I just want to say, I actually like the staff KS has assembled so far, and will like it more if either KHJ or Hall end up taking one of those last spots.
Cookus appears to be busting his ass in recruiting, helping make up for the lack of support staff the past few weeks. He’s one of the hire I was hesitant about, but so far so good.
We seem to have a good mix of veteran coaches and youthful coaches. For the most part, they seem to be football nerds, which I like.
The only criticism I have, of course, is Riley.
I went through those Ron Callan videos yesterday and every assistant appeared to be thoughtful and professional in their interviews, and then I got to Riley and he’s laid back, wearing sweat pants, with his legs crossed. He just gave off that “I’m just happy to be here” vibe. I get the sense that it’s already mission accomplished for him. He got the job he wanted, now all he needs to do is show up to work and that will be good enough.
I’d guess 90% of people who read AB feel that way.
The staff seems good but not sexy hires at all. I think they’re going for a BSU model of high IQ football and quality coaching. It should be interesting.
It’s basically the model that worked when we built up the baseball and wbb programs. Neither Casey or Rueck were sexy hires at the time, but they both were able to make the most of what they had to work with and eventually the better talent started coming around.
Long way to go of course Hopefully this rebuild project doesnt implode 3 years in like the last one.
It took Casey 9-10 years to get to the NCAA tourney. Although the improvemenet wasn’t drastic in the win column each year (+5wins). Football is harder to coach up due to less games, and more turnover in the coaching ranks – or maybe my perspective is skewed, but there is a lot more money quickly in football, so coaches more likely to bail. Hope theses coaches can stick around for 4+ years if we see +2-3 wins each year.
Actually Blackbandits, a Smith (Fiesta, Pac 12 championship, playoffs) – Riley (Sun and Alamo) average is probably a Holiday Bowl, which I’d attend and enjoy…
Found a short interview with Tim Tibesar from Wisconsin on signing day 2016.
He talks about what he looks for when recruiting kids. First few qualities he mentions are academics, football IQ and mental toughness, aside from the physical aspects. In other words, he doesn’t just look for the best athletes. He’s more interested in guys who know how to play the game or who can at least be coached easily.
Not ripping your post NiceBeaver just giving an opinion here;
That’s all typical coach speak. Clune said a lot of the same things as did CGA. Hell, even Riley 2.0 talked about some things that needed to change on defense but they never did. Talk is cheap! Most coaches will talk about how; important technique is, football IQ, understanding the game holistically as well as knowing the scheme.
When it comes down to it though, whether a team is winning on the scoreboard or not, someone who knows what they are looking for will be able to tell if a team is well coached or not. There are A LOT of people on these forums that come on and say; that QB needs to improve his footwork or that DB has poor technique yet you rarely to never hear any of those same people come on and tell you specifically what’s wrong with the QB’s footwork? What specifically needs to be corrected with that DB’s “technique”!
Hell, if I asked those “experts/evaluators”, first, what technique all defensive lineman are suppose to be aligned in (individually) for a base 4-3 defense, I strongly doubt they’d know. Even if they did, then I would ask what the defensive lineman are suppose to do at the snap of the ball on a base playcall (no pass rush) there would be hardly/if any people on any of these forums that would know, especially some of these “experts”. So then you have to ask yourself…. how are these “experts” “evaluating” players when they don’t even know what the hell they’re looking for?
You don’t need a degree in communication to know someone is bad at communicating consistently; the current sitting President being an example everyone unanimously agrees on.
I don’t consider myself an expert or talented at evaluating football players. I never played the sport nor am I a coach.
A bad tackle is a bad tackle however. Many bad tackles in one game could be excused by a number of factors. Many games with bad tackles points to a significant set of underlying problems.
Are those problems limited to bad coaching, bad players, bad scheme? Even knowledgeable experts will disagree about which factors are influencing things most; they are after all, like us, not on the inside.
Wanted to add that “being on the inside” by no means gives you a superior or better perspective on what the causes of an issue may or may not be. It does offer some advantages. An outside perspective can be of benefit because it is not constrained by the particulars.
I agree NiceBeaver (like the name btw, Naked Gun?)
I loved the first 2 hires JS made (QB/OC and OL). Both solid position coaches, from 2 different PAC 12 programs. Good hires. The Riley was hired and was, “here we go again”. I was talking to a coach who I used to coach with last night about the Riley hire. He played for Riley and knows him well. He talked about Riley basically staying away from conflict (hence one of the reasons he kept certain staff members for so long possibly?). And we both agreed that Smith was showing a bit of apprehension as a new HC by bringing him on staff.
But there is also the mindset and attitude/culture that is coming back with Riley (that the admin. seems to either want or is oblivious to) and that is the mindset that “average is ok”! And the whole scenario of complaining about things like the Ducks and all their money/ facilities versus embracing what you have! Owning it and figuring out how to make the best of what you have while getting rid of this “average or mediocre” is ok, mindset. And other schools are just better because of their facilities, funding, etc. Did JS just bring that back to Corvallis by bringing Riley back? Well, if history has anything to say about it, it sure looks like it. That is disappointing to me.
I would really like to have seen JS take this up on his own and maybe use Riley and Erickson as consultants outside the program. It would have and still will be a very tough rebuild. And those who think we’ll do much better (record wise) than this season, are in for a big surprise. You can paint stripes on a horse and try to call it a zebra but the fact of the matter is, that it’s still a horse!
You nailed the mindset aspect. The Riley avoiding conflict comment seems quite believable and would explain him firing his buddy Banker over the phone.
Agree that this is going to be a slow, painful rebuild and losing Petras, a kid who could possibly elevate the offense just makes the process longer.
for the third or fourth time, I need to point out that Riley did not fire Banker. The Athletic Director exercised his independent authority to fire Banker. Once he signed the letter it fell to Riley to let his old pal know what had happened. Few have been harder on Riley in this forum than me but in this case, ironically, Riley is getting a bad rap. He was loyal to Banker to the end. That not his loyalty to an assistant was a higher duty than his loyalty to his employer’s program . . . .
He’s getting a bad rap because he did it over the phone. That’s a shitty way to treat anyone, and standing your ground to an AD who was clearly on his way out would have probably upped his likability quotient with Nebby fan. As it was, it destroyed his credibility.
On the professional side, you don’t fire someone who is on the road, working for you. That’s an inane method. He can go straight to a bar and start mouthing off, just as an example.He’s not given direction or signed any paperwork. But he has a newfound freedom on your dime. You’re still responsible for his actions even though you think you’ve detached yourself professionally.
Once again, there should be easy to follow best practices in place for firing someone that even the most green of management can find and follow. Firing over the phone is something that happens when you get a no-call/no-show employee, because those are the people who have earned that disrespect.
But can we really be surprised by this? We’re talking about a guy who quit over the phone. It’s not a surprise that his disrespect for employees is the same as it is for his employers.
I agree on Riley’s attitude. He’s coasting. And the less defined his job is and the longer it takes to define it, the more comfortable he’ll become and the worse it is for the program. People who have real job responsibilities eventually tire of those who don’t, its bad for an organization. If you hire somebody, they have to have a job, a role, assignments, deliverables. If he has none of those things, he’d dead weight and needs to be jettisoned.
I really hope Smith hires a DC with P5 experience. I think the OC and OL hires are intriguing and likely productive and the DC hire needs to meet or exceed those hires in terms of experience.
And in all seriousness, is it too late to get out of the Ohio State game and schedule a more manageable contest? This team has been through a lot the last year. There is some talent, not a lot of depth, and they need some positive experiences.
We hired a DC. OLB coach from Wisconsin. Has been a DC at KSU and Purdue. Good hire IMHO.
No way we get out of the tOSU game. If anybody can go, the whole experience is awesome and depressing at the same time.
I don’t know how or why I forgot that hire…I like it because I think he’ll appreciate the opportunity and work hard to prove himself. I also like the coaches he’s worked under and that he brings an outside perspective.
Maybe he can also help the team get ready for the Horseshoe (as much as possible anyway, probably few experiences compare to it).
I think at the end of the day Riley will just be a position coach. Smith has surrounded himself with some smart, young energetic guys that want to prove themselves. I think the only problem I see is if the media keep running to Riley for information because they know him. I could see Smith having to put a stop to that. Other than that concern I feel optomistic. I really like this staff.
Maybe an overreaction, but I get tired of the “just a position (or assistant) coach” thing. MR holds the title of Assistant HEAD Coach. That, along with his time as HC and his slobbering media contacts makes his influence and visibility so much more than a (mere?) position coach.
IMO ObjCritic hit the nail on the head in the post above at 7:54. I fear the rest of the staff will, over time, become demoralized by Riley’s presence and his “go along to get along” attitude.
I have only a small amount of hope that JS learned enough from Petersen that he will, indeed, reign in or even jettison Saint Mike.
Maybe an overreaction, but I get tired of the “just a position (or assistant) coach” thing. MR holds the title of Assistant HEAD Coach. That, along with his time as HC and his slobbering media contacts makes his influence and visibility so much more than a (mere?) position coach.
IMO ObjCritic hit the nail on the head in the post above at 7:54. I fear the rest of the staff will, over time, become demoralized by Riley’s presence and his “go along to get along” attitude.
I have only a small amount of hope that JS learned enough from Petersen that he will, indeed, reign in or even jettison Saint Mike.
I think JS is going to set the tone. He has high expectations. He views Chris Peterson as his mentor, not Riley. Riley has a lot of contacts and JS wants to use that. I think it will be alright, but I could be wrong.
Wait… you’ve done this before, but you were more obtuse at that time.
Are you intimating that Nikegon is in Springfield?
That’s so hilarious! I mean, that’s so funny I peed myself. Well, I pee myself regularly, but when something this funny is so readily apparent, it’s a full stream. Congrats on being the most clever insult comic on the planet.
I mean… I know where boundaries are for everything, because I need to know what governing body does what for each individual site.
But what are you thinking? Are you thinking you can make up something and pass it off nonchalantly as true? I personally know the family who owned all the land that was between Springfield and Autzen… at one time. The rest was a landfill, not that you didn’t know.
I’d grade Smith’s staff as a b minus. Hiring Riley is a huge strike. He’ll be looming over every decision made and the media will be giving him an inordinate amount of attention.
For some reason, Cookus as special teams coach feels odd to me. He’s a wildcard in terms of coaching and recruiting. Felt like a buddy hire than a well vetted search.
Every other hire is ok. All need to step up in recruiting.
The only thing I would like to see Smith do is make changes when needed. If DC or OC isnt working, make the call and find a new person.
Under the old regime, Cookus was going to be hired as the 11th full time coach after January. Now, I think he partially benefitted from knowing Smith as well as having the ability to add some continuity in recruiting.
Have heard criticism of his coaching abilities from last year, but hard to measure it because he wasn’t fully in charge of any specific group and was a “quality control” guy.
Helps with NW recruiting as well as Hawaii, since he used to work there.
In the spirit of recruiting, I absolutely love this!
Rich Bartel? @CoachRichBartel
“I’m so far beyond blessed to receive my 57th offer from this school I’d never really consider, but most of y’all would give your left nut for. I’d also like to say I’m the most humble person I know. Check out my candid Heisman selfies below in every uniform. I’m the greatest!!!”
Anyone have an informed opinion of Mike McDonald, JS’s hire as Head Football Strength and Conditioning Coach?
BTW: I note that nike u still shows Irele Oderinde (of ucks to the hospital fame) as their Head Football Strength Coach (no “conditioning” in that title).
Nope but I’m sure there will be the usual fluff stories about how the players weren’t lifting and conditioning right but now they are setting records in the weight room.
