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Staff Lacking “Diversity”

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I’m seeing that sentiment pop up over and over. Just say what you mean: you want to see young, dynamic, black coaches on the staff.

I do, too. Hall should be retained to coach DBs, if Smith hasn’t pissed him off and burned that bridge already. As a recruiter, he’s Heyward, lite edition.

Smith seems to be hiring coaches known for teaching rather than recruiting — that’s fine up to a degree and very important. Obviously you need both, though, to consistently play at a high level. My concern with these hires is that since Smith was a walk-on who went to a Fiesta Bowl, he might be skewed in his views toward recruiting.

237 COMMENTS

  1. First?

    Youre right, we do need recruiting, but I believe we have talent thats underperforming right now, so coaching is a more immediate need, imho.

  2. Another concern, Smith said he wanted to lock down the west coast in recruiting (a great idea); is this the staff to do that?

    Bray recruited Texas
    Tibesar doesn’t seem to have west coast ties

    The hires from Hawaii look promising.

      • I know but he recruited TX at Nebraska, he is known as a great recruiter of TX so they should continue to use those relationships if they are gonna hire him.

        Many of the other guys have west coast connections but aren’t viewed as top recruiters at all so their ties don’t mean a ton to me.

  3. These both seem like just ok hires. Coming off a bad season at UH. Brings much needed diversity but UH boards are sniping on Kefense’s talent eval and they were happy to see Legi out:

    Some quotes and a vid:

    “Now that he’s gone, I can say Kefense was a horrible elevator. So every time I heard fans hyping up his recruiting, I had to bite my tongue.”

    “I’m not surprised that Legi got picked up by OSU. He’s a good DL coach. He’s just not ready for prime time as a DC.”

    “It is interesting how the coaching carousel works in college FB. I never would thought that Legi and Kefense would be candidates for P5 programs after this year’s debacle at UH.”

    Seems mellow and laid back. Likeable
    https://youtu.be/4IbVDIqVYrE

    • They aren’t promotions and they do have some connection to Smith so not a surprise.

      I don’t put much weight on position coaches prior stops. They can influence only so much. Their success seems to be more related to the talent level so they need to be good recruiters.

      • Also Bolden came in at what: 5’8″ 160?

        Kids’s profile says 6’0″ 190, so with adjusted high school inflation of 5’10” 170.

        More college ready size wise.

      • I see no comparison to Bolden. Much more physical all around and polished as a WR than Bolden was coming in. His route running and feet are ready from day 1. He just needs to get stronger and he’ll play early.

        • His game is predicated on speed. I don’t see him making a lot of tough catches in traffic, and he’s not a big guy. He also does that run backward to try to find another hole thing that Bolden always did. He does look more physical than Bolden, so that’s a plus.

  4. “Hall should be retained to coach DBs, if Smith hasn’t pissed him off and burned that bridge already.”

    Who is to say that Smith is the bridge burner between the two? The thought is that Hall is sour after not getting head coach. He also did himself no favors for the behavior around Civil War.

  5. One thing i’m not sure of yet is if Isaiah Tufaga is a mission kid or not. He may not count towards our class total this year.
    He’s definitely LDS

  6. Seems like if Hall was being retained we’d have seen something about him. He’s been invisible which makes me think he’s being kept in stasis until the early signing period ends so we don’t lose any recruits that like him.

    • I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want a young, black coach on staff who is reportedly a good recruiter. Also with NFL ties. Unless the idea is to purge all traces of GA or they have someone much better qualified…

    • Based on Smith’s “Mr. Clean” image, I doubt he appreciated Hall’s F the ducks lingo.
      If that keeps him from offering Hall a job I think it’s a mistake in view of his recruiting potential. Would prefer Smith see the advantage of having Hall’s enthusiasm on board.

      • If the FTD lingo bothers Smith the program is already in trouble because this program needs attitude. Smith needs to embrace a little bit of his Erickson for him to succeed

        • Yes, this program needs some Erickson-like attitude, not nice guy stuff. Recent example found in the Vegas Bowl where attitude was a big part of why Bronco kicked uck.

          • I can live with unnecessary roughness penalties and trash talk, so long as the penalty yards don’t affect the outcome of the game.

            Release the hounds, coach.

      • Saying on the center of the field was unsportsmanlike, poor taste, and false bravado for a 1-win team who is 1-8 or 1-9 in the last decade of a “rivalry” game. Beat them and then maybe talk. Or beat them and act like it’s not s big deal because they aren’t a good team. The beavers need genuine confidence that’s a product of success more than they need attitude.

