Home Baseball BASEBALL….What will it take to make y’all happy?

BASEBALL….What will it take to make y’all happy?

By
oob
-
189

An unproven coaching staff, little national recognition, the return of Kevin Abel. How will you evaluate the coming season?

Give us an idea of what you feel constitutes an acceptable (or better) campaign.
Is it:
-only a nat’l championship will do
-finish in the top 3 of the PAC
-lead the league in DP’s, stolen bases, hit and runs
-sweep u of nike
-something else

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189 COMMENTS

  1. 4
    5

    Beavers WBB beats Utah 84-74. Talia, as i mentioned a few weeks ago, is makimg her presence known hitting a big three pointer with about 3 minutes left extending the lead to 5 after Utes had cut the lead to 2 points. Talia finished with 12 points and really helping OSU turn their season around. Goodman, Goforth and jones all had very nice games. Go beavers!

    Reply
  2. 5

    Making the tournament is the first goal. After that making supers and making omaha.

    Pitching depth should be ok this year. Won’t have weekday games to worry about as of now. Pitching will have an advantage early in the year as hitters haven’t been in live games since last year.

    Hitting is where the team needs to improve the most. Not one guy who is a consistent standout. Multiple guys will need to have good years.

    Don’t really have any impact true freshman. Maybe Giblin as a reliever or 4th starter. Don’t see any other newcomer as an immediate impact guy.

    This team will have to be a grinder kind of team. Scrape together wins. Not a come from behind team.

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  3. 2
    1

    It was either 2016 or 2017 that the Beavers only lost 4 games in the regular Season. I think it gave an unreasonable set of expectations the next few years. Looking back, that Season was just an amazing oddity. Not long after, the Beav’s regular Season Win’s were not nearly as impressive but they brought home a National Championship. Mitch has a lot of pressure and expectations. I certainly hope that he will be successful. He has been given a well oiled machine and we’ll see how he is able to steer the ship. I am not as impressed now with W and L’s or even Pac-12 Championship any more. It’s all about going to Omaha. The goal should be a National Championship but you can’t win one without getting there first. In this case, it’s the destination NOT the journey. However they get there is fine with me. Bring home a trophy in a few years. P.S. – While Pat Casey deserves all the credit for bringing this program to where it is today, but why to they call Coach Canham (what is it?) Pat Casey Head Coach Mitch Canham? This is dumb.

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  4. 2
    6

    Expectations…..be better at the plate, be better on the mound, be better in the field, and score more runs than the other team. Take care of those things and the Beavers will be in the thick of the Pac-12 Conference Title race. With this kind of depth in the pitching rotation, provided the Beavs stay healthy, and some very nice position players in the field, there’s no reason the team can’t make the playoffs and potentially get to the Super Regionals and maybe even Omaha….think of the old Van Halen song, “Panama” and just replace Panama with “Omaha…” Big x-factor is have the Beavers made progress at the plate and that remains to be seen…

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  5. 11

    recent experience has certainly informed my expectations, to wit: the goal should be making the tournament EVERY year. That means a top 3-4 placement in the conference standings. This is a stretch goal, but, given the winning tradition of the program, fan support that translates into dollars, and good coaching (the only big unknown at present), it’s doable.

    Once in the tournament, the variability of reaching Omaha becomes a function of the the level of athletic talent at any one time, which necessarily will have ebbs and flows. Getting some breaks along the way leads to titles: the missed call down the left field line and an outlying umpire cost us one in 2017; the dropped fly ball down the right field line gained us one in 2018. The 2017 team was clearly better, but was bushwhacked by John Canzano and Ed Ray. The 2019 had enough talent to go farther in the tournament than it did, but it was mentally exhausted from the Heimlich/Pat Casey leaving fallouts. One upside from Covid 19 is that last year’s awful start (and possibly worse finish) has been effectively removed from history, setting the stage for a seamless continuation of baseball excellence

    Reply
        • 2
          1

          In all honesty, he didn’t have great talent to work with and the sample size was only 14 games. I think we should give him at least one full season to judge his coaching skills if not two or three. Remember, Casey had some lean years early on at OSU mixed in with some solid seasons in his first 10 years. Mitch has some pretty good talent and depth too. Casey didn’t always have the best talent but got the talent he had to play the best baseball at the right time of the season. I think Mitch will do a great job but it won’t happen overnight. Play ball!

          Reply
  11. 6

    WannaB nailed it. NCAA’s every year with a title run every few years. Team was motivated by the hard ass father approach by PC and played remarkably mistake free ball. The warm and cuddly approach by Mitch made the team look like most college squads. Last year….walk a batter, no problem.
    PC…..walk a batter, next pitcher and find out who can throw strikes under pressure in the early season.

