Beavers bid farewell to Marcus McMaryion

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* Oregon State practice report: Wallace and Garretson impress

*McMaryion to transfer from Oregon State

*Scrimmage report: Luton-to-Togiai connection lights up Bend

*Beavers finish off Bend in style

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Just six days after Gary Andersen named former Ventura CC quarterback Jake Luton the starter signal caller, OSU lost one of the most tenured, tireless workers on their team.

On Sunday morning, it was announced via a statement released by OU that McMaryion was transferring and is looking to find a new home for his last two years of eligibility. It caught many OSU fans by surprise, but McMaryion’s teammates echoed that it’s the best decision for him moving forward in his career.

He will always be remembered as the steady-eddie quarterback who was willing to give the team anything they needed. For three straight seasons, he was enthralled in three different quarterback derby’s and unfortunately came up short in all of them.

In Gary Andersen’s first season in 2015, he came into camp battling with Seth Collins and Nick Mitchell for the starting job as a redshirt freshman. He eventually fell all the way to No. 3 before starting the Civil War to end the season.

In his redshirt sophomore campaign in 2016, he was battling transfer quarterback Darell Garretson for the starting job, before once again falling to No. 3 on the depth chart, this time to true freshman Conor Blount. However, injuries to both Garretson and Blount opened the door for McMaryion to start the last six games of the season, going 2-4 during that stretch.

Last season, he helped guide the Beavers to the program’s biggest win in Gary Andersen’s tenure. He wasn’t flashy and didn’t do anything to wow you, but he was a terrific game manager in the Beavers’ Civil War win against Oregon. It was their first win against the Ducks since 2007.

Even though he won the last two games of the 2016 season for the Beavers, McMaryion was still considered to be the on the outside looking in for the Beavers quarterback job in 2017 as Andersen and offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven recruited Luton to come in and challenge for the starting role. As we all know, Luton excelled in spring practices despite an illness and was named the starter during the Bend week.

McGiven noted that McMaryion was the player that you just wanted to have around, and that he will be missed as a player and a teammate.

“Marcus was an awesome kid to have around,” McGiven said. “He’s the type of kid that you want to coach, and was very invested in the program. He was awesome in that quarterback room and tried to better himself every day. Ultimately at the end of the day, he had to make a decision that was best for him, and we are going to support and help him in anyway we can moving forward.”

Luton had nothing but support for McMaryion and understood that this is the best decision for his future moving forward.

“I wish him nothing but the best,” Luton said. “I’ve been there and it’s one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made in my life. I love Marcus and he was here since day one and helped me make a lot of strides, so I wish him nothing but the best and when I get a chance to step away from (practice), I’ll let him know that.”

Ultimately, college football is a business, and there is only room for one quarterback to be the starter.

It’s a tough pill to swallow for teammates and fans alike, but at the end of the day, McMaryion wanted his opportunities and with Luton in the fold, it didn’t appear he would be given the opportunity to start.

With McMaryion departing for his new destination, the Beavers are now left with Luton and Garretson as their primary QB’s. Blount will be the No. 3 quarterback and Aidan Willard will redshirt his freshman season.

Time will tell where McMaryion ends up but he has options given that he has already graduated from OSU and has two years to play two seasons. One report has mentioned that McMaryion will end up at Fresno State, playing very close to his hometown of Dinuba, CA.

Personally, I think FSU could be a really good fit with McMaryion, especially playing for for former California coach Jeff Tedford who has groomed future NFL quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller.

Sumner Houston, who is one of the few players remaining in the 2014 recruiting class had nothing but support for McMaryion who was one of his good buddies on and off the field as they lived together in the dorms their freshman year, and most recently in the summer.

“I lived with him in the dorms as he was in my class, and in the summer,” Houston said. “We’ve always been pretty good friends throughout our three years here. It’s sad to see him go, but he did what he needed to do personally to further his career and his own passions and I believe it was a good move for him.”