STILLWATER — Oklahoma State goes into spring football practice with the kind of quarterback situation that is polarizing for fans.

The solid but not flashy veteran who gets the job done, backed up by the exciting but unproven youngsters.

Alan Bowman is back for his seventh season of college football and his second as OSU’s starter as the Cowboys prepare to open spring ball Tuesday afternoon.

And while spring will be valuable for Bowman to re-establish his connection with De’Zhaun Stribling, who was injured most of last year, and get to know the young backups better, it’ll provide ample opportunity for the other quarterbacks to see the field.

Here’s a look at the quarterback position as the Cowboys enter spring practice:

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Season rewind

The three-quarterback rotation that OSU coach Mike Gundy implemented in the first three games seemed to do more harm than good, but once he gave the job to Bowman, the veteran ran with it.

Bowman completed 60.7% of his passes for 3,480 yards, though in his 11 games as the sole starter, he averaged 293.2 yards per game, which would have ranked 11th nationally, a spot behind Colorado’s Shedur Sanders and two a head of Texas’ Quinn Ewers.

Bowman’s 14 interceptions were on the high side, and at times, they came in bunches, with nine over the final five games.

He only threw 15 touchdown passes, though scoring wasn’t the issue for the OSU offense, thanks to star running back Ollie Gordon II gobbling up yards and TDs on his way to winning the Doak Walker Award.

Roster management

Who’s out: Gunnar Gundy, Peyton Thompson

Who’s in: Maealiuaki Smith, Fr.

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The take

Bowman is the clear-cut starter, but spring will provide ample opportunity for backups Garret Rangel and Zane Flores to get a lot of first-team action with the philosophy Gundy has adopted in recent years, using heavy rotations of first-, second- and third-team players together.

Rangel showed significant improvement from 2022 to 2023 when he saw action in the first three games while Gundy was rotating quarterbacks. Flores is the highly touted freshman who gets the prospect-loving section of the fanbase all riled up.

And newcomer Maealiuaki Smith is on campus early, so he can enjoy a pressure-free learning experience in the spring.

Could Rangel or Flores push Bowman for the starting job? Probably not by August. Once the games begin, it’ll be on Bowman to improve his interception numbers and show he can keep the offense moving. If he struggles in those two areas, and the season starts to crater, maybe one of the young guys gets a shot.

But it seems unlikely.

Either way, the competition in spring will benefit all three quarterbacks, while also giving Smith a comfortable environment to ease into college ball.

Depth chart

The starter

• Alan Bowman, RSr.*, 6-3, 205

The reserves

• Garret Rangel, RSo., 6-2, 185

• Zane Flores, RFr., 6-4, 205

• Maealiuaki Smith, Fr., 6-4, 200

*-Seventh-year senior

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman remains starter entering spring