2025 Oregon State football positional preview: Quarterback

Published 4:44 pm Thursday, July 31, 2025

The Oregon State Beavers will have a new week one starting quarterback for the sixth-time in the last seven years.

If there was a defining factor of head coach Trent Bray and offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson’s inaugural 2024 season, it was inconsistent quarterback play. Idaho transfer Gevani McCoy earned the week one start a season ago, making eight starts until Ben Gulbranson took over in late October while Gabarri Johnson saw the field sparingly.

McCoy and Gulbranson have since found work elsewhere, vying for starting roles at Temple and Stanford, respectively. Johnson, now a redshirt-sophmore, and redshirt-freshman Kallen Gutridge represent Oregon State’s two returners at football’s highest-profile position.

As the Beavers open fall camp, QB1 looks like Duke transfer Maalik Murphy’s title to lose.

Offseason transactions

Returning starters: n/a

Returning players: Gabarri Johnson, redshirt-sophmore; Kallen Gutridge, redshirt-freshman

Departed: Gevani McCoy (transfer, Temple); Ben Gulbranson (transfer, Stanford); Jake Sanders; Dom Montiel (transfer, Southern Oregon)

Additions: Maalik Murphy, redshirt-junior (transfer, Duke); Tristan Ti’a, freshman

Ten-thousand-foot view

The expectations could not be any higher than they already are for Murphy, warranted or not.

The former four-star recruit and Southern California native settled on Oregon State for the 2025 season after a record-setting year with the Duke Blue Devils. It wasn’t the first time the 6-foot-5, 230-pound signal caller had been linked to Corvallis, he took a visit to campus the prior summer before landing in Durham. Murphy was solid running Duke’s offense, setting the program’s single-season passing touchdowns record (26) and finished just shy of 3,000 passing yards.

Murphy’s production at Duke, big-time physical tools and reported seven-figure NIL draw have made the hype-train a runaway one. However, he — like any other football player — is not a sure-fire guarantee. Murphy’s 12 interceptions at Duke led the ACC (a three-way tie with Syracuse’s Kyle McCord and Stanford’s Ashton Daniels) in the category. He also struggled mightily under pressure (a 40.5 Pro Football Focus grade) and isn’t a threat as a runner.

Murphy addressed both concerns following Oregon State’s first practice of the fall.

“That was my first year as a full-time starting quarterback in college,” Murphy said. “
It was a big stepping stone for me to kind of get those games under my belt. Now I’m going into this season and I can kind of, not know what to expect, but I have a pretty good feel for the game. You know what I’m saying? 
You know, I could be more efficient and (now) I’m able to watch myself and see what I did on tape that I could improve on (to) better myself.”

For how much Gunderson and Bray pursued Murphy since he departed Texas (2022-23), it’s hard to imagine there hasn’t been a calculated plan to maximize his skillset in the works for a while. If he and Oregon State can work out the turnover kinks, the sky is the limit.

Behind Murphy is a trio of youth.

Johnson is the only other member of the roster with in-game college experience, appearing in six games last season and starting against Air Force. The Beavers used Johnson, who transferred from Missouri, primarily as an option and play-action quarterback, attempting 29 passes and rushing 26 times. He’s a physical outlier size-wise (listed 5-foot-11) with impressive athletic ability, but is still an unknown quantity as a down-to-down quarterback.

Wilsonville High School product and southpaw passer Kallen Gutridge and true freshman Tristan Ti’a fill out the remainder of a surprisingly shallow quarterback room. Gutridge is likely to be the third-string option — barring a herculean showing in fall camp — while Ti’a, who arrived over summer, is expected to don a redshirt.

Most interesting storyline: How Johnson is utilized. His athletic ability warrants the thought of package-specific plays, but prioritizing his health may take priority with how thin the position is.

Keep an eye on: Murphy’s ability to play under pressure. It was his bugaboo a season ago at Duke.

Projected depth chart:

Maalik Murphy, redshirt-junior

Gabarri Johnson, redshirt-sophomore

Kallen Gutridge, redshirt-freshman

Tristan Ti’a, freshman