On what kind of offense Lindgren will employ at OSU: “In general, we strive to be balanced. We want to be able to run the ball. It starts with the physicality element up front. I’m thrilled to have Jim (Michalczik, the offensive line coach) with me. I have a great deal of respect for him and the offensive lines he has had. If you establish the run game, that opens up everything for you. You have to tweak your offense to fit the personnel you have. We’ll start with some general concepts Coach Smith and I are comfortable with. Then, as we get to know the personnel better as we go through the spring, the offense will take a turn to fit their strengths.”
…
On what Lindgren prefers in his quarterback: “I like a guy who can run, but the first thing is, they have to be able to throw. The mental makeup is somebody who has a moxie about the way he carries himself. A good leader. Doing the right things off the field. If you set the standards for the offense, that’s a huge thing. I want a guy who can throw the ball accurately, has good touch. And if you can find someone who can run the ball and do some things with their legs when things break down, that’s a bonus.”
He probably likes his potential. He has the look of a QB, but he was a gun slinger because the previous regime seemed to feel that was what our offense should be. Nowhere in the interviews have I seen gun slinger and deep ball used.
I would have a real issue if we hired a coach who came in and trashed our current players. Even if Luton isn’t good (I believe he is far better than Angry gives credit for) it would be very unprofessional and pretty irresponsible if he said to media or anyone that he didn’t like a player or didn’t think they were any good
Find me a quote from any point in history where a new coach was asked about one of his players and he didn’t compliment him. Every QB in D1 has some skill that is likeable and that’s what the coach will say. Every time. Even saying “we’re looking to upgrade” as you suggest would be an insult to a current player and a horrible way to start his tenure.
Says who? Everyone here who read our suggestion of saying “we’re looking to upgrade” can see through that. The players could too. So like it or my these are his player last for the foreseeable future and he’s supposed to alienate them before practice #1?
Hi everyone, I’m the reader angry mentioned that emailed Barnes and got a response. The only edits I’ve made are that I’ve removed my real name (I used my real name with Scott so he knows I’m not just some random troll, but would rather not have every AB user knowing my real identity), which is denoted by a pseudonym in square brackets; otherwise, the email is directly copy-pasted as follows. Scott’s email to me comes first, followed by my original email to him:
———
Dear Mr [Doe],
I am troubled and disappointed by your email . I will make the assumption that you have not been a donor or season ticket holder since graduating form OSU in 2016. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Beaver nation couldn’t be more excited about Jonathan Smith’s return . When I hired coach Smith I entrusted him to put together an excellent staff that would compliment his amazing attributes and assist in building and sustaining the long term success of our football program. So let me ask you if you supported my decision to hire coach Smith? If not , so be it. However, if you honestly supported the hire then why wouldn’t you support his decisions? In my evaluation of coach Smith’s assistant hires I can confidently tell you that he has been excellent and coach Riley is no exception. His return as a position coach brings significant value to our program. His skill as an position coach and recruiter has been proven time and time again at every level. He was offered two other power five opportunities because he is so highly respected but chose OSU because he is committed to finishing his career here.
Mr [Doe], not supporting our new football coach because you don’t agree with one hire is an easy out for you . Frankly it suggests your lack of commitment to our Student Athletes, Beaver nation and to your Alma Mater.
I hope you will reconsider.
Scott Barnes .
Scott Barnes.
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 20, 2017, at 9:18 PM, [John Doe] wrote:
Greetings Mr. Barnes,
I am absolutely appalled by the decision of yourself and Johnathan Smith to hire back Mike Riley. After the way he abandoned us not once, but twice, and ran our football program into the ground, I find your decision to rehire him highly suspect. Until Mike Riley is removed from this program (for good this time), I promise you that you will not see a dollar of support from me. I will not buy any tickets, any fan gear, or make any donation to Oregon State University of any kind until Mike Riley is permanently removed from this program, and never allowed back.
Regards,
[John Doe], OSU class of 2016.
————–
I found his response to be mostly dismissive of me, and the opinions of many fellow Beaver fans who feel that Riley is not what’s best for this football program. While he is correct I am not a current season ticket holder or donor, I have bought tickets to athletics events in the past, and I have bought merchandise in the past, too.
I cannot, however, support the athletics program in good faith so long as Riley–a man who not only is a mediocre coach, but has abandoned his supposed favorite college town twice now–continues to suck the money and life out of this football program. I was tentative about the Smith hire, but willing to give him a chance. I feel Riley’s hire shows a lack of direction from the athletics department, and a return to mediocrity that I cannot accept.
What did you expect? First off I’m not even sure this is real… but you tell him you’re “appalled” by his decisions…then say it’s highly suspect… when you say things like that do you expect people to say sorry? Beg for forgiveness? Get real
Simple, A@A: He should have acknowledged the sentiment, though disagreed with, and give just the positive stuff on Riley with hopes for reconsidering stance and donations. Leave the attacking, fanshaming statements out. PR 101: Don’t attack the fanbase or donor/potential donor base.
So he acknowledges the sentiment and hired him anyway which then you guys would say he knows he did something the fan base doesn’t like and did it anyway…?
Who the fuck cares. Throwing so much shade at the team you are a fan or, the school you are an alma mater is comical. It doesn’t matter what Barnes did, y’all jump all over him for not responding to email, and the one time he does you nit pick and analyze every sentence. Wanting to shame him on twitter? Are you fucking serious? Are you twelve?
If you were to put in half the energy in taking down the backed by evidence shady ducks as you do in slandering our own athletic department, the programs to the south would have he death penalty in all sports.
That’s the funny thing, the only thing you have tangible evidence on from a credible source, you are too much of a pussy to do anything about it.
Why do you constantly act as if being professional is something a professional doesn’t need to do?
He could have said, “I’m sorry to hear this from one of our own. I fully support Coach Smith and the decisions he makes, and I hope you will one day find it in your heart to do the same. As always, Go Beavs.”
Instead he got, “I’ll bet you don’t even give enough money for me to care what the fuck you think. But I do for some reason, and I’ll make up a bunch of lies and mix them with extraneous facts about Mike Riley to prove it. You’re a terrible Beaver fan.”
“I will make the assumption that you have not been a donor or season ticket holder since graduating form OSU in 2016.”
Wow, really? Quite an assumption to make, even if he had a comprehensive donor list, as some people donate anonymously. That sentence also has no relation to the rest of the email, and only serves as an attempt at fanshaming.
“He was offered two other power five opportunities because he is so highly respected but chose OSU because he is committed to finishing his career here.”
You hear that, folks? Riley is “committed to finishing his career here.” I’ll bet – after he bolts out of the blue for another job AGAIN, and the administration at OSU hires him after he flames out AGAIN. But when Riley bolts, remember to dig up this email for lulz.
“Mr [Doe], not supporting our new football coach because you don’t agree with one hire is an easy out for you . Frankly it suggests your lack of commitment to our Student Athletes, Beaver nation and to your Alma Mater.”
Frankly, Barnes’ response suggests a lack of understanding the degree to which a lot of Beaver fans hate the hire.
The only thing that might possibly suggest to me it’s not real is the fact he got a response! I didn’t get one when I wrote after the CWS, and apparently neither did Angry. So at least the AD is moving in the right direction, I guess.
Nope! I’d still like to know how Greg Street was behind the plate for that game. Even if it was random NCAA rules, Barnes should be petitioning to change them.
He clearly read it. Didn’t want to respond. Then accidentally responded being a douche to someone else. Lol.
It’s ageism and a clear sign that trouble is ahead – young alumni are the future of the athletic department. If they want to dismiss a younger alumnus, then they are dismissing a future donor.
Barnes is a massive asshole, plain and simple. Not the first time he’s been dismissive to someone and unfortunately it won’t be the last. He has no social graces.
Haha you sound like a whiny little bitch. You didn’t even deserve to be dismissed, I’m surprised he responded at all. Try talking like that to anyone and see if you get anything different. I did get something out of this though: a nice hearty laugh :)
My thoughts on the Riley leaving after the 2014 season goes something like this:
He didn’t sell his house, he knew he wasn’t getting any younger. He didn’t want to wait his contract out. So he was able to get an ‘out with OSU’ by taking another HC job at another P5 university. He knew he, and in hindsight, GA too, had OSU on the hook for major buyouts. These guys weren’t able to handle a rebuild again, especially Riley and company. Riley does want what’s best for OSU. When I met Riley in person in the fall of 2014 for the first time, he looked like a tired, worn out coach who didn’t have the energy and excitement as a HC at OSU anymore. He talked to a group of us about the future VFC and how there was talk to renovate it, but acted like it wasn’t part of his future even before the season began. It was almost like he knew the 2014 season would be his last one at Resr Stadium. He took a HC job that would prevent a buyout and allowed the beavs to choose a new coach. We got GA. An unknown coach that wanted to come out west. GA’s hire reminds me of when I took an Asst Manager job to get into management at a small town, but knew I may or may not be happy there. It was my only chance to get where I wanted it go, branch manager. So I took it thinking I could change the culture and mindset. When I realized I couldn’t, I got a new job and helped fill the role with someone new to the branch, but occupied the same role elesewhere. My point of this story and Anecdote is to state that maybe Riley had hoped to come back as an assistant and doesn’t want to be HC but be a part of the rebuild process at OSU and like Barnes said, finish out his coaching career at OSU.
Incorrect. If Riley wanted what was best for OSU, he would stay a double-quitter and not ask to be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the school for which he can’t find the time to have any loyalty.
I just don’t understand the limp morals of the small-timers. I can not wrap my head around disloyalty being rewarded to any degree, let alone being rewarded with the welfare check we’re signing for him.
It’s like explaining to a child that a sexual predator who was bron with a silver spoon up his ass is POTUS because a bunch of racists (what race is… is beyond me) bought his shitty, pretend rhetoric.
This is an odd place to happy holiday someone. I’m talking about Dumbass here. The floozy nominated people to be judges who couldn’t even spell the word law.
Forgive me if your Happy Holidays blurb is considered disingenuous or, to be put in context, entirely derelict.
Good for him, I hope he succeeds. I still don’t think he will go before the fifth round. But it’s the best idea in terms of getting a chance to play in the nfl.
Again. it could be one of the small-timers trolling.
It’s how they think.
I apologize to Pollyanna’s author for first misusing his character’s persona then calling the small-timers by that monicker. I bought into that. I was wrong. They are just small-timers.
I love Ken Goe…….last two titles of his articles……”Riley won’t hurt OSU” and “Nothing to see here (regarding Duck violations). I mean, he might end up being right, but he’s such a transparent little shit.
Smith said he’d like to diversify the way All is used, including FB. I think that could be good for his NFL goals, even if he wants to be a RB in the NFL. I think being a (big) utility back with fewer, but impact carries/passes would be a better role than trying to be a main RB. I don’t think he’ll run away from so many people in the NFL as he does now. The contact will be harder and the yards after maybe not so easy…
Any idea where he might transfer? Say he gets a “stay in school” recommendation from the NFL, where might he like to go?
You threw a fit. He told you to quit your bitching and trust that Jonathan Smith knows more about what he’s doing than you (he does) so you ran to the small corner of the internet that would give you a big hug and tell you what you wanted to hear. This reminds me of when Scotty asked Scott Barnes to investigate NCAA baseball because his favorite team didn’t win the championship and was upset he didn’t get a response. You fools make me laugh
Even though I somewhat agree with Barnes on his big point about trusting Smith, that is a ridiculous e-mail response and shows Barnes should not be AD.
Listening to the JB Show podcast from yesterday. They say they’re tired of talking about Riley, yet they are slobbering all over Riley with no prompting, just a few minutes into the show. Smh.