        • Well said; the bulletin board FTD and raincoat remark (which was innocent but gave an opening) aren’t the kind of “attitude” I favor.

          The “chip on the shoulder” manner of play in which actions on the field show (not say) we are gonna hurt you fair and square is what I’m looking for. Maybe Bray et al can bring that.

          To use Bronco’s as an example, didn’t they seem to have fun making solid tackles? And look ready for more at the finish of the play? Maybe we just need to clone Vander Esch, he played like I remember Bray back in the day.

          • Why do include the raincoat remark if it was innocent?

            It was the Ducks’ tortured logic that made that contrived butthurtedness anything remotely resembling bulletin board material.

            Fuck the Ducks and their contrived butthurtedness.

          • Simply because I see the raincoat remark as the kind of thing an experienced coach is likely to avoid. In public, most successful HC’s seem to speak of their own team and minimized their talk of upcoming opponents beyond general praise for being “well coached, etc………”

  7. I haven’t seen this mentioned before but Anthony Spurlock has decommitted.

    Spurlock out, Irish in. Seems like a better offer list for Irish, so maybe we’re better off. I wonder if we pulled the offer or what? Jonathan Smith had said they would honor all commitments, but who knows?

    • Hall could still take DB Coach which is a great fit. We’ll see what happens but would be well worth it for his recruiting and positive relationship with the players.

    • What’s worse, Riley with QBs or DBs? He’d probably teach DBs not to look for the ball…If Lindgren actually IS the OC/QB coach, then perhaps Riley’s influence is more token there and less of a negative. I don’t really like the idea of Riley coaching defense.

      • I dont really like the idea of a coordinator also being responsible for the most important position on the team. Think QBs should have their own full time coach so the OC can focus on OCing

        • I think Smith will be involved with QBs as well. Riley has coached DBs before so I am not worried about him ending up there although I am betting he ends up coaching TEs or RBs.

  8. Tweeted by Nigel Burton of Legi Suiaunoa:

    “My old DL coach when I was HC at Portland State. Great coach. Even better person. Congrats”

  9. Angry- I have a request. Could your next post be an evaluation of the staff we’ve got set up. Would love to see your analysis on the whole group.

    • That would be difficult. It’s not like watching film on a player. For example, I’m still trying to understand how Bray is considered a great coach, yet the NE LBs have been awful for several years. I know the traits of a great coach, but without film of these guys coaching and knowing the rosters of these teams it would be hard to do. I do feel most of these guys are upgrades in terms of coaching, as noted above, but I’m not sure that’s true of recruiting yet. I’ll wait and see. So I understand why people feel underwhelmed — without clearly defined recruiters we’ll have a cap on talent.

      • How about giving the coaches a star rating?
        Smith – 3 star
        Lindgren – 3 star
        Tibesar- high 3 possible 4 when USC offers him in the future
        Riley – Non preferred walk on destined to scout team
        Etc…

          • Correct, he seemed like a promising up and coming coach. It’s why I want to understand what happened with the poor LB play at NE. I know Riley happened, but what else? Was he asked to run a D that the personnel didn’t fit, etc?

            Nebby fans, chime in if you still read the site.

          • This year the excuse is that the switch to the 3-4 screwed everything up and the DC was coaching the coaches not the players. Does not explain the other two years. Well…..Banker. Nuff said.

  10. Saw that Leavitt, Arroyo and Salavea signed extensions, but no Heyward yet?
    Or did I miss something?
    We still don’t have our final D position filled. Wonder if he’s playimg OSU off UofO

    • Don’t think you missed anything. Heyward may be playing the schools against each other but with a DC already in place at both schools, things may backfire on him. OTOH, with the ucks emphasis on recruiting, along with phil’s $, maybe he’ll be happy with a big raise.

      • About the only ‘promotion’ they could give him at OSU would be recruiting coordinator or maybe pass defense coordinator.

        It is interesting he hasn’t signed an extension yet but he is ambitious so I don’t know that UO and OSU are his only opportunities. He may be looking at other options as well.

  11. Buddy of mine who is a Badger (undergrad) comes into my office today. I tell him that Wisconsin has provided da Beavs another coach and tell it better not be another GA. He proceeds to tell me that Tibesar’s brother is a pediatric ENT that my friend, who is an Oral Surgeon, works with in running a Cleft palate repair clinic at Children’s Hospital. He says he is a great guy, very smart, and very Catholic……nine kids! Another brother is big time accountant, so the family has some brains. They are from St Paul, MN. I told my friend he better work him for some connections for yours truly. What are the odds he would know somebody that would give a rip about his brother coaching at Oregon State. Perhaps that six degrees of separation is legit.

