Oregon State lands Jerry Rice Award winner Braden Atkinson

Braden Atkinson, the 2025 Jerry Rice Award winner and one of FCS's breakout offensive talents, committed to Oregon State during the January transfer period, giving the Beavers a high-ceiling signal-caller with freshman eligibility remaining. Atkinson arrives after a 2025 season that produced roughly 3,500+ passing yards and the mid-30s in touchdown passes, and he finished the year with a strong Pro Football Focus offensive grade.

This is a clear add for Oregon State's quarterback depth chart. Atkinson's combination of volume production and promising advanced metrics gives the Beavers a modern, analytic-friendly passer who can compete immediately in spring work and in fall camp. For a program balancing portal activity and classroom roster moves, his commitment represents both a short-term upgrade and a longer-term investment: he earned national recognition at the FCS level and still projects as a developmental piece with on-field upside.

From Mercer’s perspective, losing a Jerry Rice Award winner — the trophy that honors the top freshman in FCS — is a significant roster turnover. For Mercer and the wider FCS community, Atkinson's move underlines a sustained trend: top FCS talents using the portal to leap to FBS opportunities. That pathway matters to coaches, players and fans because it redefines roster-building, alters recruiting pitches and sets expectations for how coaches handle sudden departures.

Oregon State’s staff has also been active with other portal and classroom adjustments as it refines its roster, signaling a broader strategy of blending experienced transfers with younger prospects. Atkinson’s profile — high-volume passer, strong PFF offensive grade, decorated freshman resume — fits that approach. He gives the Beavers an option both as a potential on-field contributor and as competition for the room’s existing quarterbacks, forcing clearer decisions in spring evaluation and summer camp.

For fans and community members, the practical implications are immediate: expect Atkinson to be a storyline through spring practice and fall camp, and watch how the coaching staff integrates his skill set into the offense. For FCS followers, this is another example of the talent pipeline that increasingly runs both ways between subdivisions. High-performing FCS freshmen can win awards, build advanced-metric credentials and get FBS looks quickly.

Our two cents? Don’t overcook expectations overnight, but don’t sleep on the upside either. Track his reps this spring, note how the staff schemes him into reads and play calls, and see this as a case study in how FCS success can translate to FBS opportunity.