It won’t end, just like with GA getting compared with Riley. Riley s return makes him the jumping off point of every football comment coming out of Parkers mouth. Sadly even if Riley was fired tomorrow, every JS decision would be compared to his similar decision or non-decision at some point in the football past. He’s now beaver football’s version of herpes.
More in hour 2. I’m about to explode listening to these flawed arguments promoting Riley. They pull out his CFL record from about 30 years ago. WHO CARES WHAT HE DID IN THE CFL 30 FREAKING YEARS AGO?! He sucked in recent years, and that’s what matters. I don’t get to coast at work, start tanking the company, and then say “but look what I did 10 years ago!”
No wonder GA went nutty and drank himself out of here. He was surrounded by Riley apathy every day he was in Corvallis.
One thing nobody talks about is the balls it takes for Riley to walk back in and coach some of the very same kids he recruited to come to OSU, only to walk out on them in 2014.
We’ll never get to hear the honest thoughts from those players, but I know if a player decided to transfer out from OSU, but then tried to come back as a grad transfer, they wouldn’t be given the time of day. Riley essentially is doing the same thing and all anybody can say is “he’s a great man”
The CFL? Please. Add in the fact both of those championships happened almost 30 fucking years ago. Let’s examine all of the championships Riley has won as a head coach, shall we?
Other than the above mentioned Grey cups, crickets. Average coach that is stubborn with zero innovation.
I’d be curios to see what Winnipeg’s records were the few years before Riley. Is it entirely possible he lucked into a Golden State type situation? You or I could probably coach the Warriors to a championship.
C’mon angry, how are you turning to Grey Cup championships in a 4 year span while coaching in a professional football league into a negative?
I don’t have time to go looking, but Riley actually used the Grey Cups as an oblivious answer to some loss early this past season. It was possibly the saddest Riley-ism ever, until OSU became his punchline.
Did he really? Haha. Grey cup…hahah. That’s a glorified participation award considering there’s almost a 25% chance of making the finals in Canadian football.
Really just the distraction alone of Riley returning for a third time should have been enough to make JS say no. It does make me question Smith’s decision making a little or else since I love a good conspiracy, he was “forced” to accept Riley by the sinister forces (alumni over 65 years old). Riley is not a good enough coach to make this a necessity hire. In the long run it may not do any damage, but it might.
Well you gotta admit he appears to have some sort of mystical powers, he can even ignore a gang rape and still get the woman who was abused to come around to liking him many years later.
I listened to the JB show also. It is wearisome to hear it continue. Without trying to promote Riley, they promote Riley. Without trying to eclipse JS, they eclipse JS with Riley. It is exactly THE issue of Riley being back inside VFC. He is going to overshadow anything JS accomplishes from the start. Lazy media already has given their attitude and strategy which is to push a pro-Riley story whenever and however they can.
I tire of the obvious contradiction that it is difficult to recruit to Corvallis, however, Riley has always been a great recruiter. This seems to be revisionist history of the first order. Without Gilstrap, Riley struggled to evaluate and bring in the correct 2* diamonds. He never got the 4*/5* guys because he rarely tried. Low hanging fruit was the order of the day. Riley recrutiting was defined with projects, undersized, potential, acceptance of the constant eventual flipping of the better recruits away from OSU. This is the Riley experience.
Derek Andersen, Steven Jackson were DE recruits. Somehow I think Riley even gets some credit for these guys.
College football has changed so much in 20 years, but all we have is the Riley experience to show for those years. Now the media tells us to be happy we have our “JoePa of the West”, and he is as good as it will ever get. At least GA gave us 3 years without being lectured about Riley’s greatness.
Riley has spun a web and cast a spell over the older alumni, internal Athletic Dept staff and local media. It is a Herculean effort to break such a spell, and I am beginning to think it will not be broken. OSU is probably doomed to the depths because Riley has insured the accepted outlook, and JS is unlikely to succeed because of this fatal decision at the beginning of his tenure.
Riley’s presence is already a distraction because JS has had to speak about it in interviews, press conferences, media availabilities. Barnes is touchy about it, Parker has defended the hire daily, Goe et al are openlyproclaiming MR as a great coach, mentor, and its no big deal, we should be quiet.
I think Riley’s mystique is a lot of urban legend stuff that has simply been repeated by people who just like him and think he is too nice of a guy to be criticized. His track record isn’t splendid, he is just a really nice guy so we should leave him alone. All of his flaws have been mentioned, but my frustrations is the idea that he has some right to be back because he built it up in the first place, which is also false.
The voices who oppose MR are being told to be quiet because it is a bad look for the fanbase/program and we are doing harm to JS efforts to rebuild OSU football. It actually reveals the problem within the OSU fanbase as far as expectations, they don’t want to win or expect to win.
GA was an unexpected swing for the fences hire that looked like it might work. It failed, But why stop swinging for the fences and settle for a bunt. I hate the idea that the only effort to hire someone other than MR ended in disaster. Flawed logic says that any non RIley hire equals disaster, and this is the flawed logic of too much of the fan base, reinforced by the media.
I wish they had abandoned the entire Riley tree/players/coaches and gone with a fresh start/blank slate, but that plays into the other myth that you have to know OSU. Why? Because you have to be ready to accept a loser mentality to be there? I am about finished with OSU football. I think I will observe from afar, not care because OSU doesn’t want me to care.
A lot of rambling thoughts, but it is just loser college football afterall.
Hope all of you ABs have a Merry Christmas and thank you for all of the entertaining reading over the past year.
Somehow Riley can coach a top 20 type program to their worst season in 55 fucking years and the Oregon media pretends it didn’t exist. Nice work if you can get it. Riley is in a business with a lot of weirdos, assholes and egos, He did figure out that if he treated the media with politeness and courtesy he was going to get a lot of leverage out of that and it has turned out to be true.
angry you trash Luton cuz he’s a “gunslinger” and we need a “game manager”… Luton has shaky pass protection and still completed at a higher % than your favorite QB ever this year.
Luton teamed with any coach is not a good combo…I still get pissed when I think about GA and his staffs decision to start luton over MM…MM would have gotten us at least 4 or 5.wins last year…luton just isn’t a d1.QB.but you know that Riley is slobbering over that 6’6″ frame and “rocket arm.”. If luton is the only option for QB….it’s going to be ugly again next year.
What part of my post is false? Luton sucked and MM led his conference in QB passing efficiency rating while leading FSU to a 9 win season. Luton couldn’t connect on simple swing passes while MM threw for over 2K yards 64% completion 4:1 TD to interception ratio …all after being in a new system just two weeks before season started. Can’t argue with those performance metrics.
Luton was in a new system too… he didn’t exactly have a supporting cast around him. GA meddled with the offense too much. 2,000 yards…. what is that, 180 a game? Wow he must have received heisman votes for sure.
It’s the MWC. That’s a conference that made Garretson look good.
Other than that, you’re going to have to source your claim on QB passing efficiency. I can find Passing QBR and Total QBR, and both tell me you like to make up stuff… like how 61% is 64%… and how 3.5 TD/INT ratio is magically four (and that’s if you’re truly impressed with his two TDs against Incarnate Word, which lifts his ration above 3).
That’s a neat story, but he started four games in which he was not responsible for a score of any kind. And he doesn’t need to learn a whole playbook, because he can’t make all the throws. So don’t give me any of this “learning a new system” crap. Many basic plays are similar anyway. Only the language changes.
I’m sure Fresneck fan is still hoping he doesn’t declare for the draft.
Regardless, once he quit on OSU, any argument that he would have magically won more games than he did for OSU is irrational at best. The only comparable moment was when he performed against UW’s third string for a full half, as compared with our QB’s performance against their third string at the very end of that game.
Once he quit, he gave up any claim to anything involving OSU… including imaginary wins.
Riley’s camp has now leaked that Chip Kelly and Paul Chryst offered him gigs and those are the ones he was mulling over. Honestly this could be true. This is now being used as the justification for hiring Riley at Oregon State. Well if he’s good enough for Chip and Paul surely he’s good enough for O’l OSU. Ignoring that with all of Riley’s history here and that he is joining the staff of a rookie head coach that he recruited creates an ENTIRELY different dynamic.
I think it’s telling that they feel the need to float this information of there (if it’s accurate). At least it’s recognized from the Smith camp that there are people who think enough is enough with Riley. It’s a low bar right now, two wins next year and they’ve doubled this season. Two or three years down the road should give us enough information.
Defensive… kind a like when you rip Luton for being a gunslinger, then get reminded that your perfect Game managing QB had a lower completion % while playing for a good coach and all you can do is say is my head is buried in my ass?
Noted: A@A thinks Riley and Luton are better than Tedford and McMaryion.
We’ll see how that plays out. Lol
Sample size Bro
Right? Luton played 3 games. Put up the highest completion % vs PSU. Threw 3 INTs vs Co State and should have thrown at least 4 that game. McM and Tedford won their conference. OSU won 1 game. Lol.
Look at A@A deflect instead of put his opinion in writing. Gave him all the opportunity in the world to clear up what his point was (It was what I said: he thinks Riley and Luton are better — proven by the fact he can’t clarify the garbage he wrote). When the only opinion you’ve ever committed to is “McM will never start for OSU” I can understand being trigger shy. He’ll come back after the fact with the 1% of predictions I get wrong, though.
Your opinion of Riley and Luton being better than Tedford and McM is noted.
Also, stop thumbing up your own posts. It’s unbecoming.
Bike Smiley is a completely different monster than this piddly QB difference of opinion.
Bikey deserve no quarter from real Beavs… those who have never wavered in any capacity come hell or high water. And we have one of the foremost research facilities for high water in the world.
So hell can go fuck itself.
Scott Barnes is a luddite who needs to fire himself, because anyone who allows Bike Smiley to be on an OSU payroll after his EXTREME DISLOYALTY TOWARD OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY should really just not work for OSU.
I think that Isaiah has been working on Henry to become a beaver. I think he could play immediately and be an impact player so long as he stays academically eligible and stays out of trouble le.
Well, if those “experts” are worth a shit, he’s going to Texas Tech. Of course, I’m sure they’ll quickly change their predictions as soon as he commits to OSU.
Angry, since there seems to be only random reply features on certain comments, I guess I will respond down here?
Yes, of course I saw Luton play. Do you have a specific reason why you don’t like Luton is what I was asking?
If this is strictly about the McMaryion deal, that’s not Luton’s fault for one. And it’s over now. McMaryion has the best collegiate QB coach in America working with him now and he is in an easier conference, he made the right choice, good for him.
Luton brings a completely different skill set and has a higher ceiling than any of the QBs on the roster. What specifically do you not like about Luton?
I think Luton’s struggles this year were much more about coaching than quarterbacking. As noted his OSU completion % was pretty good. We asked a raw QB to do way too much, with awful game plans and a completely dysfunctional offense. I’m cautiously optimistic that Luton could have a good senior season in him.
Of course, legitimate competition to push him would be a good thing, and prudent.
I think he could do much better if the scheme and play calling were better and more run balanced. The play calling was atrocious.
I think with the scheme Smith likes, the reads would be simple and should cut down on his mistakes. Some of his throws are real frustrating, he often throws behind on crossing routes despite his height, ability to see the field, and arm strength. He did it in practice film and in games.
The other thing about him is he said “I’m never not going to try and make a play.” (Gunslinger mentality). He needs to understand that if the options are a sack, a risky pass/likely INT, or throwing it out of bounds, that throwing it out of bounds IS the play in that context. Put a haptic device or shock collar on him and train him on that….
