Oregon State football has its first addition at the quarterback position this transfer portal cycle.
Mercer quarterback Braden Atkinson announced his commitment to the Beavers on Sunday.
Atkinson had a highly productive freshman season for the Bears, completing 66% of his passes for 3,611 yards, 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His team went 9-0 with him at the helm before he and Mercer suffered blowout losses on the road at Auburn and to South Dakota in the FCS playoffs.
Atkinson won the Jerry Rice award, which is given to the most outstanding freshman in FCS. He was also named an FCS freshman All-American.
Rated a three-star prospect in the transfer portal, Atkinson was the No. 32 quarterback in the portal according to 247Sports. He is originally from Rolesville, North Carolina.
OSU has leaned heavily on FCS prospects to fill out its roster through the portal so far, with nine of its 10 announced transfer commits coming from FCS teams. 13 of the Beavers’ 16 outgoing transfers who’ve announced their new destination are headed to Power Four or fellow Pac-12 programs.
JaMarcus Shephard and company also earned the commitment Saturday of junior college defensive tackle Tyler Bailey from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. On Sunday, Bethune-Cookman offensive lineman Teko Shoats committed to the Beavers as well.
To keep up with all the comings and goings for Oregon State in the transfer portal this busy offseason, use The Oregonian/OregonLive’s transfer portal tracker.
