The most anticipated Oregon State quarterback competition in recent memory officially opened Tuesday afternoon in Corvallis, where all eyes focused on the intriguing three-man group chasing the starting job for the 2023 college football season.

All eyes, that is, except for two.

“I don’t know much about quarterbacks and stuff,” Joshua Gray, the Beavers’ veteran tackle, said. “I never played that position. I can’t really speak on it. I don’t even see what they do most of the time, because I’m facing the opposite direction.”

Gray missed a pretty good show. The Beavers held their first of 15 spring practices at the Truax Indoor Center, and the quarterbacks took center stage, firing passes in drills and guiding the OSU offense through 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work during the roughly 90-minute workout.

The must-see viewing, of course, centered on DJ Uiagalelei, the high-profile transfer from Clemson who went through his first practice in an Oregon State uniform. But there was plenty of intrigue surrounding incumbent starter Ben Gulbranson and prized true freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles, as well. The trio rotated in and out of the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work, taking snaps at midfield with the first-team (Gulbranson), second-team (Uiagalelei) and third-team (Chiles) offenses.

Quarterback battles are never won in a single practice — especially the first workout in spring when players are wearing helmets and no pads — but the three each had their moments Tuesday.

Uiagalelei misfired on his first attempt in 7-on-7 work, overthrowing an open receiver down the right sideline, but regrouped to connect on a pass in the flat and complete a nice sideline out pattern to receiver Rweha Munyagi Jr. in his first series. Uiagalelei struggled more in 11-on-11 drills, overthrowing a couple deep balls, but he completed 6 of 10 passes in four series, ending with a beautiful back-shoulder connection to Jeremiah Noga down the left sideline.

“Big-time arm,” OSU offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said of Uiagalelei. “We’ve just got to get his eyes and feet right … some things that are schematically different from where he was coming from. That stuff will come.”

Gulbranson has the edge in schematics, of course, but it didn’t necessarily look like it Tuesday. He completed just 1 of 3 passes in his first series and then tossed interceptions in each of his next two series, sparking a pair of roars along the defensive side of the field. He completed 6 of 10 passes, but the two interceptions overshadowed the good.

The biggest quarterback highlight actually came from Chiles, the four-star early-enrollee who should be preparing for high school prom right about now. The 17-year-old completed all three of his passes in his first series, ending the impressive debut by firing a beautiful 55-yard bomb to fellow freshman Zachary Card, who beat two defenders with a post route over the middle. Chiles completed 7 of 10 passes during his four series, effectively guiding the third-string unit.

“Live arm and he’s just an energetic, fun guy,” Lindgren said of Chilies. “You can tell when he walks into the huddle, he’s just got a presence to him that those guys kind of feed off of.”

The rookie impressed the veteran.

“Coming in as a new guy, especially coming from high school, he can spin it,” Gulbranson said of Chiles.

“He ripped a deep post today. That was a great ball by him. I think we’ve got a lot of great chemistry and we’re working hard together to kind of elevate that room and contribute as much as we can.”

And it’s this chemistry, not the competition, that Gulbranson tried to highlight after the first spring practice.

The Beavers’ quarterback room is as talented as its been in recent memory, thanks to the additions of Uiagalelei and Chiles, and Gulbranson said he has welcomed the influx of ability with open arms. He mentioned several times Tuesday that “iron sharpens iron,” and noted that the quarterbacks have spent the offseason organizing group throwing sessions with receivers and picking the brain of quality control analyst Jon Boyer about defensive philosophies and coverages. Along the way, Gulbranson has eagerly answered questions from the newcomers about the intricacies of OSU’s offense.

The goal, Gulbranson said, is to “learn and grow together” rather than succeed apart.

“We’ve got a great quarterback room,” Gulbranson said. “We all understand that we’re all hard workers. We want what’s best for the team. Competition makes everybody better. As quarterbacks, we all understand that you’re going to earn your spot. At the end of the day, we’re going to help each other out because we want what’s best for the team. But also, we’re going to compete our ass off and we’re going to give it our all each and every play. At the end of the day, that’s all we can ask for.”

It helps that Uiagalelei did not bring a hint of attitude or ego from Clemson to Corvallis, quickly ingratiating himself to the team.

Uiagalelei pursued the Beavers, reaching out to Smith and Lindgren as the team was preparing to play the Florida Gators in the Las Vegas Bowl, and the sides immediately hit it off. Oregon State liked his big arm, big-game experience, five-star pedigree and humble nature. Uiagalelei liked the Beavers’ pro-style system and Smith and Lindgren’s track record of developing quarterbacks.

In what felt like the blink of an eye — after only a few phone calls and with no visit to Corvallis — Uiagalelei committed to Oregon State.

“It all happened pretty quick …” Lindgren said. “I really was just impressed how humble of a guy he was, given how highly he was recruited, how in the spotlight he was in the national scene at Clemson. To be interested in our spot and be asking us questions about our thing, and really kind of praise what we had done at Oregon State, I think that was really cool to see. Awesome kid … and it’s been fun to get to know him.”

And while it’s only natural to assume the five-star transfer is a lock to win the starting job, the incumbent and the rookie will have a thing or two to say about that before it’s all said and done. Tuesday was merely the first step in a battle that won’t end until fall camp.

Just don’t ask Gray for a view of things along the way.