With his completion percentage in the low-mid 60s, I think if they could get him to a 3:1 TD:INT ratio he’d be fine for the most part. He’s never going to be a ridiculously efficient as Petras was in HS at 50:2 or something insane like that.
Yes, of course I saw Luton play. Do you have a specific reason why you don’t like Luton is what I was asking?
Decision making. He threw into coverage so many times in his limited playing time. As mentioned, vs Co State he should have throw at least 4INTs (one a clear drop right to the D). There was another pass that was questionable in that game and a better D would have intercepted that, too. Co State had a weak secondary, too (not sure their final figures, but that was the reputation going into the game, and Luton helped their season figures, whatever they were).
The other thing: he was brought in to throw the deep ball, but that was actually his worst pass. The only pass he could throw with any consistency was a 10 yard crossing route.
Finally, with his larger sample in JC, he showed poor completion %. No P5 schools offered him. I do think he is D1, but a lower level school. Idaho was actually a better fit.
Can he be coached up with a better staff? Yes, but there’s a limit on that. I think a best case for Luton looks something like 2003 D.A with a 1:1 TD to INT ratio. A ton of yards but not efficient or smart. Leaves a lot of plays on the field, leave the field shaking the head at missed opportunity, etc. As fans fall for the lure of the arm/potential (much like they feel for the hurdle). I hesitate to even bring up DA because now people will say “Oh, you don’t like an NFL caliber QB” and go off on that tangent. I’m saying he is similar to DA, and that inefficient style doesn’t do it for me.
Luton will be fine. He only played in 4 FBS games and the speed of the game from even the FCS to FBS level is much, much different. That takes adjustment time and to be fair, Luton did not have much help this season by anyone; coaches, offense or defense or much time to completely adjust. All of his issues are very coachable/fixable. People are calling out his decision making, but I would disagree. Even in his first game against CSU, he did a good job a majority of the time scanning through progressions and checking the ball down when needed (that’s why his comp % was higher). Not saying he’s perfect, no QB is, most will push the ball and try to fit into tight windows (part of their nature). But he was rarely just carelessly heaving the ball into tight /double coverage. He had inconsistency on his deep ball (see high release) but again, fixable.
My take on JL:
-He will no longer be playing in a read-option based offense (where he is not as much of a threat with his feet)
-He needs to work on his delivery. If you noticed, he often overthrew the ball high on many of his incompletions. This is just a release point (too high) issue and when you’re 6’7″ with a high/early ball release, you’re going to sail the ball. VERY FIXABLE.
-The vibe I’m getting from CJS is that he is going to run more of a “set your feet” passing game (5 and 7 step drops vs RPOs or rolling out as much). We’ll see. This would be to Jake’s advantage.
I want to give an analogy using our own HC Jonathan Smith. I think everyone here would consider he and Ken Simonton to be two of the best to ever put on a Beaver uni! And you can look at their first 3 seasons to bolster your point. However, for those who remember 2001, when the entire team was not as talented (but you still had the same 2 talented guys in Simonton and Smith that had the most experience they ever had in their careers at that point), those two (with the team) struggled as Seniors. Not because they lacked experience. Not because they just forgot everything they learned. But because this is the true “team sport”.
Luton will be fine IMO. No worries. Now, the O Line, running game and the defense??? Big question marks for me.
imho, Luton is nutso to play football again but I guess it’s his body, his choice. Has he been cleared to play; not by Oregon State clearance like Drew Rasmussen who, after a closer look, was discovered to have further issues, but by further expertise?
This past season was such a cluster-fuck I’m reluctant to make any definitive statements on Luton. The OL was shittier, Nall seemed a half a step slower on the rare occasion that he had some space and I didn’t see the receivers get a lot of separation. If Riley has any value he needs to figure out the next QB, but he won’t be game ready until 2020.
I’m encouraged by the OL coach hire. As you point out, they seemed to regress and Andersen had no real plan at center (“oh why worry, how important is that anyway? Not like he handles the ball every play!”). Cavanaugh seemed to underperform for years and so the new OL coach will hopefully produce results that are a stark and positive contrast…
I felt Luton was a tick late on a lot of short throws that cost us big plays. I was also disappointed that he missed badly on intermediate to deep throws by overthrowing his receiver. We heard about the overthrows all through training camp and it continued in games. If he can fix those things he can be good.
But I’m also curious to see where Eggers got the info that Carta-Samuels won’t transfer to OSU. That one seems like a no brainer since he’s Jonathan’s guy.
On having Mike Riley as assistant head coach: “I called my wife last week and said, ‘I got to do a home visit with Mike Riley last night.’ Pretty cool. Coach Riley has head coaching experience, has had success offensively here at Oregon State. There’s a tremendous amount we can learn from him on this place and how we can be successful in Corvallis. I’ve learned a ton from him already.”
I just want to say, I actually like the staff KS has assembled so far, and will like it more if either KHJ or Hall end up taking one of those last spots.
Cookus appears to be busting his ass in recruiting, helping make up for the lack of support staff the past few weeks. He’s one of the hire I was hesitant about, but so far so good.
We seem to have a good mix of veteran coaches and youthful coaches. For the most part, they seem to be football nerds, which I like.
The only criticism I have, of course, is Riley.
I went through those Ron Callan videos yesterday and every assistant appeared to be thoughtful and professional in their interviews, and then I got to Riley and he’s laid back, wearing sweat pants, with his legs crossed. He just gave off that “I’m just happy to be here” vibe. I get the sense that it’s already mission accomplished for him. He got the job he wanted, now all he needs to do is show up to work and that will be good enough.
Anybody else feel this way?
I’d guess 90% of people who read AB feel that way.
The staff seems good but not sexy hires at all. I think they’re going for a BSU model of high IQ football and quality coaching. It should be interesting.
It’s basically the model that worked when we built up the baseball and wbb programs. Neither Casey or Rueck were sexy hires at the time, but they both were able to make the most of what they had to work with and eventually the better talent started coming around.
Long way to go of course Hopefully this rebuild project doesnt implode 3 years in like the last one.
It took Casey 9-10 years to get to the NCAA tourney. Although the improvemenet wasn’t drastic in the win column each year (+5wins). Football is harder to coach up due to less games, and more turnover in the coaching ranks – or maybe my perspective is skewed, but there is a lot more money quickly in football, so coaches more likely to bail. Hope theses coaches can stick around for 4+ years if we see +2-3 wins each year.
Vegas bowl participants 2027!
Actually Blackbandits, a Smith (Fiesta, Pac 12 championship, playoffs) – Riley (Sun and Alamo) average is probably a Holiday Bowl, which I’d attend and enjoy…
Chain… weakest link… blah blah blah.
Found a short interview with Tim Tibesar from Wisconsin on signing day 2016.
He talks about what he looks for when recruiting kids. First few qualities he mentions are academics, football IQ and mental toughness, aside from the physical aspects. In other words, he doesn’t just look for the best athletes. He’s more interested in guys who know how to play the game or who can at least be coached easily.
https://youtu.be/jtwaU-_gZkI
Not ripping your post NiceBeaver just giving an opinion here;
That’s all typical coach speak. Clune said a lot of the same things as did CGA. Hell, even Riley 2.0 talked about some things that needed to change on defense but they never did. Talk is cheap! Most coaches will talk about how; important technique is, football IQ, understanding the game holistically as well as knowing the scheme.
When it comes down to it though, whether a team is winning on the scoreboard or not, someone who knows what they are looking for will be able to tell if a team is well coached or not. There are A LOT of people on these forums that come on and say; that QB needs to improve his footwork or that DB has poor technique yet you rarely to never hear any of those same people come on and tell you specifically what’s wrong with the QB’s footwork? What specifically needs to be corrected with that DB’s “technique”!
Hell, if I asked those “experts/evaluators”, first, what technique all defensive lineman are suppose to be aligned in (individually) for a base 4-3 defense, I strongly doubt they’d know. Even if they did, then I would ask what the defensive lineman are suppose to do at the snap of the ball on a base playcall (no pass rush) there would be hardly/if any people on any of these forums that would know, especially some of these “experts”. So then you have to ask yourself…. how are these “experts” “evaluating” players when they don’t even know what the hell they’re looking for?
Go Beavs!
You’re incorrect on your last, but you go ahead and think that.
Why do you care? Just throwing shade around?
If you would read his post, I’m clearly responding to shade. If that was not the intention, then he miscommunicated his intent.
You don’t need a degree in communication to know someone is bad at communicating consistently; the current sitting President being an example everyone unanimously agrees on.
I don’t consider myself an expert or talented at evaluating football players. I never played the sport nor am I a coach.
A bad tackle is a bad tackle however. Many bad tackles in one game could be excused by a number of factors. Many games with bad tackles points to a significant set of underlying problems.
Are those problems limited to bad coaching, bad players, bad scheme? Even knowledgeable experts will disagree about which factors are influencing things most; they are after all, like us, not on the inside.
Wanted to add that “being on the inside” by no means gives you a superior or better perspective on what the causes of an issue may or may not be. It does offer some advantages. An outside perspective can be of benefit because it is not constrained by the particulars.
I agree NiceBeaver (like the name btw, Naked Gun?)
I loved the first 2 hires JS made (QB/OC and OL). Both solid position coaches, from 2 different PAC 12 programs. Good hires. The Riley was hired and was, “here we go again”. I was talking to a coach who I used to coach with last night about the Riley hire. He played for Riley and knows him well. He talked about Riley basically staying away from conflict (hence one of the reasons he kept certain staff members for so long possibly?). And we both agreed that Smith was showing a bit of apprehension as a new HC by bringing him on staff.
But there is also the mindset and attitude/culture that is coming back with Riley (that the admin. seems to either want or is oblivious to) and that is the mindset that “average is ok”! And the whole scenario of complaining about things like the Ducks and all their money/ facilities versus embracing what you have! Owning it and figuring out how to make the best of what you have while getting rid of this “average or mediocre” is ok, mindset. And other schools are just better because of their facilities, funding, etc. Did JS just bring that back to Corvallis by bringing Riley back? Well, if history has anything to say about it, it sure looks like it. That is disappointing to me.
I would really like to have seen JS take this up on his own and maybe use Riley and Erickson as consultants outside the program. It would have and still will be a very tough rebuild. And those who think we’ll do much better (record wise) than this season, are in for a big surprise. You can paint stripes on a horse and try to call it a zebra but the fact of the matter is, that it’s still a horse!
Go Beavs!
You nailed the mindset aspect. The Riley avoiding conflict comment seems quite believable and would explain him firing his buddy Banker over the phone.
Agree that this is going to be a slow, painful rebuild and losing Petras, a kid who could possibly elevate the offense just makes the process longer.
for the third or fourth time, I need to point out that Riley did not fire Banker. The Athletic Director exercised his independent authority to fire Banker. Once he signed the letter it fell to Riley to let his old pal know what had happened. Few have been harder on Riley in this forum than me but in this case, ironically, Riley is getting a bad rap. He was loyal to Banker to the end. That not his loyalty to an assistant was a higher duty than his loyalty to his employer’s program . . . .
He’s getting a bad rap because he did it over the phone. That’s a shitty way to treat anyone, and standing your ground to an AD who was clearly on his way out would have probably upped his likability quotient with Nebby fan. As it was, it destroyed his credibility.
On the professional side, you don’t fire someone who is on the road, working for you. That’s an inane method. He can go straight to a bar and start mouthing off, just as an example.He’s not given direction or signed any paperwork. But he has a newfound freedom on your dime. You’re still responsible for his actions even though you think you’ve detached yourself professionally.
Once again, there should be easy to follow best practices in place for firing someone that even the most green of management can find and follow. Firing over the phone is something that happens when you get a no-call/no-show employee, because those are the people who have earned that disrespect.
But can we really be surprised by this? We’re talking about a guy who quit over the phone. It’s not a surprise that his disrespect for employees is the same as it is for his employers.
Jack, you nailed it.
I agree on Riley’s attitude. He’s coasting. And the less defined his job is and the longer it takes to define it, the more comfortable he’ll become and the worse it is for the program. People who have real job responsibilities eventually tire of those who don’t, its bad for an organization. If you hire somebody, they have to have a job, a role, assignments, deliverables. If he has none of those things, he’d dead weight and needs to be jettisoned.
I really hope Smith hires a DC with P5 experience. I think the OC and OL hires are intriguing and likely productive and the DC hire needs to meet or exceed those hires in terms of experience.
And in all seriousness, is it too late to get out of the Ohio State game and schedule a more manageable contest? This team has been through a lot the last year. There is some talent, not a lot of depth, and they need some positive experiences.
We hired a DC. OLB coach from Wisconsin. Has been a DC at KSU and Purdue. Good hire IMHO.
No way we get out of the tOSU game. If anybody can go, the whole experience is awesome and depressing at the same time.
I don’t know how or why I forgot that hire…I like it because I think he’ll appreciate the opportunity and work hard to prove himself. I also like the coaches he’s worked under and that he brings an outside perspective.
Maybe he can also help the team get ready for the Horseshoe (as much as possible anyway, probably few experiences compare to it).
I think at the end of the day Riley will just be a position coach. Smith has surrounded himself with some smart, young energetic guys that want to prove themselves. I think the only problem I see is if the media keep running to Riley for information because they know him. I could see Smith having to put a stop to that. Other than that concern I feel optomistic. I really like this staff.
Maybe an overreaction, but I get tired of the “just a position (or assistant) coach” thing. MR holds the title of Assistant HEAD Coach. That, along with his time as HC and his slobbering media contacts makes his influence and visibility so much more than a (mere?) position coach.
IMO ObjCritic hit the nail on the head in the post above at 7:54. I fear the rest of the staff will, over time, become demoralized by Riley’s presence and his “go along to get along” attitude.
I have only a small amount of hope that JS learned enough from Petersen that he will, indeed, reign in or even jettison Saint Mike.
Maybe an overreaction, but I get tired of the “just a position (or assistant) coach” thing. MR holds the title of Assistant HEAD Coach. That, along with his time as HC and his slobbering media contacts makes his influence and visibility so much more than a (mere?) position coach.
IMO ObjCritic hit the nail on the head in the post above at 7:54. I fear the rest of the staff will, over time, become demoralized by Riley’s presence and his “go along to get along” attitude.
I have only a small amount of hope that JS learned enough from Petersen that he will, indeed, reign in or even jettison Saint Mike.
I think JS is going to set the tone. He has high expectations. He views Chris Peterson as his mentor, not Riley. Riley has a lot of contacts and JS wants to use that. I think it will be alright, but I could be wrong.
That’s how I feel, TxBeav…worried about Riley, but JS seems to have more Petersen in him from what I’ve seen.
Sorry for echo.
Sounds like that dirty school in Springfield is in some hot water?
the sharp teeth of justice should take a nice big chuck out of their ass, they will get the toothless slobbering gums of the ncaa.
What are you talking about?
Wait… you’ve done this before, but you were more obtuse at that time.
Are you intimating that Nikegon is in Springfield?
That’s so hilarious! I mean, that’s so funny I peed myself. Well, I pee myself regularly, but when something this funny is so readily apparent, it’s a full stream. Congrats on being the most clever insult comic on the planet.
?
Autzen is in Springfield. but you already knew that
Huh?
I mean… I know where boundaries are for everything, because I need to know what governing body does what for each individual site.
But what are you thinking? Are you thinking you can make up something and pass it off nonchalantly as true? I personally know the family who owned all the land that was between Springfield and Autzen… at one time. The rest was a landfill, not that you didn’t know.
If anything, drive over I5 on MLK/Centennial, and you’ll notice how the sodium lights are all yellowish compared to the Eugene side.
I can understand someone not knowing that Glenwood is now becoming Springfield, but come on, man.
I’d grade Smith’s staff as a b minus. Hiring Riley is a huge strike. He’ll be looming over every decision made and the media will be giving him an inordinate amount of attention.
For some reason, Cookus as special teams coach feels odd to me. He’s a wildcard in terms of coaching and recruiting. Felt like a buddy hire than a well vetted search.
Every other hire is ok. All need to step up in recruiting.
The only thing I would like to see Smith do is make changes when needed. If DC or OC isnt working, make the call and find a new person.
Under the old regime, Cookus was going to be hired as the 11th full time coach after January. Now, I think he partially benefitted from knowing Smith as well as having the ability to add some continuity in recruiting.
Have heard criticism of his coaching abilities from last year, but hard to measure it because he wasn’t fully in charge of any specific group and was a “quality control” guy.
Helps with NW recruiting as well as Hawaii, since he used to work there.
How do you know he’ll be looming over every decision?
Because it’s even a possibility.
Barnes email to a reader here is insulting. Just read it. Wow, what a dick. Hopefully he posts it here later tonight.
Where can I read it?
Nvm, I misinterpreted your post.
Hopefully he posts it not only here, but also to Things Overheard at OSU. That’s the quickest way to raise hell.
Hey, a reply from the AD! At least someone got one :p
In the spirit of recruiting, I absolutely love this!
Rich Bartel? @CoachRichBartel
“I’m so far beyond blessed to receive my 57th offer from this school I’d never really consider, but most of y’all would give your left nut for. I’d also like to say I’m the most humble person I know. Check out my candid Heisman selfies below in every uniform. I’m the greatest!!!”
Taggart completed his flip of Isaiah Bokden from Oregon to FSU today. They’ll likely lose local guy Braden Lenzy to Notre Dame today as well.
Lolol.
Anyone have an informed opinion of Mike McDonald, JS’s hire as Head Football Strength and Conditioning Coach?
BTW: I note that nike u still shows Irele Oderinde (of ucks to the hospital fame) as their Head Football Strength Coach (no “conditioning” in that title).
Nope but I’m sure there will be the usual fluff stories about how the players weren’t lifting and conditioning right but now they are setting records in the weight room.
Liked him in the Doobie Brothers, not so much with his solo stuff. Hopefully he doesn’t want to get the band back together.
https://youtu.be/l7Vo_t7zbeQ
Seriously?
I think he killed a great band.
Takin’ it to the streets!
You know me. I hear the lyrics, “I ain’t blind, and I don’t like what I think I see,” and I’m supposed to think that’s good stuff?
40 years later I have no idea what the fuck McDonald is signing about and if you needed tough vocals you picked the wrong guy.
Not serious.
Any thoughts on this QB?
https://247sports.com/Player/Brock-Purdy-46039503
I don’t know him but he’s got a real purdy mouth.
I’m going to make you squeal like a pig….dadadadadadadadada.
Eggers with a “close look” at Smith’s staff. I mean, um, his coaching staff:
http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/382100-269983-a-close-look-at-jonathan-smiths-osu-football-staff
Excerpt:
On what kind of offense Lindgren will employ at OSU: “In general, we strive to be balanced. We want to be able to run the ball. It starts with the physicality element up front. I’m thrilled to have Jim (Michalczik, the offensive line coach) with me. I have a great deal of respect for him and the offensive lines he has had. If you establish the run game, that opens up everything for you. You have to tweak your offense to fit the personnel you have. We’ll start with some general concepts Coach Smith and I are comfortable with. Then, as we get to know the personnel better as we go through the spring, the offense will take a turn to fit their strengths.”
…
On what Lindgren prefers in his quarterback: “I like a guy who can run, but the first thing is, they have to be able to throw. The mental makeup is somebody who has a moxie about the way he carries himself. A good leader. Doing the right things off the field. If you set the standards for the offense, that’s a huge thing. I want a guy who can throw the ball accurately, has good touch. And if you can find someone who can run the ball and do some things with their legs when things break down, that’s a bonus.”
My god, a coordinator who values accuracy over arm strength!
First reaction: agree, thank God.
After a pause: he said he likes Luton…
He probably likes his potential. He has the look of a QB, but he was a gun slinger because the previous regime seemed to feel that was what our offense should be. Nowhere in the interviews have I seen gun slinger and deep ball used.
He was a gunslinger well before our coaches. Luton self-proclaimed that, and he threw the ball a ton in JC.
I would have a real issue if we hired a coach who came in and trashed our current players. Even if Luton isn’t good (I believe he is far better than Angry gives credit for) it would be very unprofessional and pretty irresponsible if he said to media or anyone that he didn’t like a player or didn’t think they were any good
Stop thumbing your posts up.
He doesn’t have to say Luton sucks. He can simply not say anything about him, or say he’s fine but they’re always looking to upgrade, etc.
Find me a quote from any point in history where a new coach was asked about one of his players and he didn’t compliment him. Every QB in D1 has some skill that is likeable and that’s what the coach will say. Every time. Even saying “we’re looking to upgrade” as you suggest would be an insult to a current player and a horrible way to start his tenure.
The new coach should make obvious statements about how the current players aren’t that good?
No. That’s stupid.
Sometimes angry’s anti-social personality shines through… Just sometimes!
If being honest is anti-social then sure.
The new coach should make obvious statements about how the current players aren’t that good?
This was already covered. He can say nothing or make a generic comment about competition/upgrades.
It’s worse lying about a guy’s ability and/or status and leading them on.
Says who? Everyone here who read our suggestion of saying “we’re looking to upgrade” can see through that. The players could too. So like it or my these are his player last for the foreseeable future and he’s supposed to alienate them before practice #1?
Nobody agrees with that.
**your suggestion
What’s your problem with Luton?
Go Beavs!
Did you watch him play?
That’s my problem with Luton.
Angry thinks that Luton had some input on what he was asked to do beyond, “Yeah coach… I can do that.”
Hi everyone, I’m the reader angry mentioned that emailed Barnes and got a response. The only edits I’ve made are that I’ve removed my real name (I used my real name with Scott so he knows I’m not just some random troll, but would rather not have every AB user knowing my real identity), which is denoted by a pseudonym in square brackets; otherwise, the email is directly copy-pasted as follows. Scott’s email to me comes first, followed by my original email to him:
———
Dear Mr [Doe],
I am troubled and disappointed by your email . I will make the assumption that you have not been a donor or season ticket holder since graduating form OSU in 2016. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Beaver nation couldn’t be more excited about Jonathan Smith’s return . When I hired coach Smith I entrusted him to put together an excellent staff that would compliment his amazing attributes and assist in building and sustaining the long term success of our football program. So let me ask you if you supported my decision to hire coach Smith? If not , so be it. However, if you honestly supported the hire then why wouldn’t you support his decisions? In my evaluation of coach Smith’s assistant hires I can confidently tell you that he has been excellent and coach Riley is no exception. His return as a position coach brings significant value to our program. His skill as an position coach and recruiter has been proven time and time again at every level. He was offered two other power five opportunities because he is so highly respected but chose OSU because he is committed to finishing his career here.
Mr [Doe], not supporting our new football coach because you don’t agree with one hire is an easy out for you . Frankly it suggests your lack of commitment to our Student Athletes, Beaver nation and to your Alma Mater.
I hope you will reconsider.
Scott Barnes .
Scott Barnes.
