CORVALLIS — In his typical wide stance behind the podium, Robb Akey performed all of his necessary duties as Oregon State interim coach Monday: refuse to commit to a starting quarterback, speak congenially with the media, and set the narrative for the week to come.

The Beavers (2-9) face Washington State on Saturday in Pullman. A new head coach is expected to be named before then or soon after. It won’t be the gregarious and well-liked Akey, but his brief return to the top job has him hungry for another opportunity.

“I’ve got too much energy,” the 59-year-old Akey said, loudly. “I can’t sit around and not do anything. So, I guess I’m going into the coaching portal. … I’m looking forward with what the next opportunity is going to be. And, you know, this is a cool place, but all you can do is all that you can. … But you’ll be stuck with watching me coach guys for a long time, a lot of years from here on out because I’m still a kid.”

OSU fans will miss Akey’s gravelly charm if he does depart, and it doesn’t sound as if he will stay on with the next coach’s staff. If Akey does, it might help OSU with player retention. But the new coach could also want to completely remake this roster in his image.

Akey carried a previously 0-7 team to the finish line, and at the very least seemed to have fun doing it. His positivity was refreshing to those around the program amid the doom and gloom of it all.

“There was a completely different picture we rolled in here in February,” Akey said. “But life deals you adversity, and you deal with it. But what I will take (away) is these players, and we built some cool relationships with them and those are gonna are going to last forever. And the way these guys have fought to get themselves through some adverse situations, with the world against them is what it felt like at a lot of times.”

A significant number of OSU’s current players will be gone in the coming weeks, too. A transfer window will open five days after the next coach is hired. So it goes in modern college football. On to the next.

One young player OSU fans are excited about, and who many are hoping sticks around in Corvallis, is true freshman quarterback Tristan Ti’a. The former four-star recruit stepped in late against Tulsa and sizzled, going 8 of 11 for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

As to whether that means he will start against Washington State on Saturday, Akey did not show his hand. Ever the competitor even in a game with little to play for on OSU’s side.

“You guys need to make up your mind,” Akey joked. “Last week, you were asking if (Gabbari Johnson) was going to start. Now, you want to know if (Ti’a) is going to start. We might start all three of them in this game, and that would be a unique personnel grouping. You could have a triple pass.”

Jokes aside, there is meaning in Saturday’s contest, Akey said. Even if it’s hard for fans or media to see it.

“Each of them have opportunities to make plays and things that they could put on tape, so they could either be invited to stay here or get invited to go to somebody’s place in the portal,” Akey said. “There’s a lot to play for there, but I would hope that the love of the game and the brotherhood that they have amongst each other, that alone should be a hell of a lot.”

Oregon State (2-9) at Washington State (5-6)

When: Saturday, Nov. 29Time: 3:30 p.m. PTWhere: Martin Stadium — Pullman, Wash.TV channel: The CWStream: You can watch this game on DIRECTV (free trial), or with Fubo (free trial). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.