12/7/2020 football Edit

Tristan Gebbia To Undergo Surgery, Out For Season

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

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Oregon State will be without starting quarterback Tristan Gebbia for the rest of the 2020 season as head coach Jonathan Smith announced that he'll undergo surgery.

"He's scheduled to have surgery later this week and will not be back this season," Smith said. "A lot went into that decision, but ultimately, it's going to be the best thing for him and his future.

The 6-foot-2, 201-pound junior signal-caller injured his left hamstring at the bottom of a pile on the Beavers' penultimate play of the go-ahead scoring drive late in the fourth quarter against Oregon.

On the year, Gebbia went 80-for-129 (62%) for 824 yards and three touchdowns, while also throwing three interceptions. Additionally, he had two rushing scores and caught another.

"It's tough. I've got a bunch of respect for him because he's been through a lot. He's a positive guy and he's got a grind mindset that he'll be back with us healthy next season. I do think that he went out on a high note and played really well against Oregon. Now it's really disappointing that he can't continue that momentum. He'll be back and ready next fall."

With Gebbia out for the season, the Beavers will once again turn to Chance Nolan to lead the offense.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder didn't have the best performance in his first career start against the Utes this past weekend, going 20-of-38 for 202 yards and a touchdown with one interception, but it's his job now and OSU will be counting on him to improve and fill the void in Gebbia's absence.

"Chance is a good deep ball thrower and we wanted to take some deep shots against Utah. He did a good job moving his feet and extending plays, but we do anticipate him playing better in game two. He's got a lot to clean up, but that's true for every guy making their first start."

As for Nolan's backup, Smith said that true-freshman Ben Gulbranson has officially become the backup as former third-string quarterback Nick Moore has elected to leave the program.

"Ben continues to improve, he's been awesome at practice. He understands the offense at a really high level for a true-freshman and we feel confident with him backing up Chance."