Oregon State on Monday named Mercer transfer Braden Atkinson as its starting quarterback, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Atkinson, a 6-foot-1 sophomore who threw for 34 touchdowns with the Bears last year, won the Jerry Rice Award for the top player in the FCS in 2025. He beat out Maalik Murphy and Brady Jones for the OSU starting job.
After completing 20 of 33 passes for 210 yards in a loss at Auburn last year, Atkinson will now help usher in the coach JaMarcus Shephard tenure with the Beavers, who open against No. 23 Houston on Sept. 5, before taking on No. 12 Texas Tech on Sept. 12.
Murphy, who also played at Duke and Texas, received the bulk of the work under center for the Beavers last year, when they finished 2-10. He completed 161 of 277 passes for 1,805 yards with nine touchdowns, but he was also picked off eight times. Before heading to Oregon State, Murphy started two games for the Longhorns and 12 games for the Blue Devils.
Oregon State is a member of the new-look Pac-12 Conference this season, and the Beavers will begin league play on Oct. 3 against Colorado State.