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 20, 2017, at 9:18 PM, [John Doe] wrote:
Greetings Mr. Barnes,
I am absolutely appalled by the decision of yourself and Johnathan Smith to hire back Mike Riley. After the way he abandoned us not once, but twice, and ran our football program into the ground, I find your decision to rehire him highly suspect. Until Mike Riley is removed from this program (for good this time), I promise you that you will not see a dollar of support from me. I will not buy any tickets, any fan gear, or make any donation to Oregon State University of any kind until Mike Riley is permanently removed from this program, and never allowed back.
Regards,
[John Doe], OSU class of 2016.
————–
I found his response to be mostly dismissive of me, and the opinions of many fellow Beaver fans who feel that Riley is not what’s best for this football program. While he is correct I am not a current season ticket holder or donor, I have bought tickets to athletics events in the past, and I have bought merchandise in the past, too.
I cannot, however, support the athletics program in good faith so long as Riley–a man who not only is a mediocre coach, but has abandoned his supposed favorite college town twice now–continues to suck the money and life out of this football program. I was tentative about the Smith hire, but willing to give him a chance. I feel Riley’s hire shows a lack of direction from the athletics department, and a return to mediocrity that I cannot accept.
I hope you all get something out of this.
Riley’s skill as a recruiter has been shown where?
Beats me, but people say it’s true because they heard other people say it’s true, so it must be true!
Are you married to Jane Doe?
Jane Fonda?
Confirmation of my intuition/accusation that he’s a huge douche.
What did you expect? First off I’m not even sure this is real… but you tell him you’re “appalled” by his decisions…then say it’s highly suspect… when you say things like that do you expect people to say sorry? Beg for forgiveness? Get real
Simple, A@A: He should have acknowledged the sentiment, though disagreed with, and give just the positive stuff on Riley with hopes for reconsidering stance and donations. Leave the attacking, fanshaming statements out. PR 101: Don’t attack the fanbase or donor/potential donor base.
So he acknowledges the sentiment and hired him anyway which then you guys would say he knows he did something the fan base doesn’t like and did it anyway…?
By acknowledge the sentiment, I mean acknowledge the writer’s sentiment.
Who the fuck cares. Throwing so much shade at the team you are a fan or, the school you are an alma mater is comical. It doesn’t matter what Barnes did, y’all jump all over him for not responding to email, and the one time he does you nit pick and analyze every sentence. Wanting to shame him on twitter? Are you fucking serious? Are you twelve?
If you were to put in half the energy in taking down the backed by evidence shady ducks as you do in slandering our own athletic department, the programs to the south would have he death penalty in all sports.
That’s the funny thing, the only thing you have tangible evidence on from a credible source, you are too much of a pussy to do anything about it.
Agreed.
Then why is he the Assistant Head Coach and drawing an executive salary?
You fucking numbskulls forgive the worst in those you think you like, but you’re willing to cut off your nose to spite those you unjustly forgive.
All you small-timers suck eggs. You understand no reality which is reality.
OSU is a punchline to a Mike Riley joke… at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Not that any of you shitty and morally bankrupt people care.
Who are you even replying to, a@a2?
Yes.. just so fucking frustrated with the small-timers and their down-in-front attitudes.
They are the antithesis of fandom, but they think they wave its flag.
It’s so bad it should be posted on Twitter to shame Barnes. I’m not in the mood to do it, but someone should.
Why do you constantly act as if being professional is something a professional doesn’t need to do?
He could have said, “I’m sorry to hear this from one of our own. I fully support Coach Smith and the decisions he makes, and I hope you will one day find it in your heart to do the same. As always, Go Beavs.”
Instead he got, “I’ll bet you don’t even give enough money for me to care what the fuck you think. But I do for some reason, and I’ll make up a bunch of lies and mix them with extraneous facts about Mike Riley to prove it. You’re a terrible Beaver fan.”
Hit the nail on the head, Jack
“I will make the assumption that you have not been a donor or season ticket holder since graduating form OSU in 2016.”
Wow, really? Quite an assumption to make, even if he had a comprehensive donor list, as some people donate anonymously. That sentence also has no relation to the rest of the email, and only serves as an attempt at fanshaming.
“He was offered two other power five opportunities because he is so highly respected but chose OSU because he is committed to finishing his career here.”
You hear that, folks? Riley is “committed to finishing his career here.” I’ll bet – after he bolts out of the blue for another job AGAIN, and the administration at OSU hires him after he flames out AGAIN. But when Riley bolts, remember to dig up this email for lulz.
“Mr [Doe], not supporting our new football coach because you don’t agree with one hire is an easy out for you . Frankly it suggests your lack of commitment to our Student Athletes, Beaver nation and to your Alma Mater.”
Frankly, Barnes’ response suggests a lack of understanding the degree to which a lot of Beaver fans hate the hire.
It’s not real Scotty
Stop making shit up.
Like what??
Are you saying that letter/response isn’t real?
If so, you’re making shit up.
I don’t believe it’s real and there is no proof that it is, atleast not yet.
Go ahead and prove me wrong but I won’t hold my breath
The only thing that might possibly suggest to me it’s not real is the fact he got a response! I didn’t get one when I wrote after the CWS, and apparently neither did Angry. So at least the AD is moving in the right direction, I guess.
Meh… not giving a response is better than this.
It could be a fake… just one of the small-timers trolling. Small-timers thin in these terms.
Scotty, Barnes did write me back once. It was this gem after I asked how OSU allowed an SEC umpire behind home plate when playing LSU.
Um for the 3rd time we discussed 3:45 that makes us 15 to 20 min late . It starts at 5pm and takes 1:30 to get there.
When I told him it was rude to talk to people that way, he responded with:
Ab
My email below was obviously not intended for you.
Douche City!
—-
BDC had flaws, but he’d always write pleasant emails and respond to anything I brought up.
Ah, right. He never addressed your original email though, did he?
Nope! I’d still like to know how Greg Street was behind the plate for that game. Even if it was random NCAA rules, Barnes should be petitioning to change them.
He clearly read it. Didn’t want to respond. Then accidentally responded being a douche to someone else. Lol.
It’s ageism and a clear sign that trouble is ahead – young alumni are the future of the athletic department. If they want to dismiss a younger alumnus, then they are dismissing a future donor.
Barnes is a massive asshole, plain and simple. Not the first time he’s been dismissive to someone and unfortunately it won’t be the last. He has no social graces.
Haha you sound like a whiny little bitch. You didn’t even deserve to be dismissed, I’m surprised he responded at all. Try talking like that to anyone and see if you get anything different. I did get something out of this though: a nice hearty laugh :)
Yay!
Another small-timer speaks his mind.
Tell us about these airports we don’t have.
Well that is just a really neat deal.
Hard to believe that he took the time to reply with it being so poorly written… smh.
I think Barnes’ response makes a lot of sense
And the spelling is correct as well?
Makes cents?
I think it makes a lot of sense as an example of how not to reply to an irate fan
Seriously, what a dick!
That’s what she said.
My thoughts on the Riley leaving after the 2014 season goes something like this:
He didn’t sell his house, he knew he wasn’t getting any younger. He didn’t want to wait his contract out. So he was able to get an ‘out with OSU’ by taking another HC job at another P5 university. He knew he, and in hindsight, GA too, had OSU on the hook for major buyouts. These guys weren’t able to handle a rebuild again, especially Riley and company. Riley does want what’s best for OSU. When I met Riley in person in the fall of 2014 for the first time, he looked like a tired, worn out coach who didn’t have the energy and excitement as a HC at OSU anymore. He talked to a group of us about the future VFC and how there was talk to renovate it, but acted like it wasn’t part of his future even before the season began. It was almost like he knew the 2014 season would be his last one at Resr Stadium. He took a HC job that would prevent a buyout and allowed the beavs to choose a new coach. We got GA. An unknown coach that wanted to come out west. GA’s hire reminds me of when I took an Asst Manager job to get into management at a small town, but knew I may or may not be happy there. It was my only chance to get where I wanted it go, branch manager. So I took it thinking I could change the culture and mindset. When I realized I couldn’t, I got a new job and helped fill the role with someone new to the branch, but occupied the same role elesewhere. My point of this story and Anecdote is to state that maybe Riley had hoped to come back as an assistant and doesn’t want to be HC but be a part of the rebuild process at OSU and like Barnes said, finish out his coaching career at OSU.
Incorrect. If Riley wanted what was best for OSU, he would stay a double-quitter and not ask to be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the school for which he can’t find the time to have any loyalty.
Riley wants what’s best for Riley.
*tOSU
I can understand the confusion.
Riley wants what’s bets for Riley’s bank account.
I understand the confusion. He doesn’t always act in his own best interest.
But I’m not so completely stupid as to think that means he doesn’t act in the best interest of his bank account.
Dude is skeezy as the day is long.
But a nice sleazy….
Well… the nicest.
I just don’t understand the limp morals of the small-timers. I can not wrap my head around disloyalty being rewarded to any degree, let alone being rewarded with the welfare check we’re signing for him.
It’s just disgusting on every level.
But… but… he’s just a position coach.
It’s like explaining to a child that a sexual predator who was bron with a silver spoon up his ass is POTUS because a bunch of racists (what race is… is beyond me) bought his shitty, pretend rhetoric.
You try to explain that shit!
It can’t be done. We have a pretend man as POTUS… at best.
I hope the evangelical crowd are who are behind right now. The coincidence is amazing.
Happy Holidays everyone.
Sayin’ it now ’cause we’re so busy the next few days and didn’t want to forget.
This is an odd place to happy holiday someone. I’m talking about Dumbass here. The floozy nominated people to be judges who couldn’t even spell the word law.
Forgive me if your Happy Holidays blurb is considered disingenuous or, to be put in context, entirely derelict.
Nall is headed to the NFL draft.
Well… he’s making himself available for the draft.
I see what you did there.
Smart.
Good for him, I hope he succeeds. I still don’t think he will go before the fifth round. But it’s the best idea in terms of getting a chance to play in the nfl.
What is the source of Nall entering the draft?
Yeah, I’m not finding anything either.
It came up in Danny M’s background check.
Wow, check out this email I just got!
Think it’s legit, guys?
Our Ukranian friends aren’t just into streaming sports.
Again. it could be one of the small-timers trolling.
It’s how they think.
I apologize to Pollyanna’s author for first misusing his character’s persona then calling the small-timers by that monicker. I bought into that. I was wrong. They are just small-timers.
Her character. The author is femaile.
You sexist, gender stereotyper.
How does she identify?
I bet her feet hurt
I guess I never thought about taking it head on.
What are we to enjoy? We already know she (she?) has some kind of OCD about wearing high heels.
Barnes emailed you too?
I think his shoes smell for legitimate reasons: he never takes them off.
Sure it’s legit….especially when they ask for your visa card.
I love Ken Goe…….last two titles of his articles……”Riley won’t hurt OSU” and “Nothing to see here (regarding Duck violations). I mean, he might end up being right, but he’s such a transparent little shit.
He’s so lazy its amazing he draws a paycheck. The Oregonian must be his second job…
Yeah… I don’t get why he’s employed.
Then again, Moran and Canzona have jobs, but Buker was fired.
So… wtf?
He wears high heels all day, so cut him some slack.
Nall is likely asking for a evaluation from the NFL draft advisory board vs actually declaring.
They grade players as 1st or 2nd rounders. Otherwise the grade is stay in school. He’ll get a stay in school rating.
Quick looks around any draft website, none have Nall anywhere near the top of eligible running backs or fullbacks.
Pretty good class isn’t it?
Smith said he’d like to diversify the way All is used, including FB. I think that could be good for his NFL goals, even if he wants to be a RB in the NFL. I think being a (big) utility back with fewer, but impact carries/passes would be a better role than trying to be a main RB. I don’t think he’ll run away from so many people in the NFL as he does now. The contact will be harder and the yards after maybe not so easy…
Any idea where he might transfer? Say he gets a “stay in school” recommendation from the NFL, where might he like to go?
