Why Oklahoma State Will Allow Backup Quarterback Competition to Play Out

The Oklahoma State Cowboys need a backup behind Drew Mestemaker, but they’re in no hurry to name one.

Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Sean Brophy. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

One of the few starting jobs that isn't in dispute during Oklahoma State Cowboys fall football camp his quarterback. Drew Mestemaker is the guy.

But the guy behind the guy is yet to be determined.

During Saturday's closed scrimmage, three other quarterbacks got opportunities to work with the offense including transfer Grant Jordan and a pair of true freshmen — Broderick Vehrs and Luke Tepas.

Last week, head coach Eric Morris seemed to indicate that Jordan and Vehrs were the primary frontrunners to back up Mestemaker during the season opener against Tulsa on Sept 5. Quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Sean Brophy said they're going to allow the competition to “let it ride.” And there's a good reason why.

Why OSU Allowing Backup QB Job to Play Out

Oklahoma State’s Grant Jordan. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Jordan has the experience. He played at both Yale and UMass and is a seventh-year collegiate. Vehrs could be the future. He has plenty of arm talent and the fact that he’s pushing for a job already means something.

But the quarterback that takes over the back-up role needs to be able to do something that Mestemaker can do better than most quarterbacks in the country — process information. The Air Raid is a complicated offense and for the quarterback that runs it, knowing it inside and out is not an easy thing.

“Our offense is huge,” Brophy said to reporters last week in comments captured by OState Daily. “You think about the success Drew had early on. So much of it is because of his mental capability, right? His ability to process information and recall, which allows us to have a lot of volume in our offense — but also variety and variance week to week.

“If those guys can't handle that mentally, they're not going to be they're not going to stick around here that long.”

That description would seem to favor Jordan, who got his economics degree at Yale before he transferred to UMass last season. But, if Vehrs has been impressive in fall camp, he could win the job if he's able to show that he has a Mestemaker-like ability to retain what is needed in this offense.

Mestemaker threw for 4,379 yards at North Texas last year in this offense. He did so after spending a year learning it as a backup behind Chandler Morris. Entering his third year, he knows it like the back of his hand. If he gets hurt and misses time, it will be up to one of these three quarterback to figure it out.

The one who can show they know the offense the best could be the one that claims the back-up job.