    Reply
    • 2

      Wasn’t there a time when folks were frustrated when PC/NY would leave a pitcher in, especially earlier in the season? Delicate to balance let them grow/play through it with the yank them/bench them for another position player.

      I would like to see the high fielding percentage be a staple and for pitchers to look prepared.

      Reply

      • “Delicate to balance let them grow/play through it with the yank them/bench them …”
        ^^^^^True dat! The psychology involved there is a mix of science and art found in the best coaches. Very hard for fans to really understand the back story on most of these decisions, even harder without a knowledgeable beat reporter.

        You’re right, many (even here) were frustrated when PC/NY seemed to leave a guy in the game when he was struggling

        BTW: I thought describing a high fielding percentage as a “staple” was very well said.

        Reply
    • 1

      I would take that. I see a program in decline, and unsure we see anything like that. Casey leaving was the end of those expectations.

      Reply
      • 1

        It’s really more of a talent decline. The 16-19 teams had an insane amount of talent. There were a lot of guys who would have been top draft picks out of high school but didn’t get the dollars they were looking for and came to school. Beavs had more than a normal amount of those guys make it to school. Guys like Madrigal, Grenier, Larnach, Harrison, Rutschman, Rasmussen and Abel all had high expectations coming in and exceeded them early on. Didn’t take them until their jr years to become good. Add in guys who were able to develop and you have a recipe for Omaha.

        I think Canham can make the team competitive and make the tourney regularly but he’ll need exceptional talent to come in to win titles. It’s nice to sign a Mick Abel but getting them to school is what needs to be done. He’ll need Tyree Reed and Jabin Trosky to come to school to win in Omaha.

        Reply

        • Are conditions more favorable now for colleges teams, with minor league baseball contracting this year and also having a year off?
          That and the 2020 draft being shortened from 40 rounds to only 5?
          Seems like there will be a log jam of players eligible in the 2021 draft and MLB teams might be less likely to take a chance on a HS kid, which could benefit college teams.

          Reply

          • Absolutely college baseball will benefit from the MLB shortening the draft not only this year but upcoming years too.

            Star HS players will still go pro but the ones who used to turn pro based purely on hope will now go to college more often. Smaller schools should become better. Harder in baseball for the richer to become richer since baseball is a non revenue sport for pretty much everyone.

            Reply
        • 1

          Abel and Reed were/are top 15 picks. Those guys very rarely go to college because the money doesn’t get that much better even if you do improve your stock in college. On the off chance they do go to college, it’s not because they love the coach.

          In general, I agree, though. The “young team” excuse was rarely trotted out during PC’s golden years.

          Reply

          • Yeah that’s my point. For those few years, Beavs got more top guys to come to school than normal. Madrigal and Grenier were guys who were never expected to come. Kevin Abel would have gone pretty high too but he said he’s a rare one who said he was going to college no matter what.

            Reply
      • 2

        OSU isn’t a program with inherent advantages. If anything, it has inherent disadvantages. Pat Casey was a lenegdary coach, so to expect anyone to come in and replicate what he built (or even sustain it at the same level) is unreasonable. Add to that the fact that a lot of Casey’s knowledge was hard-won through years of the program not being elite, and it makes it especially hard for someone new to come in and pick up where he left off.

        That said, the program ought to have a certain level of expectation given where it has been recently. If Mitch can’t get to the CWS regularly, it’s time to find someone else. Hopefully he doesn’t get the alumni slack and things don’t trend downhill for too long if that is the case.

        Reply
        • 4

          I didn’t expect anyone to come in and replicate it or sustain it. When Casey retired, I said it was the end of an era. Some asked my why I was down on MC, and I said why. He looked clueless coaching and recruiting in decline.

          Reply

  12. I’d like to see some roster stability. The past few years there has been so much turnover, it’s hard to get into this current iteration of Beaverbaseball. I understand it comes with the territory with a coaching staff change. I’d just like to start getting an idea of which guys will be our foundational pieces the next few years. I don’t have high expectations for this team since very few of them have played together, and we likely won’t have very well defined roles for most of the roster through most of the season.

    Reply

  13. Wednesday is the 2nd signing day. What used to be one of the more newsy days of the year is now fairly boring because of the early December signing period.
    As far as I know, the only expected scholarship “signing” tomorrow is the mission bound kid from Utah, Orion Maile-Kaufusi. But even that wouldn’t qualify as anything more than a ceremonial signing since he won’t count towards the 2021 class. Besides him, there are several PWO guys who will officially sign tomorrow.
    So mostly a day of non-counters tomorrow.
    I don’t know of the potential for any surprise announcements, but that just isn’t Smith’s style. If anything, maybe we add an OL or CB in the next 48 hours, but at this point I’m more expecting Smith to use any remaining scholarship spots on transfers over the next 6 months.

