Stanford names Oregon State transfer Ben Gulbranson starting quarterback for season opener

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — After spending most of his five seasons at Oregon State as a backup, Ben Gulbranson enters his final college season as the starting quarterback for Stanford.

Gulbranson beat out Elijah Brown to earn the job starting, with the Cardinal’s season opener under interim coach Frank Reich on Saturday at Hawaii.

“I’m just really grateful to have another opportunity at it with the teammates and coaches and associate staff here that we have at Stanford,” Gulbranson said Monday. “I think just given the fact that I’ve played five years in the past, been a part of college football for five years, just knowing that this is my last year and I’m trying to make the most of it and just taking it day by day and do my best each and every day.”

Gulbranson transferred to Stanford in late April after being lured by general manager Andrew Luck. He began his career with the Beavers in 2020 and made eight starts in 2022. He started just four games the past two seasons, but his experience helped him win the job over Brown, who made one start for the Cardinal last season as a freshman.

“Ben just did a really good job with the whole thing,” Reich said. “Good command and mastery of the offense. He did a really good job. Accurate passer, a strong arm guy that can get the ball to all parts of the field. I thought he had good command and control of decision-making. He had good poise in the pocket. So really showed a lot of positive attributes that we’re looking for.”

Gulbranson’s best season came in 2022 when he took over as starter midway through the season and went 7-1 for the Beavers. One of his biggest highlights came in his first start at Stanford when he threw a 56-yard TD pass to Tre’Shaun Harrison with 13 seconds left for a 28-27 comeback win.

Gulbranson played in 18 games, with 12 starts for the Beavers, completing 61.8% of his passes for 2,648 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Gulbranson said he was thrilled to be recruited personally by Luck, a quarterback he grew up watching as he starred in the NFL for Indianapolis after a stellar career at Stanford.

Now he relishes the chance to learn from Luck and Reich, who has experience as a quarterback and head coach in the NFL. He said he already has filled up several notebooks with tips.

“Just trying to learn as much as I can from those guys,” Gulbranson said. “Obviously NFL guys that have seen so much football and learned so much. They are just great teachers. They always have something new that I never even really thought about or heard about.”

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By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer