STILLWATER — The Bedlam rivalry has left the football field, but not the recruiting world.
Just over 12 hours before high school prospects could put pen to paper on National Signing Day, OU swooped in with an offer for Jett Niu of Lehi, Utah — the three-star quarterback prospect who had been committed to Oklahoma State for nearly three months.
And Wednesday morning, Niu completed the Bedlam flip, announcing his change of plans and signing with the Sooners.
That leaves OSU without a quarterback in its 2025 signing class, which included 19 players and looked to be settling in around the mid-50s in terms of national rankings.
Head coach Mike Gundy opted to delay his usual signing day news conference until after the entire class of incoming players is announced — including transfer portal additions — so his thoughts on the Bedlam loss won’t be known anytime soon.
More importantly, it won’t be known how he plans to react to losing his quarterback from the recruiting class.
The transfer portal is set to open Monday, but as of now, OSU has three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster — Garret Rangel, Zane Flores and Maealiuaki Smith.
What might the Cowboys do after losing Niu to the Sooners? Here are three options:
More: Oklahoma State football signing day live updates: Latest signing news, recruiting rankings
Hold steady
When asked a couple weeks ago, Gundy was adamant that he expected all three quarterbacks to remain with the program heading into 2025. And logically, it seems possible. Each of the three should feel like he has a legitimate shot to win the job.
Rangel has had up-and-down moments in his career, but he’s the most experienced and moved the offense well when he got his only start of the season, at BYU — the game in which he broke his collarbone and was lost for the season.
Smith got two starts, with one going rather well against Texas Tech and one quite rough at Colorado.
Flores, who had surgery on his foot in October, is the only one who hasn’t had any game action. But he’s also been the one who has generated the most buzz around the program.
More: Oklahoma State football adds Muskogee OL Miguel Chavez to 2025 recruiting class
Hit the transfer portal
Regardless of what happens with the players on the roster, Gundy might decide the transfer portal is the best option for adding to his quarterback room.
Price tags can get high with veteran quarterbacks, so if Gundy wants one of the more proven players out there, it’s going to cost.
But there will also be players who are early in their careers and can’t demand the type of dollar figure many of the veterans will be expecting.
And Gundy wasn’t planning to add from the portal to begin with, so he probably doesn’t feel like he needs to hit a home run with a portal addition.
Of course, if he gets the chance, he should take a swing.
More: How OU football QB Jett Niu went from committed to Oklahoma State to signing with Sooners
Search for a high school replacement
Yes, signing day has passed, but in October, the NCAA adopted a new rule that did away with National Letters of Intent. On Wednesday, players signed non-binding financial aid agreements.
So in theory, all of the players who signed are tied to their schools. But in reality, any one of them could simply walk away from their signing. And as the coaching carousel continues to turn, some prospects will decide they’d rather test the market.
That means OSU must be monitoring the movement of possible recruits who could be looking for a new home.
It’s impossible to predict who that would be, but there are certain to be quarterbacks who signed Wednesday but become free agents before they ever get to campus.
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: What will Oklahoma State football do at QB after losing recruit to OU?