    Whenever the NCAA officially waives the sitting period, I’d expect a ton more underclassmen to become available in the portal. That’s when things could really get interesting to follow, because the Beavs should have several scholarship to work with. Up to this point it’s been mostly grad transfers that have been available.
    My understanding is the rules won’t be made official till around August, and will only apply to players who entered the portal before May 1st. So underclassmen are taking a leap of faith by emtering the portal before May and hoping the rules actually get relaxed by August. Leave it to the NCAA to over promise and under deliver.

    Reply
    • 1

      A really long shot is Clay Millen. He’s still uncommitted at this point. Adding him would give 5 scholarship QBs and they seem to be striking out on the 2022 class. I’ve made his case before but he has a big upside.

      Reply
      • 2

        I’m curious to know how his recruiting strategy has changed over the years. It’s easy to recruit by telling kids you have the best team in the country when you do, but how did he recruit when he didn’t have the best team in the country? He’s obviously intelligent and well-spoken, but he has a calm demeanor (most of the time) and comes across as very genuine. For me personally, that’s more effective than being a snake oil salesman like Taggart, but his style seemed to work also. Maybe it was just because he had Phil’s waffle company behind him.

        Reply
    • 4

      Thanks for all of the updates and context NiceBeaver. You provide a great deal of information here and I know we all appreciate it.

      Reply
      • 1

        No prob, just wish the Beavs had better info to share. I’ve found the last month or so to be pretty underwhelming. They still haven’t addressed their DL issues. They only pulled in 1 OL in this class(Bloomfield I giess should count, and maybe another on Wednesday if Jason White flips) and they need DB depth after Dunn and Wright left and Morris retired.
        OSU isnt sneaking any transfers away from the bigger schools anymore.
        Maybe the plan is to dangle 2 or 3 scholarship spots in front of 10-15 walkons and have then battle it out to fill the roster. We’ve gotten decent walkons this cycle, but that’s not going to win you many games. Beavs need more talent upgrades and so far they seem to be treading water.

        Reply
        • 1

          Agree. The lack of line talent commitments is telling and disappointing. No reason to expect more than a meaningless bowl game at best. I always thought Smith’s personal experience would have paid off here, in that he could [essentially] say “I was a QB, and I know the value of Dline talent. We couldn’t have had that season and Fiesta dominance without the Presidents. We have a good offense, we just need you all to put us in the running again.” Right now, without Jefferson, even the offense is not guaranteed to be more than middling.

          And also good point on the secondary. “Filling out the roster” won’t get it done. They can’t run a 3-4 this way.

          Reply

  18. Is there any downside to taking so many PWO’s? Seems like it’s a “low cost” way of getting potential sleepers in the door with minimal commitment on either side. There are always guys that stay under the radar through junior year, then blow up senior year. Why not try to get them to OSU in a year where the blow up was never allowed to happen?

    Reply
    • 1

      Small downside. Recruits who are offered scholarships might look at the roster and see a ton of guys at his position but doesn’t know some of them are walk ons. Or other schools can use it as negative recruiting saying the Beavs have too many at a position and that recruit won’t get any playing time etc. Standard negative recruiting but works both ways too.

      Reply

  19. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/how-korey-foremans-signing-may-have-set-a-new-course-for-usc-the-pac-12-and-college-football-recruiting/

    Interesting article here. They really hype the potential earnings from NIL, despite nothing having been announced. Knowing the NCAA, I’m guessing it will be capped somehow.

    It seems like relevance and exposure in Portland will be even more important for OSU recruiting going forward if NIL does start to be a big driver in recruiting.

    Reply
    • 1

      Will be interesting. The NLI stuff has pretty specific rules about players being able to profit off their likeness, as long as they arent tied into the school. For instance, a player could print up t-shirts saying:
      “Jermar Jefferson-Running Back”
      but not
      “Jermar Jefferson-Oregon State Running Back”

      So with the NCAA game, how are they able to present players’ names and likeness associated with the teams? Maybe they have special licensing rules that allow that to happen? And does this mean Nike can start selling player branded apparel if the NCAA games can cross brand?
      No idea how that will all work, but you can expect somebody won’t be happy with the outcome.

      Reply
    • 1

      They’re saying they aren’t counting on NIL to make the game. The big move is they’re doing it without NCAA licenses and working through CLC to directly get licenses from the individual schools. They don’t have every school signed on yet, but they have ~100 FBS schools.

      Reply

  22. 2021 schedule has ASU coming to Corvallis for the third year in a row. Obviously a quirk due to the pandemic scheduling but pretty sure the game will be in Nov as it has been for the last few matchups.

