Oregon State went to the transfer portal last offseason looking for a quarterback, and it almost landed one. Ultimately, the Beavers went into the season with status quo. Chance Nolan opened the year as the starter. Veteran backups Ben Gulbranson and Tristan Gebbia provided depth.

Nolan got off to a roaring start, but the crash was just as fast, and he was replaced with Gulbranson midway through the year. According to coach Jonathan Smith, an injury to Nolan forced the move initially, but Gulbranson kept the job even after Nolan returned to health.

Gulbranson went 7-1 as a starter this season, capping the year with a blowout 30-3 win over Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl. He led wins over Oregon and Washington State, and nearly helped the Beavs to a win over the Washington Huskies in Seattle.

Some thought he’d locked the job up heading into 2023.

But Gulbranson will reportedly receive some major competition via the transfer portal. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Beavs are expected to add former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei in the coming days. As of publication, Uiagalelei has not announced his intentions.

Uiagalelei, a former 5-star and top-10 recruit out of the 2020 class, went 22-6 as a starter at Clemson but lost his job this past season to freshman Cade Klubnik. With Clemson moving in a different direction, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound quarterback is heading closer to home.

He stared at St. John Bosco in Southern California, joining Clemson as the top-ranked quarterback and the 10th-ranked overall prospect in the 2020 class. Uiagalelei sat behind Trevor Lawrence in 2020 before taking over the starting job in 2021. A 439-yard performance in a double-overtime loss at Notre Dame had many believing the Tigers had another elite quarterback to lead them back to the College Football Playoff.

But Uiagalelei’s two seasons as a starter saw the Tigers miss the CFP both times, ending what was a six-year run in the Playoff. He completed 56% of his passes in 2021 and tossed 10 interceptions to nine touchdowns.

In 13 games this season, Uiagalelei upped his completion rate to 62% while throwing 22 touchdowns against seven interceptions. He threw for 2,521 yards while adding another 545 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Uiagalelei has two years of eligibility remaining, and will give coach Jonathan Smith one of the highest-rated players he’s ever worked with. If Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren can help unlock the potential that made Uiagalelei such a tantalizing prospect coming from the high school ranks, the 10-3 Beavers could have the quarterback needed to take that next step as a program.

First, he’ll have to beat out Gulbranson in camp.