    FWIW, my take on Tibesar getting passed over last year has more to do with the guy that got the job being a former Badger walk-on that went on to play in the NFL for ten years. He would seem more likely to stick around for a while and only leave for a special opportunity. Real young guy who will be a hot commodity in a couple years, Jim Leonard.

    • I’m sure Coach Casey’s family and Coach Tibesar will see each other at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Corvallis regularly then. Really like the story about the Cleft palate repair clinic. As a father with 2 kids, it’s great having smart reliable genuine doctors who care about their patients rather than ones who appear to be know it all’s and have egos. Doesn’t sound like that’s the Tibesar family trait. We’ll see if it translates to on the field next fall. 9 months away until this team hits the field again! Go Beavs!

      • Oooh… look at you, name dropping churches and stuff.

        I actually know Marcus Tibesar through an acquaintance. He’s a corporate lawyer.

        Despite his calling, he’s a helluva kid. Don’t get caught up on job descriptions.

      • My friend works with a group called Children’s Surgery International that goes to several countries for cleft repairs. It is a great organization. The difference is that their main focus is to train the local surgeons to do the surgeries.

  12. My early signing day predictions as of right now:
    Beavs sign 12-14 players:
    3* DE-Bradley Bickler
    3* WR-Jesiah Irish
    3* OT-Jacob Levengood
    3* DT-Isaac Hodgins
    3* OT-Keishon Dawkins
    3* RB/WR-Kase Rogers
    3* TE-Isaiah Smalls
    3* OLB-Kaye Francois
    3* DB-Deshon Wilson
    3* QB-Jake Dukart
    3* LB/S-Isaiah Tufaga(possible mission candidate)
    3* LB-Halid Djibril
    3* S-Victor Terry?
    4* WR-Nikko Hall?

    Also watching about 6 different JC DLinemen and a WSU commit as potential adds for the early period.

    Just my best estimate at this time. May change slightly as signing period arrives.

  13. At the risk of triggering a few certain people here…has anyone noticed that he current GOP tax bill removes the 80% deduction for donations to college sports? I wonder how much of an effect this will have on the big money sports. It has to be a deterrent for at least some donors.

    • Who cares?

      At least the carried-interest loophole remains. Thank every GOP Congressman and POTUS for not getting rid of that beauty… in fact for not saying a word about their support for it, instead supporting it wholly with their actions… like men.

      • Anyone that has enjoyed college sports for many years, but has hated seeing the effect that big money donors have had on the sport’s landscape, that’s who.

        Between this and the decline of ESPN and TV sports contracts, there’s bound to be some belt-tightening in the next 5 years.

        • So you’re saying that big money donors won’t stop gifting now that they can’t write it off?

          This just shifts the paperwork around. They’ll give to the “student learning center” (not also known as a school), and the funds earmarked for that will shift to athletics.

          • The big money donors won’t go anywhere, they are getting plenty of tax cuts to offset any loss they take from their donation write off.

            Its the small donors who may think twice now.

          • By definition, any donors to anything small charity-wise (or treated as such) will dry up because of the standard deduction. It doesn’t take this to drive small donors away from gifting.

            Also, it looks like people in income ranges between ~$50k and ~$5m are going to get screwed in a couple years. That’s the bulk of small donors right there. If they’re smart, they’re putting their money to good use instead of wasting it on luxuries now.

    • If you want to talk about how college athletics will really be tilted, we can talk about how any capital projects will no longer have access to bond-funding. The overall college experience (and the college loan bubble itself) will be affected by the elimination of loan interest deductions.

      • Because I personally think seat licensing is a joke. So I’m not afraid to watch it go away.

        I would rather have boosters gift to the ASEF instead of let the AD choose how to spend it. Once that endowment is complete, let the AD have their cash.

  14. To be kind, the Beavs are a somewhat challenged defensive team at the moment. Knowing that the Purdue of 5 years ago or so was also a fairly shitty defensive team, I was curious to see what Tibesar did in his one year there. I know many factors go into a season, but the Boilermakers D got 57 points worse from the previous season and crossed that magical 400 points given up threshold under his tutelage in 2012. I had hoped Tibesar had a couple of tricks up his sleeve for quick improvement in tough circumstances, but apparently not in that situation. Maybe he realized it was a lost cause as they gave up another 50 points more in 2013 after he left!