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  23. 4
    1

    One of you was asking recently about Trejon Williams out of Jefferson HS. Already has several offers, but was just reading a Brandon Huffman article about him that said the ducks are his new favorite.
    Thought that was odd because the NCAA had rules against a team recruiting a highschool player within 2 years of hiring his high school coach(Ducks hired Don Johnson last year).

    Turns out, the NCAA just relaxed that rule to 1 year, so suddenly the ducks are able to recruit him. Funny how things work out in favor of certain teams.

    Reply
    • 2

      Also makes me wonder how things might have played out differently if Damir Collins and Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge had waited till the kate signing period? Oregon was interested in both but couldnt recruit them.

      Reply
      • 1
        5

        Hey Nice,

        I have been thinking the same thing. I have no idea the connection/relationship between Dirty Don and Coach H. Lillard, but would hope that H. Lillard would encourage the relationship he built through his work in 7V7 with his private club and OSU. I believe there are several H. Lillard 7v7 alums at OSU. I know D. Lillard showed up to a game in an OSU jersey to support Jaydon Grant. H. Lillard has done a lot to grow football in Oregon as far as 7v7 participation and building football opportunities.

        That all being said, I believe H. Lillard and all the other major HS HC’s will support whatever is deemed in the athletes best interest for the future. Meaning loyalty in football is a rare commodity. I think it is more important how they view our program, which is something our Staff is in control of. People pay attention to results and winning the Civil War mattered. We HAVE to build on this year’s results and reach a bowl game next year.

        OSU has a great opportunity in front of it to show every OR HS FB program exactly where our loyalty is when faced with crisis, ie pandemic/covid/no HS season. Plus it appears we will test how a program built on a core of instate and Northwest players in 2021+ does, kind of a fun throw back to old days of OSU. W/O factoring in transfers for both schools, OSU currently has 24-25 instate players and The Fucks had 12-13. I know Basso went and there may be several others but I believe at least 1-2 local guys also left the Fucks. The new class of commits and walk-on’s will push us close to, if not over 30-34 instate players on roster.

        I don’t believe Collins would have come here, especially if they could have recruited during that same time due to Dirty Don’s history with him. Candidly I wonder if there is way Dirty Don goes to work and finds a hardship waiver to get Collins available. I want to say this would have been H. Lillard’s first year with Collins at Jefferson and Dirty Don was Collins coach at Jefferson for most of his development. NRK would also end up down south as well. Although I will only refer to him as Dirty Don on principle, the dude is a straight up baller recruiter and credit is due there.

        Collins strikes me as hard working, loyal and values relationships based on his media interactions so far. As long as he is used early and given opportunities I think he is secure as a Beav long term (transfer track) given the track record of developing successful NFL RB’s.

        Thorn to Danny Moran
        Rose to the Vidlak family genetics

        Go Beavs!

        Reply
          • 2

            Taking the high road….he’s not the first and he won’t be the last reporter to attack athletes/OSU on behalf of The O. Kind of funny watching reporters get upset that OSU Staff wasn’t “transparent”/forthcoming or held back when asked questions this year.

            Often feels like the reporters who cover us are just looking to tear down others to build their career. I enjoy when Coaches/The Program are held accountable, hence why I am here. I just don’t believe certain lines should be crossed in the name of progressing ones journalist career.

            Thorn to OSU Parking Enforcement
            Rose and RIP to Pounders at Half Time

            Go Beavs

            Reply
          • 1

            @KosherBeaver,
            Nothing wrong with “taking the high road”, commendable actually.
            And besides, it appears Karma took care of Moran’s career.

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          • 3

            @oob
            Thanks. Agreed at least in regard to Sport’s Reporting career. From what I could tell he works for Speaker of the House of Reps Tina Kotek as her communications director.

            Thorn to Verone McKinley
            Rose to a Orange and Black State

            Go Beavs

            Reply
  24. 9
    7

    Shalom Nice and Angry,

    I am interested in both your takes on the overall roster evolution and the legion of PWO’s we are seeing. Also I recently saw Andouche Nimrod covered a change in NCAA policy that basically allows Dirty Don to return home to Jefferson and recruit players I believe starting next year….but I am not 100% sure about that timing. Just feels a bit like luck of the Beavs that a two year window with restrictions on our rival gets chopped down to one. Thoughts on this change?

    In regard to the roster evolution, I had written out a list of players we should consider might Transfer/Graduate/Retire/Disappeared due to COVID/NFL. Also I tried to primarily focus on SR or RS SR/some RSJR, or the remainder of Anderson’s recruiting time. I don’t believe the past two classes (2020/2019) have seen transfers from scholarship players yet.