Hello?
Nall has resisted becoming a FB with every fiber of his being.
Do you think he’s going to change that now that some new group of coaches come in and correctly identify what he can do?
… again?
… and teach him how to block?
I mean… he needs to learn how to block like I need to learn Japanese… if I was applying to be on the staff of the Ambassor to Japan.
*ambassor
Ambassador!
If he actually wants to play in the NFL he might.
For those of you questioning the validity of my email, perhaps this screen capture (with personal information removed) will convince you.
https://i.imgur.com/bgpjWjD.png
You’re trying too hard. Just let the fool be the fool. What he does to you, he will do to others.
You threw a fit. He told you to quit your bitching and trust that Jonathan Smith knows more about what he’s doing than you (he does) so you ran to the small corner of the internet that would give you a big hug and tell you what you wanted to hear. This reminds me of when Scotty asked Scott Barnes to investigate NCAA baseball because his favorite team didn’t win the championship and was upset he didn’t get a response. You fools make me laugh
And 80 year old man who hates standing up is among us.
An 80 year old who likes to 69(despite never experiencing it)
Newsflash:
Mike Riley is not earning but being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by Oregon State University.
Until that fucking ends, there will be no peace.
Scott Barnes needs to resign over this.
He will do so in the end, whether he wants to admit this failure in his tenure is the result for his resignation or not.
no peace
Anyone with half a mind would have expected this. I would respect the person who said, “I expected this, and I shall overcome.”
I do not respect the person who does not expect the consequences of their actions.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
“Scotty asked Scott Barnes to investigate NCAA baseball because his favorite team didn’t win the championship and was upset he didn’t get a response.”
Nice rewriting the facts there
Wait a minute, Scotty- you are Scott Barnes! Very clever!
Even though I somewhat agree with Barnes on his big point about trusting Smith, that is a ridiculous e-mail response and shows Barnes should not be AD.
It is, and it does lead to the sense that nobody can be THAT stupid.
Then again, this is a guy who hired Kevin Stallings.
Listening to the JB Show podcast from yesterday. They say they’re tired of talking about Riley, yet they are slobbering all over Riley with no prompting, just a few minutes into the show. Smh.
yup
It won’t end, just like with GA getting compared with Riley. Riley s return makes him the jumping off point of every football comment coming out of Parkers mouth. Sadly even if Riley was fired tomorrow, every JS decision would be compared to his similar decision or non-decision at some point in the football past. He’s now beaver football’s version of herpes.
More in hour 2. I’m about to explode listening to these flawed arguments promoting Riley. They pull out his CFL record from about 30 years ago. WHO CARES WHAT HE DID IN THE CFL 30 FREAKING YEARS AGO?! He sucked in recent years, and that’s what matters. I don’t get to coast at work, start tanking the company, and then say “but look what I did 10 years ago!”
No wonder GA went nutty and drank himself out of here. He was surrounded by Riley apathy every day he was in Corvallis.
One thing nobody talks about is the balls it takes for Riley to walk back in and coach some of the very same kids he recruited to come to OSU, only to walk out on them in 2014.
We’ll never get to hear the honest thoughts from those players, but I know if a player decided to transfer out from OSU, but then tried to come back as a grad transfer, they wouldn’t be given the time of day. Riley essentially is doing the same thing and all anybody can say is “he’s a great man”
Riley essentially is doing the same thing and all anybody can say is “he’s a great man”
They’re brainwashed into thinking that. It’s like that scene from Manchurian Candidate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIiOXff8A5Y
But he won two Grey cups!
There are 9 teams in that league and he still had only a .556 win %. lol
C’mon angry, how are you turning to Grey Cup championships in a 4 year span while coaching in a professional football league into a negative?
.556 is a pretty good win percentage at the professional level, even in a league with 9 teams.
The CFL? Please. Add in the fact both of those championships happened almost 30 fucking years ago. Let’s examine all of the championships Riley has won as a head coach, shall we?
Other than the above mentioned Grey cups, crickets. Average coach that is stubborn with zero innovation.
I’d be curios to see what Winnipeg’s records were the few years before Riley. Is it entirely possible he lucked into a Golden State type situation? You or I could probably coach the Warriors to a championship.
I don’t have time to go looking, but Riley actually used the Grey Cups as an oblivious answer to some loss early this past season. It was possibly the saddest Riley-ism ever, until OSU became his punchline.
Did he really? Haha. Grey cup…hahah. That’s a glorified participation award considering there’s almost a 25% chance of making the finals in Canadian football.
If MR could have just added that 12th player to the line up at Nebraska, he would have been a success. Come on!
I guess that explains all the illegal substitutions.
Really just the distraction alone of Riley returning for a third time should have been enough to make JS say no. It does make me question Smith’s decision making a little or else since I love a good conspiracy, he was “forced” to accept Riley by the sinister forces (alumni over 65 years old). Riley is not a good enough coach to make this a necessity hire. In the long run it may not do any damage, but it might.
Mike Riley is a great man.
Well you gotta admit he appears to have some sort of mystical powers, he can even ignore a gang rape and still get the woman who was abused to come around to liking him many years later.
Cult of Riley
I come here for the Mike Riley #hottakes. They are always so original and thought provoking.
We quit serving Mike Riley hotcakes three years ago. But they were fluffy without any substance.
I listened to the JB show also. It is wearisome to hear it continue. Without trying to promote Riley, they promote Riley. Without trying to eclipse JS, they eclipse JS with Riley. It is exactly THE issue of Riley being back inside VFC. He is going to overshadow anything JS accomplishes from the start. Lazy media already has given their attitude and strategy which is to push a pro-Riley story whenever and however they can.
I tire of the obvious contradiction that it is difficult to recruit to Corvallis, however, Riley has always been a great recruiter. This seems to be revisionist history of the first order. Without Gilstrap, Riley struggled to evaluate and bring in the correct 2* diamonds. He never got the 4*/5* guys because he rarely tried. Low hanging fruit was the order of the day. Riley recrutiting was defined with projects, undersized, potential, acceptance of the constant eventual flipping of the better recruits away from OSU. This is the Riley experience.
Derek Andersen, Steven Jackson were DE recruits. Somehow I think Riley even gets some credit for these guys.
College football has changed so much in 20 years, but all we have is the Riley experience to show for those years. Now the media tells us to be happy we have our “JoePa of the West”, and he is as good as it will ever get. At least GA gave us 3 years without being lectured about Riley’s greatness.
Riley has spun a web and cast a spell over the older alumni, internal Athletic Dept staff and local media. It is a Herculean effort to break such a spell, and I am beginning to think it will not be broken. OSU is probably doomed to the depths because Riley has insured the accepted outlook, and JS is unlikely to succeed because of this fatal decision at the beginning of his tenure.
Riley’s presence is already a distraction because JS has had to speak about it in interviews, press conferences, media availabilities. Barnes is touchy about it, Parker has defended the hire daily, Goe et al are openlyproclaiming MR as a great coach, mentor, and its no big deal, we should be quiet.
I think Riley’s mystique is a lot of urban legend stuff that has simply been repeated by people who just like him and think he is too nice of a guy to be criticized. His track record isn’t splendid, he is just a really nice guy so we should leave him alone. All of his flaws have been mentioned, but my frustrations is the idea that he has some right to be back because he built it up in the first place, which is also false.
The voices who oppose MR are being told to be quiet because it is a bad look for the fanbase/program and we are doing harm to JS efforts to rebuild OSU football. It actually reveals the problem within the OSU fanbase as far as expectations, they don’t want to win or expect to win.
GA was an unexpected swing for the fences hire that looked like it might work. It failed, But why stop swinging for the fences and settle for a bunt. I hate the idea that the only effort to hire someone other than MR ended in disaster. Flawed logic says that any non RIley hire equals disaster, and this is the flawed logic of too much of the fan base, reinforced by the media.
I wish they had abandoned the entire Riley tree/players/coaches and gone with a fresh start/blank slate, but that plays into the other myth that you have to know OSU. Why? Because you have to be ready to accept a loser mentality to be there? I am about finished with OSU football. I think I will observe from afar, not care because OSU doesn’t want me to care.
A lot of rambling thoughts, but it is just loser college football afterall.
Hope all of you ABs have a Merry Christmas and thank you for all of the entertaining reading over the past year.
Your thoughts may have been rambling a bit, Ohio Beaver, but I think they are damn good ones.
Somehow Riley can coach a top 20 type program to their worst season in 55 fucking years and the Oregon media pretends it didn’t exist. Nice work if you can get it. Riley is in a business with a lot of weirdos, assholes and egos, He did figure out that if he treated the media with politeness and courtesy he was going to get a lot of leverage out of that and it has turned out to be true.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=go+away+boy+you+bother+me+fog+horn&&vi
This is all Barnes had to say to the young graduate that sent him a critical email.
I’m seeing more teams utilize their centers to call the pass protection. Perhaps OSU will adopt this practice as well?
It will take a LOT of development before the Beavs have a center ready to call pass pro.
First off, a center who can block and snap reliably is needed. Once a capable center is playing, then, yes having him call pass pro makes some sense.
angry you trash Luton cuz he’s a “gunslinger” and we need a “game manager”… Luton has shaky pass protection and still completed at a higher % than your favorite QB ever this year.
Luton and Riley is not a winning combo. Keep your head buried in your ass for all I care.
Ignore the facts and keep insulting! You’re doing great!!
Luton teamed with any coach is not a good combo…I still get pissed when I think about GA and his staffs decision to start luton over MM…MM would have gotten us at least 4 or 5.wins last year…luton just isn’t a d1.QB.but you know that Riley is slobbering over that 6’6″ frame and “rocket arm.”. If luton is the only option for QB….it’s going to be ugly again next year.
False, but I admire your delusion.
What part of my post is false? Luton sucked and MM led his conference in QB passing efficiency rating while leading FSU to a 9 win season. Luton couldn’t connect on simple swing passes while MM threw for over 2K yards 64% completion 4:1 TD to interception ratio …all after being in a new system just two weeks before season started. Can’t argue with those performance metrics.
Luton was in a new system too… he didn’t exactly have a supporting cast around him. GA meddled with the offense too much. 2,000 yards…. what is that, 180 a game? Wow he must have received heisman votes for sure.
Still waiting….
It’s the MWC. That’s a conference that made Garretson look good.
Other than that, you’re going to have to source your claim on QB passing efficiency. I can find Passing QBR and Total QBR, and both tell me you like to make up stuff… like how 61% is 64%… and how 3.5 TD/INT ratio is magically four (and that’s if you’re truly impressed with his two TDs against Incarnate Word, which lifts his ration above 3).
That’s a neat story, but he started four games in which he was not responsible for a score of any kind. And he doesn’t need to learn a whole playbook, because he can’t make all the throws. So don’t give me any of this “learning a new system” crap. Many basic plays are similar anyway. Only the language changes.
16 total TDs in 13 games.
I’m sure Fresneck fan is still hoping he doesn’t declare for the draft.
Regardless, once he quit on OSU, any argument that he would have magically won more games than he did for OSU is irrational at best. The only comparable moment was when he performed against UW’s third string for a full half, as compared with our QB’s performance against their third string at the very end of that game.
Once he quit, he gave up any claim to anything involving OSU… including imaginary wins.
Are you still waiting?
16 total TDs.
Dude.
Give it up.
A “gunslinger?”. He might have a gun but he couldn’t prove he could sling it….MM made Luton look like a novice….