    • That was the last year of the Danny Hope(less) era. Hard to judge one year and my recollection is that the style and performance of their O put a lot of stress on their D.

      • I’m assuming his K-State DC years were under Ron Prince and not Bill Snyder? If that’s the case, it looks like he had unfortunate timing at both spots, meaning Purdue and KSU.

      • Purdue actually scored 373 points that season and made a bowl game. As noted, it is hard to judge. I was hoping he had some quick fixes that he could call upon. On paper that does not look like the case, It looks more like he knew it was a cluster fuck and got out! The next season was when Purdue went 1-11 and the defense gave up almost 500 points. I’m afraid it’s going to be a slow turn for the Beavs.

  15. I’m just speculating, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Arizona Western C.C. Soph 3* DT Tristan Nichols is a silent Beaver commit. Isaiah Smalls follows him on Twitter, he only has offers from Hawaii, New Mexico and Oregon State. and he’s following only current players at his CC and a ton of Oregon State players, media and fans. So I say we have another DT coming to play immediately next year.

    https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/tristan-nichols-190934

      • I don’t think he’s officially decided what he wants to do next, but I’m counting him as gone.
        Even if he does become eligible, he still owes the NCAA a 6 game suspension for his failed drug test back at Mich State, so he’d only be around for the last 6 games in a best case scenario.
        Does he bother sticking around for that? Does OSU want to waste the scholarship spot for a guy who may or may not even become eligible?

        I would guess he goes to an NAIA school and plays his balls off and then enters the draft.

        • I sure hope 9 gets him qualified and processed. I don’t care if we only get him for half a season. We owe it to him to leave this place with something accomplished. I don’t care if he’s dumb as a doorknob, he’s been used more than he has used. And that’s why he is where he is today.

      • He’s 90% gone. If he stays he still has get eligible AND sit 6 games this year. If he transfers down a level he can get eligible and play right away. He’s also considering entering the draft.

          • I don’t have an account with Rivals, but what I did read on the available “News” section under Nichols name, looks like Smith called him and talked for 5 minutes and Jake Cookus went out to talk to him last Saturday. He’s also visited Oregon State on an official visit, his only one. Could just be that he’s been surrounded by a lot of good DT’s on his team that he got over looked. Also since he has a Hawaii offer, it could be that Coach Legi wanted him at Hawaii and decided to look into flipping him to Oregon State since there is a huge need here. I don’t think they would waste scholarships on a project like Evans. At least, I would hope not.

          • I disagree on the JC guys. It has to be a need and they have to qualify before they sign the dotted line. It should be easy to get JC guys to sign early next year, to make sure they qualify by the time the season starts. Otherwise, they need to make sure to stay on top of their studies.

          • I didn’t say sign 9 JC players…I merely stated that they have an opportunity to recruit depth at TE, OL and DL positions to allow them to recruit DB, S, LB, RB, etc every other season barring no retirees or transfers from the program.

  16. OT: Lane Kiffin signs a 10 year extension with FAU, says he’s at peace in Boca.

    We could potentially see two group of 5 teams in New Years Six bowls, in the same year, within the next decade. That would be great for the game.

    • It might happen, not sure how it is good or bad for the game. Most likely it doesn’t happen. The G5 is further behind the P5 conferences than ever and continues to fall back.

    • Only gonna happen if there’s a real play-off.

      Otherwise, Bama or tOSU are gonna get in every year they aren’t good enough to win their conferences… just like nobody else.

      I haven’t watched a BCSCG or “Play-off” game without a Pac team since 2006. It’s illegitimate as hell.

  17. Just saw this, if anybody gets a listen, would be interested in their impressions of Lindgren:

    “Offensive Coordinator Brian Lindgren will be on the Joe Beaver Show today at 12:35 p.m.”

    • Lindgren is worlds better interviewer than McGive-a-hoot. He actually has ideas and is willing to work with what he has and Smith and Riley in regards to the offense in what they want to do.

        • He discussed how it’s a joint effort between what Smith wants and what he wants. He admires Chris Peterson’s offense and loves the idea of running a similar type offense if it works for the personnel they currently have. He really likes Nall and can’t wait to use his size possibly in a full back situation. He wants TE sets at times or spread. They still don’t know what they currently have, but are waiting to see how they perform in the weight room and they will be pretty vanilla throughout spring to get their fundamentals corrected. They want to make sure they understand the concepts and schemes before they break open the playbook. Don’t overwhelm, but teach the players what they need to do. So it’s really about breaking old habits and creating new habits that will allow them to succeed.