    So far roster evolution:
    HE GONE:
    K. Montibon(?), J. Chryst (Transfer), Nick Moore (Transfer Uof A I think), Mason Moran (Transfer), Matt Tago (Transfer 2020 OSU South), Kolby Taylor(Retire), Nashon Wright (NFL DRAFT), JJ (NFL DRAFT), Rashed (NFL DRAFT), K. Dawkins (Transfer), I. Garcia (Transfer Fresno), Calvin Tyler(Transfer Utah), I. Dunn(NFL DRAFT), D. Morris(Retire), Marcus Harris (Transfer Idaho), J. Nelson (Transfer), Conner Warick (Transfer), K. Hayes (Transfer), I. Stewert (Transfer), Charles Moore (Transfer 2020 Marshall), Cameron Stoudemire (Transfer 2020), Connor Morton (Left Program 2020), Job Dockery (Left program as a Walk On, suspect due to Social Media he may be returning in 2021. I think he used the past year with COVID to build/manage his business with his brother, he wears an OSU helmet in almost all his videos. The exposure the Dockery brothers have provided OSU is actually really impressive. I think he may return as a W/O)
    WATCH LIST/WITH ROSTER:
    J. Whitley (back in Corvallis IMPACT), T. Bradford(Depth/Impact), C. Flemmings(Depth), M. Watson(Where did you go/Do you still play?), C. Lightbourn, D. Taumoelau(Depth), L. Leonning(I believe he hasn’t transferred), Andres H-M(Impact), N. Seumalo(IDK?), K. Sorenson (Depth), O. Clark(Depth/Impact), N. Keobounnam(Depth/Impact), B. Wellsfry (PLEASE TRANSFER/GRAD/Improve), N. Eldridge (IMPACT),J Bush (Depth), Jeromy Reichner (Pray for health) and J. Grant(Impact), A Skelton (Injury Recover/Depth)

    JOINED US SINCE SEASON END/COMMITTED:
    Deshaun Fenwick RB SC->OSU
    Makiya Tongue WR UG->OSU
    Heneli Bloomfield OL UT->OSU
    Elijah Jones DB/CB Kansas->OSU

    I believe that is it for Transfers in so far, please add if I missed one

    2021 Class w/o PWO’s:
    S. Vidlak Scholarship
    O. Fa’amoe Scholarship
    A. Madison Scholarship
    D. Collins Scholarship
    E. Mascarenas Scholarship
    J. Valsin Scholarship
    J.T. Byrne Scholarship
    H. Buckles Scholarship
    O. Maile-Kaufusi LDS MISSION Commit

    PWO’s:
    Jack Kane (CA Servite, same HS as J. Overman), Carter Neuman (OR), Gavin Haines (OR), Zach Holmes (OR), Tyeson Thomas (OR->TX->OR), Jake Wright (OR), Jake Blair (SW WA CAMAS), Jeremiah Noga (OR), Bryce Caufield (OR)

    Sad we missed on Brody Reese, felt like a nice addition for Depth at DL. Quality PWO offer out to T. Walker at Beaverton HS, would be another 6ft+ walk on.

    I am surprised we haven’t seen any offer to Slade Shufelt at Hillsboro, Jason Davis at Jefferson, Carson Cota at South Medford or Declan Quillin at Jesuit. I know more about some then others, and some may not be great additions, but these 4 were the main ones I am scratching my head on.

    Hopefully we see family continue to impact our recruiting. Looking at you Beason! Nice to see how the younger siblings of Gebbia, Quillin, Arnold and many others improve. Stewert, who just transferred, also has a younger brother who is high level.

    In my post back in December I wrote:
    “In my early post I refer to his connections in the state and recruiting relationships, I would think that is what is keeping his seat somewhat safe. And I will give him credit, the dude busts his ass finding players. I’m just hesitant at throwing congratulatory words when his impact is basically a carousel in the specialist room, local fringe 3 Star and down commits and local/regional PWO’s. I just appreciate the effort, hence we as fans being ok with that second/third chance for him.”

    Given how this past week has gone, it feels like OSU is capitalizing and building relationships to payoff down the line as well locally.
    Jefferson (Collins)
    West Linn (Haines and Holmes)
    Lake Oswego/Lakeridge (Thomas and Caufield)
    Sheldon (Neuman)
    Southern Oregon (Vidlak and Noga)
    Add in Clackamas, Centeral Catholic and various other Salem/Eugene/Metro/PIL/THREE RIVERS HS, our footprint is solid.

    Circling this all back to my reference of Dirty Don, I wanted to address areas that could easily grown. I have to imagine that Coach Linny is on speed dial for this staff. He is one of if not the best Line coach in the NW and has major influence on recruits. Holmes, Buckles and I believe Reese all train with Linny, as well as most high level linemen regionally. It seems a no-brainer to build with him if you are OSU, he is an Alum.

    In addition quite a few PWO’s/scholarships are connected through various local 7v7 teams, good to keep growing this relationship due to many high level younger players. Are the days of TMP to Corvallis done?

