games while redshirting last year, though Smith got significantly more action, starting the final two games of the year — one went great, one not so much. But he showed his skill level, including his smooth, strong throwing ability.

And that leaves Flores, who has yet to see the field in two seasons at OSU — and with that, still generates the most intrigue of all. He would’ve played last fall but underwent season-ending ankle surgery the week before the BYU game, when Rangel broke his collarbone.

So the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Flores remains a mystery in terms of what he’ll look like under the lights. Though he’s the biggest of the group, he’s still an effective runner, and his arm talent has always been his key feature. He’s just waiting for his opportunity.

Receiver

Amid all the changes, this is a position group that isn’t getting the attention it probably should. For one, OSU has always regrouped and produced talented receivers. But the level of production that is gone from last season is huge.

Not just the school’s all-time leading pass-catcher, Brennan Presley, but both starters at outside receiver, De’Zhaun Stribling and Rashod Owens.

That duo combined for almost 2,500 receiving yards the past two seasons, and that’s with Stribling missing most of 2023 — and Owens not entering the starting lineup until October of the same year.

While OSU has some options among inside receivers, like Da’Wain Lofton and Gavin Freeman, the competition for the outside spots should be intense beginning in spring.

Talyn Shettron is the most proven of the group and Ayo Shotomide-King got some valuable experience last year. Both are over 6-foot-3, which is important in a receiver group that doesn’t have a lot of height.

Tre Griffiths and Purdue transfer Shamar Rigby bring some size as well.

And the group has a variety of other returning players, transfers and incoming freshmen who could work their way into the playing rotation. But trying to project a starting lineup, much less a two-deep, is virtually impossible.

Outside linebacker

Here’s a position that is intriguing for multiple reasons.

For one, it’s a position that was specifically added to the roster after new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was hired. He described it more as an edge rusher, and if you look back at his past, it’s a position where versatility is key.

That player will move around the formation and be asked to do multiple things as a linebacker/defensive end hybrid.

And the makeup of the player group is equally interesting, with three of the five players being transfers from the small-college level, like Malik Charles from West Georgia, or the junior-college level with Rashod Bradley and Chandavian Bradley.

Among returning players, Jaleel Johnson is there after a redshirt sophomore season where he showed a glimpse of his talent but also was hindered by injuries. He’s also the biggest player in the group at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds.

Former walk-on Yamil Talib rounds out that group. He was an unknown until he suddenly popped into the playing rotation late last season, and though he’s the smallest of the group at 230 pounds, his speed gives reason for hope.