  18. Funny, Ohio State allowed an official visitor to come into contact with the ESPN gameday crew while they were on campus, which is a no-no. They had to self reports and agree to stop recruiting that player.

    I’m almost certain Oregon allowed recruits to come into contact with media during their big Spring Game extravaganza last season under Taggart’s watch. Wonder if that ever catches up with them…

    https://www.thelantern.com/2017/12/self-reported-ncaa-violations-prevent-ohio-state-from-recruiting-5-star-prospect-micah-parsons/

    • Would be great if it did. You would have to think the media interaction has to make a highschool kid feel pretty special at that school.

    • “As such, a violation of NCAA Bylaws 13.10.1 and 13.10.2.4 occurred, as members of the media may not be present during an institution’s recruiting contact with a prospect and a prospect may not participate in team activities that would make the public or media aware of the prospect’s visit to the institution,” Ohio State’s self-violation report said.

      Doesn’t that mean that Oregon violates 13.10.1 because photos were published by JD Humbug of the Oregonian pertaining to Saturday Night Live, indicating that a member of the media was present during UO’s recruiting contact with prospects? Holy shit, there might be something there.

      http://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/index.ssf/2017/07/recruiting_oregon_ducks_add_a.html look at the photo credits.

        • Fair enough. Nothing would satisfy me more than watching the Sucks football program get sanctioned hard (aside from the Beavers winning a Rose Bowl).

          Sucks fans complaining how Beaver fans are so bitter towards them and saying it’s unjustified. The fuck it isn’t! The fact that Blount got to play in that Civil War (a game that changed the trajectory of both programs), while Heimlich was encouraged to sit for the NCAA tournament (and ultimately did), speaks volumes about the moral character of both programs.

  19. This Lindsey Schnell tweet is about the most OSU thing ever.

    Just had a nice chat with new @BeaverFootball assistant coach Mike Riley, who told me on his first day back in Corvallis — after he rode his bike to work, of course — that he got lost in the new football building

    • For fuck’s sake.

      It was so nice to be free of that fucking dope for three short years. Nothing like playing up the narrative of being podunk dipshitville.

      • I still don’t understand, I thought she got a job with SI or something? Did she get fired, never did leave Oregon or what? I think I’m resigned to the fact that I will never be rid of Riley and Schnell until I’m actually dead.

        • As a Lindsay fan (JUST KIDDING!) I seem to remember she was “let go” in an SI downsizing and continued to live in PDX. Now she does some writing for USA Today and is a regular (?) on some cable TV show which centers on the Beavs. I think Parker is on there as well.

          At any rate, safe to say the bakeries and shoe outlets around Portland are her biggest fans.

          I too, am beginning to resign myself to the thought that I’ll never be rid of her, Riley, or Parker in this life.

    • Riley’s been lost when it comes to anything football related for years.

      #notsurprising

      Oh goody! Now we get to hear and read the awesome takes from miss shoehorn herself.

      #haveanothercupcakefatass

  20. It’s hard to talk about personnel, when things like attrition have not been completed yet! Also, I haven’t heard what kind of defense we’ll be running (staying 3-4 bad mistake IMO, or going back to a 4-3, other?!). A LOT of our current OLBs have good defensive end frames for a 4-3 defense. Everyone keeps mentioning “we need DL” but more specifically, I feel we need big, athletic, DTs specifically! With the current roster, returning to a 4-3 would take some pressure off of those interior d lineman though!

    The attrition has concerned me for a while. Although I felt Nall mailed it in a little before and during the CW, losing him would be a hit to the RB depth. Then consider, AP might go now that Lockette is gone (maybe not FSU, but closer to home?)? I doubt Tyner appeals to come back when he sees what is coming back?! Johnson graduated! So that leaves us with the undersized, inexperienced Calvin Tyler only coming back? That’s scary! Things are not looking good for next season IMO but ya never know.

    Initially I was getting kind of excited about the Smith hire but I have always asked the question, what makes him special? He has a great offensive mind. Not known as a great recruiter. He’s never been a HC. And then he brought in Riley! That is where things have really derailed my excitement! The DC position was going to be the key to this incoming staff (my thoughts) but this was an underwhelming hire to me. Needed a guy with not only experience but PAC 12 experience.

    I will be watching, supporting, rooting for the Beavs but I am more skeptical than I was right after Smith got hired.

    Go Beavs!