    I hope all is well and everyone is healthy. Also please don’t shut down this site. BH, BB, BEdge, Olive and local papers fucking suck at covering this program we love.

    Eff the Ducks
    Never Sco
    WARDaddy believes in charity
    Nimrod rides duck dick
    OSU was TMP’s sidechick

    Rose to OSU wrestling, if you aren’t paying attention, you are missing the next great team at OSU being built
    Thorn to LaVonda Wagner…’nuff said

    Go Beavs

    Reply
  25. 5
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    Aleah Goodman 1st in pac12 and 5th in the nation in 3 pt FG %. I guess she’s found her shooting touch again…great job Aleah and keep it going.

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      1

      Kind of a worthless take because their explanation is “it’s probably due to the lack of available scholarships.”

      That’s one thing I don’t get about the rating system: it ranks teams with lower average stars but more players ahead of smaller classes with higher ratings.

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    • 1

      He hasnt entered the portal. I think most underclassmen are waiting for more information from the NCAA about the 1 time transfer waiver rules. Nobody wants to transfer, thinking they wont have to sit out, and then get screwed out of a year of eligibility.

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      • 2

        Today is only about current HS signers, or transfers who have already come to OSU.
        The rest of the offseason will be open season for transfers. I expect the Beavs to be busy in that regard, since they had several transfers leave or guys retire. Now they need to find replacements. Time will tell if they do it successfully, but the transfer news will come sporadically over the next several months leading up to Fall camp.

        Reply
  32. 2

    Regarding recruiting strategy: it seems pretty obvious the staff is banking on the transfer portal rather than HS guys. If they were really concerned about incoming HS depth, they would have been offering more scholarships close to signing day to try to pad numbers. Instead, we saw the PWO spree.

    The real cause for concern will be if we don’t get good news in the next five months.

    Reply
  33. 2
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    Jason White…please please please please please please please. All I want for February is a defensive end that is 6’7″, 290 pounds and hasn’t started a college weightlifting program yet.

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  34. 3
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    Jason White commits! That’s a big addition to this class and validation that it really does help in recruiting to have a good OL coach onboard.

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      1

      The fact that it hasn’t officially been announced indicates the LOI hasn’t been sent over quite yet.
      Would be such a luck O the Beavs way to end the day, to have him decommit from Boise St, tell OSU he’s going to commit to them, and then flip to one of our rivals at the last second.
      Nothing would surprise me, haha

      Reply
  35. 1

    A little more context on recruiting rankings. OSU’s average commit ranking in the P12:

    2018- 12th
    2019- 11th
    2020- 10th
    2021- 9th

    So, according to the experts, the overall quality in this class is better than JS’s previous classes and we’re improving vs. the conference every year.

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  37. 5
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    Seems pretty shady to hold off on announcing Pitre’s leaving until the hour after signing day is complete. If we’re being honest

    Reply

    • Could look at it the other way. Pitre held off announcing to be loyal to JS and not screw him.

      Recruits really commit to the head coach since assistants come and go. Though historically the Beavs haven’t seen much turnover under the last few coaching staffs.

      Reply
      • 3
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        I’m with Bill I don’t think it’s a huge deal other than ever one seems to like him. RB is one of the easiest positions to learn if not the easiest. Pretty much physical natural skill. The biggest learning curve is blocking and blitz pickup which I don’t expect they’ll ask damir to do too much. Not an every down back.

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            They didnt even wait for the ink to dry on those LOIs before revealing the news, haha.

            Hey kids, life lesson. Dont trust your coaches.

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          • 3

            It’s a lesson that happens all the time in the real world. One day you have a great job and boss and then out of nowhere they announce they are leaving for a better job. Next manager in is terrible and you want to quit but you don’t have any options.

            Reply

        • “Pitre was probably telling these guys…”
          “I’d be pissed if he was a deciding factor”

          Looks a little sketchy to me as well; but doesn’t this highlight what fans are missing without a first rate beat reporter? If’s and Probablies that can’t be known without “the rest of the story”.
          No guarantee any reporter could find all the answers but I’d still like to see better.
          Now………..get off my lawn!

          Reply
    • 2

      Makes no difference as Pitre himself could not have known any thing about this more than 2 weeks. Until it is final there is no official announcement to make. He was not involved in recruiting anybody directly in this signing day. The only signee that it could be affectef is Jason White. Pitre was not going to be his position coach and he was not the primary recruiter.

      The only other possible argument is Fenwick who has been training with the team for a month. This is much ado about nothing.

