The Uncertainty Principle at Prothro Field: The Oregon State Quarterback Quandary

August 13, 2024: It is not so much about a football team as it is about the existential crisis of uncertainty, embodied in the athletic form of three men throwing an oblong ball to nowhere. And yet, they keep throwing. This is the Oregon State Beavers' fall camp, halfway through, and the game of thrones for the starting quarterback is still, maddeningly, anyone’s for the taking. It’s like trying to decide which of three identical shirts you should wear to your first therapy session—none of them is exactly right, but they’ll all do in a pinch.

A Player Wishing He Would Be Put In

The scene unfolds under the awkward gaze of first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson, who doesn’t look at this trio of quarterback hopefuls and see a problem—no, that’s too negative. He sees a non-solution. But Gunderson is an optimist, or at least a pragmatist, and he knows that indecision is a decision all its own. He could take comfort in that fact if he were the sort of person who finds comfort in things, but one suspects he isn’t.

The Beavers convened for their first fall scrimmage over the weekend—imagine a game of chess played by three people who are equally bad at chess—and then returned to Prothro Field on Tuesday for their 12th preseason practice. There, among the eager eyes of fans and the indifferent glare of the sun, the three scholarship quarterbacks—Ben Gulbranson, Gabarri Johnson, and Gevani McCoy—took turns trying to prove they were just uncertain enough to lead a team in an uncertain sport in an uncertain world.

This is football as Schrödinger’s cat, where the starting quarterback both exists and doesn’t exist until you open the box—or in this case, until the season opener. The smart money is on none of them, and yet, one of them will win. Such is the fate of these young men, battling not just each other, but the void itself, where neither victory nor defeat is guaranteed, only the relentless passage of time.

So, halfway through fall camp, the only certainty is that nothing is certain. And for Gunderson, who might someday look back on these days with something resembling fondness or at least resignation, that’s enough. For now.