      • Sprague said Nall has a draft day party planned. Listen to the podcast (it was alright today). If the family has a draft party planned, an NFL team must have said they’re taking him at a slot that makes financial sense.

        • He is possibly the only RB I’ve ever seen whiff so badly on a blitz pick-up that he literally ended up on his ass.

          Add insult to injury because the sack looked really painful.

          • And… who’s piling on?

            Do you have any video of Nall making sound blocks? It’s why he likely won’t be drafted by anyone whose management isn’t based in Cleveland… or maybe Indy or Oakvegas.

            If he’s a beast, the world doesn’t need to be afraid of beasts.

          • My opinion is if any kid can leave and go make big money in the nfl (big money for a kid out of college can be 6 figures) before getting hurt playing in college it is the best and smartest business decision he can make.

          • That’s a good opinion.
            It’s his life.

            I’m surprised people are bearish on Nall. He is much faster than Toby Gerhart, who is the most comparable player, and who went in the 2nd round. Dude had like a 6 career average running behind walk-on centers and shit.

          • No… I get it. If you’re a RB with talent, you go play in the NFL as soon as you can. Your window is small.

            The problem is that Nall has directly opposed his transition to anything resembling a FB, and that includes learning how to block, which is half your talent on the NFL level.

          • And it was pretty apparent when AP ran that Nall was half-assing the first several games of the season.

            AP should have started game 2 and beyond.

          • He is a beast, when he stays square to the LOS and hits the hole! When he runs parallel to the LOS (on the LOS), not such a beast. Not a great effort in the CW. If he leaves, it’s probably for the better if he’s going to decide to turn it on only when he wants (my opinion).

            Go Beavs!

          • I agree with Jack on this one. Nall was playing half speed after the first couple games, like he was just trying to not get hurt. He has very good straight line speed but is not elusive. NFL will question his effort.

  21. Re the earlier mention of how an experienced HC speaks of upcoming opponents:

    ““It’s a great lead-in to conference play because it will have the intensity of a conference game,” he said. “You know they’re excited for it based on what happened here a year ago. They are a proud program that has had a lot of success and expects to win every night. It will be a great test for us.”…..Scott Rueck

    WBB vs 9-1 UC Davis, Wednesday at Gill, 6pm livestreamed by the school.

    • I like that he recognizes that teams in the conference are shifting to smaller defensive personnel to stop the spread, suggesting that there may be an opportunity to exploit this.

      Perhaps we’ll see a few fullback blasts a game, just to beat the hell out of the opponent’s front seven. What O-lineman would not salivate at the idea of bulldozing defenders?

      • The evolution of smaller Ds has been apparent for a while. They’re just begging to be processed. Anyone with half a brain should comply.

        What I don’t get is that this evolution allows the run/pass option to even be an option because they don’t eat space like a fundamental D is taught to do. If you allow space to run, you suddenly have an option.

        Duh?

  22. Not exactly related to OP, but I was reading up on OSU’s three NCAA D1 championships. One of which was the 1961 cross country championships, which I wanted to look into since I am a huge fan of the sport. For those who don’t know, the men’s team took five runners (most teams took seven) to the championship race. Everyone laughed at Oregon State College’s Dale Story when they saw him warming up in bare feet. He shuts them up and wins the race by 11 seconds. The Beavers smoke the competition and win by 14 points ahead of San Jose State, in the November snow, at Michigan State University. They were the first team from the west coast to win a title.

    It’s satisfying that OSU won a cross country championship before Nike U did. No glitter or fancy shoes or fucking “swag”, or multimillion dollar donors/facilities. Just grit, blood, and sweat to build the brand. Sure, having the American record holder in the 2 mile on the team helps tremendously, but cross country is a team sport. The team is only as strong as its weakest link: I remember high school races where placing was determined by the last guy. Some won, some lost.

    I feel blessed to live in Corvallis, being able to take advantage of the logging roads, rolling hills, and breath-taking views. The small-town mentality gets old sometimes (particularly with Coach Bike Smiley), but stories like this make me appreciate it at times. Rubbing the championship in the face of big-name schools in big cities must have tasted delicious for those on that ’61 team.

    Perhaps one day the men’s programs will return to Corvallis, and be fortunate enough to train in some of the most beautiful spots in the nation. I would love to go to the meets, as I already do for the women’s team. Hopefully they will build their brand the blue-collar way, like their predecessors did.

    First things first though, OSU needs a goddamn Rose Bowl appearance.

    http://portlandtribune.com/component/content/article?id=99305

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