      Reply
  41. 3

    One of my followers who is somewhat close to the program seems to think Alonzo Carter will likely be the next RB coach.
    He also pointed out Mama tweeted about the guy earlier today, so maybe there’s something to it.

    https://twitter.com/AngieMachado1/status/1357084152588169217?s=19

    Would check alot of the same boxes Pitre does. He’s the RB coach and recruiting coordinator at SJSU. Very good recruiter. California ties. Has relationships with many of the same prospects OSU has been pursuing. RBs performed well at SJSU this season. Works for me. Hope they’re right.

    I noticed he follows the Beavrecruiting account. Maybe I’ll have to cut to the chase and ask him if he’s coming to OSU ;)

    Reply
  42. 9

    Alonzo Carter is a great dude. Got a lot of hype for his past as a dancer for MC Hammer, but I covered him coaching HS in Oakland and players swear by him. Took a school that had a problem keeping kids eligible for sports and made them deterimined to be eligible. I was so impressed with him as a coach. I really hope this happens – both for Alonzo and the Beavs.

    Not too alarmed with the Beavs recruiting rankings. While the numbers may be low – average player ranking is about 8th or 9th in the conference. The Beavs can’t take flyers on HS kids – particularly with the limited season this past fall. Better to grab these guys after a year in community college or through the portal.

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    • 2
      4

      Was that prototype that was making the rounds finalized? Man, I hate the decision not to mirror the east side. I like the east side but more importantly not mirroring makes it look shoddy and cobbled-together, only a marginal improvement from what we have now. Not a cohesive football stadium. Besides, if cost is the issue, wouldn’t you save a good chunk of engineering $ by replicating the original blueprints?

      Reply
      • 3

        I used to think they should mirror it but what they have now is fine. The original plan was to mirror back in 2002 and capacity would end up at 60k. Don’t think they need more than 45k now.

        Reply

        • Expected number of seats after construction, per Barnes in Oregonian article, is 34K to 39K.

          In my opinion, it needs and should be atleast 38.5K. Beavers regularly had 42-44K in attendance at Riley games during his peak so to drop it too much from there and not allow for enough fans when program is better would limit the atmosphere some.

          Do think some reduction is OK as better to have a fuller stadium overall and I like the change in drawings to replace some 2nd deck wing seats with canopies for food vendors or what-not. As those would have just been rainy seats and there are enough of those on East side. Adds a little character too to see canopies on a 2nd level. New design has clear wrap around of “Beaver Street” to north end zone but the lower level seats don’t have much angle to them. Hopefully still fine for seeing over people in front of you.

          Right now I think Phil Knight may have been the $50 million donor. We’ll see if is like Pat Casey thing and word eventually leaks of donor.

          Reply

          • Certainly don’t like the low number 34K. That would be too small.

            But I’ve said before, the south endzone can accommodate a second deck if more capacity is ever needed.

            Reply

        • OK I agree that 60K seats isn’t a good thing, and that total number of seats should decline somewhat (though maybe not as much as what is proposed) but my main concern is aesthetic.

          I think you could reduce capacity while keeping the design more similar, right? Maybe just lose or shrink the upper deck “wings”.

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          • 3

            Wings are removed in latest images of the highest level conpared to prior renderings. Replaced by landings for a couple tents that will also allow a number of people to be in this area to see views. Could be a fun stop for tours of the stadium too. Besides those wings being removed, it looked like Beaver Street causeway is now completely exposed to the weather. Pros ad cons to that. I really hope it ends up near the high end of Barnes 34-39K. I’d go 38.5 or 39K. I prefer the previous design’s more stacked level look and lower level seats with better angles.

            Would have just used prior design with top level wing seats for landings/tent tradeoff and less glass to that design, even though I didn’t mind the glass either. Even a compromise between the two designs that still had atleast 60% of the Beaver Street covered with final third or so exposed would have been better than it all open air IMO because of all the rain getting it entirely wet now in latest design.

            Think the previous design had more character with the more stacked look. Was more unique and the overall look a bit cleaner.

            See prior design: https://twitter.com/BeavRecruiting/status/1351699540932325376?s=19

            Reply

      • I thought the same thing, but the sketch rendering of the stadium from the south looking towards the valley football center makes it look better then just pics of the west side. It’s not to bad. I thought it would be nice to enclose the south end to make it a horseshoe, but remembered we need fans in order to justify that.

        Reply

        • Horseshoe double-decker wolud have been 55K. A true mirror would have been 48-49K without a double decker in South Endzone. This design reduces capacity from a true mirror by about 10K seats.

          Like some of the changes from this sketch versus others posted before like not having so much use of glass. Could have lived with or without the extra wings the prior design had on top level, but this design with some walkable area for vendor canopies on both sides is a fair trade off.