Riley’s camp has now leaked that Chip Kelly and Paul Chryst offered him gigs and those are the ones he was mulling over. Honestly this could be true. This is now being used as the justification for hiring Riley at Oregon State. Well if he’s good enough for Chip and Paul surely he’s good enough for O’l OSU. Ignoring that with all of Riley’s history here and that he is joining the staff of a rookie head coach that he recruited creates an ENTIRELY different dynamic.
As the ball boy?
“ similar assistant position “ is being put out there
Clock management coordinator?
I think it’s telling that they feel the need to float this information of there (if it’s accurate). At least it’s recognized from the Smith camp that there are people who think enough is enough with Riley. It’s a low bar right now, two wins next year and they’ve doubled this season. Two or three years down the road should give us enough information.
Agree. Comes off as very defensive.
Defensive… kind a like when you rip Luton for being a gunslinger, then get reminded that your perfect Game managing QB had a lower completion % while playing for a good coach and all you can do is say is my head is buried in my ass?
Good point Angry! You’re winning buddy!
Sample size Bro
Noted: A@A thinks Riley and Luton are better than Tedford and McMaryion.
We’ll see how that plays out. Lol
Sample size Bro
Right? Luton played 3 games. Put up the highest completion % vs PSU. Threw 3 INTs vs Co State and should have thrown at least 4 that game. McM and Tedford won their conference. OSU won 1 game. Lol.
Sample size yes, I agree. And never said Riley was better than Tedford.
Keep reaching though Angry! Santa still loves you
That’s what you suggested. If not that, what’s the point of the post? Make your point loud and clear so we can note it.
Hopefully this one is better than “Mcmaryion will never start for OSU.” lol
You’re a clown and your obsession with things that you can’t change is hilarious.
I never even mentioned Riley. Don’t bother lookin in your stocking Monday morning cuz there’s no way there’s anything but coal in there
Fresno St DID NOT WIN their conference championship. Not the first time this has been stated.
Look at A@A deflect instead of put his opinion in writing. Gave him all the opportunity in the world to clear up what his point was (It was what I said: he thinks Riley and Luton are better — proven by the fact he can’t clarify the garbage he wrote). When the only opinion you’ve ever committed to is “McM will never start for OSU” I can understand being trigger shy. He’ll come back after the fact with the 1% of predictions I get wrong, though.
Your opinion of Riley and Luton being better than Tedford and McM is noted.
Also, stop thumbing up your own posts. It’s unbecoming.
I never even mentioned Riley you douche. What are you talking about?
It’s Tedford… so he found a way to almost win the conference but come in second anyway.
And as pathetic as the MWC was this year, they now have a full season of tape on MM. You can expect him to regress next year.
Dude!
Bike Smiley is a completely different monster than this piddly QB difference of opinion.
Bikey deserve no quarter from real Beavs… those who have never wavered in any capacity come hell or high water. And we have one of the foremost research facilities for high water in the world.
So hell can go fuck itself.
Scott Barnes is a luddite who needs to fire himself, because anyone who allows Bike Smiley to be on an OSU payroll after his EXTREME DISLOYALTY TOWARD OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY should really just not work for OSU.
Simply put, Mike Riley is a disloyal fuck.
If you don’t like that, tell me otherwise.
Yet the hire was quite offensive…..
Is it too late for him to take one of those jobs?
Haha.
But we’re so lucky to have him!
And then Riley remembered Kelly and Wiscy have standards and he might have to produce. So he returned to OSU where he won’t be held accountable.
Succinct and potent. Well said.
I don’t care if he was offered by Belichick to be the HC for their next Super Bowl appearance.
The man does not deserve to draw a salary from Oregon State University.
Period.
Try applying this argument to Ritchie McKay… only he ditched OSU only once.
Looks like we might get this guy: https://247sports.com/Player/TaZhawn-Henry-87942
Check out the 2nd clip. He hurdles! After Seth left we needed to fill the hurdle position.
I think that Isaiah has been working on Henry to become a beaver. I think he could play immediately and be an impact player so long as he stays academically eligible and stays out of trouble le.
Quiz has been working him too. I think Henry is likely.
Agreed…..Sammy straughter type talent.
Looking at his film and he definitely seems to have really good vision as a runner.
Well, if those “experts” are worth a shit, he’s going to Texas Tech. Of course, I’m sure they’ll quickly change their predictions as soon as he commits to OSU.
All those predictions came before he even had an OSU offer, pretty hard to predict a guy to a school that hasn’t offered.
If Smalls is half as good a player as he is a recruiter, he should have a productive career on the field.
Angry, since there seems to be only random reply features on certain comments, I guess I will respond down here?
Yes, of course I saw Luton play. Do you have a specific reason why you don’t like Luton is what I was asking?
If this is strictly about the McMaryion deal, that’s not Luton’s fault for one. And it’s over now. McMaryion has the best collegiate QB coach in America working with him now and he is in an easier conference, he made the right choice, good for him.
Luton brings a completely different skill set and has a higher ceiling than any of the QBs on the roster. What specifically do you not like about Luton?
Go Beavs!
I’m not sure I like Luton but I do think he has the tools. And am hopeful that better coaching may produce better results.
The big thing about Luton is his decision making and if he’s even healthy enough to play.
Clearly he has an arm and it’s accurate enough but can he make the right decisions?
I think Luton’s struggles this year were much more about coaching than quarterbacking. As noted his OSU completion % was pretty good. We asked a raw QB to do way too much, with awful game plans and a completely dysfunctional offense. I’m cautiously optimistic that Luton could have a good senior season in him.
Of course, legitimate competition to push him would be a good thing, and prudent.
I think he could do much better if the scheme and play calling were better and more run balanced. The play calling was atrocious.
I think with the scheme Smith likes, the reads would be simple and should cut down on his mistakes. Some of his throws are real frustrating, he often throws behind on crossing routes despite his height, ability to see the field, and arm strength. He did it in practice film and in games.
The other thing about him is he said “I’m never not going to try and make a play.” (Gunslinger mentality). He needs to understand that if the options are a sack, a risky pass/likely INT, or throwing it out of bounds, that throwing it out of bounds IS the play in that context. Put a haptic device or shock collar on him and train him on that….
With his completion percentage in the low-mid 60s, I think if they could get him to a 3:1 TD:INT ratio he’d be fine for the most part. He’s never going to be a ridiculously efficient as Petras was in HS at 50:2 or something insane like that.
“What specifically do you (Angry) not like about Luton?”
Decision making (dumb), gunslinger mentality (unnecessary risks), accuracy.
Lack of accuracy….and you can’t teach accuracy if he doesn’t have it.
Yes, of course I saw Luton play. Do you have a specific reason why you don’t like Luton is what I was asking?
Decision making. He threw into coverage so many times in his limited playing time. As mentioned, vs Co State he should have throw at least 4INTs (one a clear drop right to the D). There was another pass that was questionable in that game and a better D would have intercepted that, too. Co State had a weak secondary, too (not sure their final figures, but that was the reputation going into the game, and Luton helped their season figures, whatever they were).
The other thing: he was brought in to throw the deep ball, but that was actually his worst pass. The only pass he could throw with any consistency was a 10 yard crossing route.
Finally, with his larger sample in JC, he showed poor completion %. No P5 schools offered him. I do think he is D1, but a lower level school. Idaho was actually a better fit.
Can he be coached up with a better staff? Yes, but there’s a limit on that. I think a best case for Luton looks something like 2003 D.A with a 1:1 TD to INT ratio. A ton of yards but not efficient or smart. Leaves a lot of plays on the field, leave the field shaking the head at missed opportunity, etc. As fans fall for the lure of the arm/potential (much like they feel for the hurdle). I hesitate to even bring up DA because now people will say “Oh, you don’t like an NFL caliber QB” and go off on that tangent. I’m saying he is similar to DA, and that inefficient style doesn’t do it for me.
That’s how I see him. Hope I’m wrong.
Luton will be fine. He only played in 4 FBS games and the speed of the game from even the FCS to FBS level is much, much different. That takes adjustment time and to be fair, Luton did not have much help this season by anyone; coaches, offense or defense or much time to completely adjust. All of his issues are very coachable/fixable. People are calling out his decision making, but I would disagree. Even in his first game against CSU, he did a good job a majority of the time scanning through progressions and checking the ball down when needed (that’s why his comp % was higher). Not saying he’s perfect, no QB is, most will push the ball and try to fit into tight windows (part of their nature). But he was rarely just carelessly heaving the ball into tight /double coverage. He had inconsistency on his deep ball (see high release) but again, fixable.
My take on JL:
-He will no longer be playing in a read-option based offense (where he is not as much of a threat with his feet)
-He needs to work on his delivery. If you noticed, he often overthrew the ball high on many of his incompletions. This is just a release point (too high) issue and when you’re 6’7″ with a high/early ball release, you’re going to sail the ball. VERY FIXABLE.
-The vibe I’m getting from CJS is that he is going to run more of a “set your feet” passing game (5 and 7 step drops vs RPOs or rolling out as much). We’ll see. This would be to Jake’s advantage.
I want to give an analogy using our own HC Jonathan Smith. I think everyone here would consider he and Ken Simonton to be two of the best to ever put on a Beaver uni! And you can look at their first 3 seasons to bolster your point. However, for those who remember 2001, when the entire team was not as talented (but you still had the same 2 talented guys in Simonton and Smith that had the most experience they ever had in their careers at that point), those two (with the team) struggled as Seniors. Not because they lacked experience. Not because they just forgot everything they learned. But because this is the true “team sport”.
Luton will be fine IMO. No worries. Now, the O Line, running game and the defense??? Big question marks for me.
Go Beavs!
That takes quite a leap of faith to think Luton will be ok next year.
“No worries”
lol
imho, Luton is nutso to play football again but I guess it’s his body, his choice. Has he been cleared to play; not by Oregon State clearance like Drew Rasmussen who, after a closer look, was discovered to have further issues, but by further expertise?
Correct, he should retire. Coaches should encourage him to do so given the nature of that injury.
Drew was cleared by his own medical team.
Army sure knows how to run the ball. SDTU defense is gonna be tired by the 4th Qtr.
Army – 48 offensive plays. 47 of them were runs. 46th offensive play was a pass. Hope they are not going “McGiven” on me.
Wow, they munched clock.
This past season was such a cluster-fuck I’m reluctant to make any definitive statements on Luton. The OL was shittier, Nall seemed a half a step slower on the rare occasion that he had some space and I didn’t see the receivers get a lot of separation. If Riley has any value he needs to figure out the next QB, but he won’t be game ready until 2020.
I’m encouraged by the OL coach hire. As you point out, they seemed to regress and Andersen had no real plan at center (“oh why worry, how important is that anyway? Not like he handles the ball every play!”). Cavanaugh seemed to underperform for years and so the new OL coach will hopefully produce results that are a stark and positive contrast…
I felt Luton was a tick late on a lot of short throws that cost us big plays. I was also disappointed that he missed badly on intermediate to deep throws by overthrowing his receiver. We heard about the overthrows all through training camp and it continued in games. If he can fix those things he can be good.
But I’m also curious to see where Eggers got the info that Carta-Samuels won’t transfer to OSU. That one seems like a no brainer since he’s Jonathan’s guy.
On having Mike Riley as assistant head coach: “I called my wife last week and said, ‘I got to do a home visit with Mike Riley last night.’ Pretty cool. Coach Riley has head coaching experience, has had success offensively here at Oregon State. There’s a tremendous amount we can learn from him on this place and how we can be successful in Corvallis. I’ve learned a ton from him already.”
Lingren got the Riley bite.