Oklahoma State football: Wes Lunt 'or' J.W. Walsh will start at quarterback vs. Texas

“I don't think Texas is concerned one bit,” Gundy said. “…I think they're down there practicing for J.W., because they know that Wes is injured. Could he go out there and play some Saturday? I guess he could.

“But we all have a feel that J.W. is probably going to be the guy that plays the most, unless it's something out of the ordinary. So there's really nothing to hide.”

Still, OSU defensive coordinator Bill Young knows the challenge preparing for two quarterbacks could be for the Longhorn staff. Young said the Cowboys faced a somewhat similar task in game planning for ULL, as starting quarterback Blaine Gautier had left the Ragin' Cajuns' previous game with bruised ribs. But the backup, Terrance Broadway, was the same dual-threat mold as Gautier.

Not so with Lunt, a pocket passer, and Walsh, a run-pass threat.

“That'd be very difficult,” Young said. “J.W. does throw the ball a lot better than people think, so you've got to prepare for the vertical passing game, but you also have the quarterback run game.

“A lot of things that you do defensively, you can't do with a quarterback that's an athlete. I'd have to be careful with some zone blitzes and some things and not having someone assigned to the quarterback.

“Most quarterbacks, they kind of tailor them to the scheme. It's a little bit different here with J.W.”

UT coach Mack Brown also talked about the key differences between defending Lunt and Walsh during his Monday press conference in Austin. But he noted that because they were each part of a quarterback competition, the Longhorns would have prepared for both Lunt and Walsh, anyway.

“It is more difficult,” Brown said. “Because there will be some stunts you would use against a quarterback that's not very mobile that you can't use when you have an option quarterback in there. So it does change a lot of what you're doing.”

Even after Monday's revelations, Walsh is still the likely starter against UT. But what are the chances that Lunt is healthy enough to play?

“It's just hard to say,” Gundy said. “It really is.”