          This new Beaver Street is open air where before I think it was there but more underneath the club deck so you wouldn’t have to get wet. Not sure the new design wins in this rspect or not. The other design felt more vertical which I think I liked more but would have just traded the wing seats for the top level tents. Other design seemd to have a better lowest level too that had a better angle too. So IMO some things better, some things maybe not quite as good with latest design.

          With this fairly broad Beaver Street we see here will it just be a causeway and will those fans actually get access to the North Endzone “Terrace” or not. Either Terrace remains a premium amenity or all walk around is for club fans or this part of Beaver Street just mainly allows the lower level people to get to their seats. We’ll see.

          Reply
        • 1

          The extra glass that the prior design had was also mostly at the highest levels. By reducing that considerably in the latest designs, it must limit the 360 degree views that would have been possible. Both to the west and South is pretty views. Views to the north to see the practice facility and practice fields likely also reduced. Would have to see interior renderings looking out of prior and current design but if they will use this for lots of conferences, then lots of pretty views at the top would be nice.

          Generally I like the prior design more. Would have made even milder changes to it. Just the top landings trade for the top wing seats and to have 25% of Beaver Street exposed to open air with 75% covered. Glass use at top could have been toned down fractionally but would have kept most of it for the premium 360 degree views of the valley and coast range foothills.

          Reply

          • It does look like they added glass windowed suites just between the top level and next level in the latest design, where before they looked more like logs seats. I like that as one thing I said I would add to the prior design was more clearly visible glass suites and not just the press box. I think there are other suite like areas lower at “club” level but they are more recessed and not as visible with club/loge seats right below them I think.

            Reply

      • For those wondering if fans will be allowed in Surprise for the 4 games Feb 19-22, here is Eggers responding to a reader who wanted a link to information and “curious how Eggers had the inside scoop” that fans would be allowed:
        “There’s no “link.” Just call the stadium box office like I did…”

        Take note wannab and beavergopher !!

        Reply
  47. 3

    Press conference highlights –

    Name will stay as Reser. Barnes deflected on whether donor has naming rights. Said name will stay the same but didn’t completely close the door. Will try naming rights to parts of the stadium to help with the funding.
    Another anonymous donor contributed 10 million.
    Total goal is $85M in donor funds. They have verbal commitments on top of the $60M anonymous donors.
    The cost of maintaining the old side has become cumbersome so by rebuilding the westside it will offset those increasing costs.

    Breaking ground will happen after the 2021 season and be done by summer 2023.
    Smith lived in Callahan.

    Reply

      • No comments on it. I’d say they’ll just do the same when the east side was constructed. Do a complete demolition of the stands and put in temporary bleachers while they build up the foundation.

        I can’t see them using an alternate location. What other options would there even be?

        Reply
        • 2

          Wonder if they could set up an agreement with the leaugue teams they’re set to host in 2022, to play those games as road games and flip flop that for 2023?
          Basically requiring the Beavs to be road warriors for 2022, and then mostly home games in 2023.
          Could even work for the Boise st games, since they play both years.
          Only game leftover is Montana State, which would need other accomodations

          Reply
  48. 1
    1

    BBall tonight vs UW. UW has not played well this year. If the Beavs can open up the game early and win the rebounding battle, it’ll be hard for UW to keep up.

    Reply

  50. On 2nd look what I thought were glass suites below the highest level of seats may just be light going through an open space for fans to walk below the highest deck. I would do suites where possible but this could be a needed area for fans to get around to their seats. Anyone else have an opinion if they are suites or light shooting through a pedestrian area? On the prior renderings this looked more like a loge seating area.

    Reply
  51. 5

    MBB currently with an 18-2 assist-turnover ratio and we’re +9 on turnovers. Nice.

    Still, we’re up 20 and getting out-rebounded. This is the formula for a team that can beat the bottom feeders, but will struggle against top teams.

    Also, UW is a great example of how fortunes can change quickly in college basketball.

    Reply
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      3

      Alatishe has to be one of the top 5 athletic players in the conference. His blocked shot coming from the weak side to block the 7 footer for the huskies was a highlight block. Beavers played probably their best and complete game this season. They’re actually enjoyable to watch and they play some pretty solid defense. Lucas is lighting it up too and Ethan is finally playing up to expectations. I still can’t figure out what to make of Zach Reichle… .

      Reply
  54. 3
    1

    Ok, if you want to see the new Reser plans accurately, you have to take a screenshot and then ZOOM in. The area below the top deck and large middle deck is an entire concourse which at the ends are the double canopy landings. The lower Beaver Street also does look like it may be 33-40% covered and under this covered section is likely food and concession vendors with perhaps some simple seating in case some people want to snack in this area before heading back to their seats. Have a much better idea of these concourses after zooming in, especially the upper one which much of the space I couldn’t even identify properly before zooming. Overall my perception slightly increased to the overall design after seeing it in closer detail.

    Reply

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