As we wait to hear word on this past recruiting weekend and Marcus Peter's announcement on Monday, here are some things on my mind. Feel free to chime in with your own.
1. Scott Rueck is a heck of a coach. I've been wondering if there's any precedent of a women's basketball coach taking over a men's program. If so who did it, and how did that turn out? The Lady Beavs play with fire for all 40 minutes.
2. That being said, they did just lose to Oregon. This brings up two issues:
- Can we beat Oregon in any sport? Hell, I'll take a beer pong victory in a frat basement.
- Is losing to Oregon a positive? Or to rephrase: can anything positive come from losing to Oregon?
The second point is more interesting than the first, which is nothing more than a chippy quip. The thing about rivalries is that when one team become the clear "big brother", the little brother is forced to improve or curl into the fetal position. I think Oregon's dominance this past year has put everyone in OSU's athletic department into an "oh shit" mindset, and they're going to [be forced to] improve their product because of it. The sad thing is it takes Oregon dominating us to trigger this change in mindset. The fan base is on edge and looking over the ledge.
3. The "two biggest recruiting weekends in OSU history" wilted into two average weekends. Most of the athletes who showed up were near the same caliber that we always recruit. Maybe a hair better, but definitely nothing to rave about. I blame the recruiting services and media in general for the hype and subsequent deflation of Beaver Nation after things didn't pan out. Every year we're told it will be the year we get over the hump in recruiting. "Wins translate into landing better recruits!"…if I had a pre-1965 Quarter for every time I heard that line. Meanwhile, I just heard how the Ducks are finalists for two top 100 defensive tackles. Sounds like they, not us, are having the biggest recruiting weekend in program history. Shocker, right? I have a lot of ideas on how to improve recruiting. I'm sure they will fall on deaf ears or be called "stupid" by the optimistic (read: lunatic) fringe, but what the hell:
- Make the bad weather a selling point (i.e. "real men play in bad weather" or "it will prepare you for the NFL", etc).
- Build a Portland extension campus/business school for kids who want city life and a business degree. Move away from the "Ag school" reputation.
- Increase the value of an OSU degree (i.e. increase admission standards). We lose recruiting battles with Cal and Washington over and over because of this.
- Hire a sports psychologist (have I mentioned this one yet?) to work on recruits we do land.
- Build a business model by analyzing teams that excel despite having scare resources, such as the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Chargers, etc. It's all about absolute efficiency with what you do have.
- Switch to old school uniforms in an effort to re-brand the product. Heck, it would be a back-handed jab at Oregon as well.
- Redo the End Zones at Reser. Both the font and color are an eye sore.
- Always wear the orange jersey top. It has "curb appeal" as they say.
- Remove the cartoon beaver–no chance an 18 year old kid thinks that is cool.
- Redo Benny. That face and the matted fur…he seriously looks like a stuffed animal that was lying under an 80 year old woman's bed since she was 10.
- Rethink marketing…whether that means hiring Nike, or going rogue it doesn't matter. The current marketing department is terrible and stuck in the 80s.
- Use the internet to scout recruits. The staff are dinosaurs/Luddites.
- Be less conservative with finances…sometimes the long term payoff makes going into debt a good thing. It's what people do when they buy an education or a home. There is such thing as good debt. Money spent on facilities and re-branding would be money well spent.
- Move to an Air-Raid attack. Sure, you can win with a pro-style offense, but it's been around forever, and therefore pretty easy for defensive coordinators to scheme against. I think the New England Patriots offense would work well in Corvallis, especially with Tyler Trosin, a Wes Welker clone, signing on this cycle. This would be an offense as hip as Oregon's, but also in stark contrast. In short, we'd have our own, unique "gimmick" to run. I say that in jest of course. If you believe the Air Raid won't work in rainy Corvallis, fine, how about a line of hogs and power backs? The bottom line is the team should have a National image or identity. The pro-offense is like those now defunct TV/VCR/DVD/CD all in one electronics. It does a little of everything, but does nothing very well.
- Keep the family atmosphere; just make the family a lot cooler to be around.
- Recruit high I.Q. and leadership, not just athleticism or tangibles.
- Hire Angry Beaver as a consultant.
I mean, I could go on and on.
On a side note, many of you know I was annoyed by the departure of Ryan Allen, David Ross, and Kevan Walker. I spoke with Walker today to get an opinion on Riley; I wanted to know if he got a fair shake since there's been a trend of talented guys leaving the program. The reason I care is because it almost feels like the players were forced out, and in favor of worse players who Riley favored for whatever reason. Is Hardin or Martin really better than David Ross? Is Geno Munoz or Arron Nichols so good that Kevan Walker didn't deserve a single snap? Walker held a UCLA offer; Ross a Nebraska offer–those are nothing to sneeze at. At least give that kind of talent a chance in a game. And we all know about Riley's love forJohnny Hekker (before the apologists lash out, realize Hekker was a Junior this past season and 3 year starter, while Allen was a sophomore and 1st year starter).
Anyway, Kevan answered my lone question:
Q: Kevan, do you feel that Riley give you a fair shot at wide receiver?
A: I had a shot my red-shirt year but I feel after that I didn't get the same opportunities as the other receivers. I loved it there, but I love football too, and feel like I am good enough to play and not just sit on the sideline each week. Didn't want to leave, but I just want to play.
I wish I elaborated on it now, but you get the gist of it. Sounds like Walker was pretty frustrated.
Anyway, these are my notes and thoughts right now. Add your own, discuss whatever, as we wait to hear what transpired this weekend. My overall feeling is that we're in dire need of some good news on the recruiting front and victories on the court.
Isn’t it a good thing when unproductive players on scholarship leave?
Weak.
1. He had offers from Utah, Minnesota, and UCLA. Clearly he has talent.
2. Matthew Sieverson and Clinton Polk were “unproductive players” before they got on the field. In fact, I’d wager my home that every player in NCAA who never saw the field was unproductive.
Walker should have been given a chance. I believe the one ball thrown to him (in 2009) went for ~20 yards.
Your point would be fine if I were talking about a known unproductive player such as Pankey. I’d love to see a guy like that transfer.
I guess I once again fail to see your point. Walker transferred he wasn’t kicked off the team.
Right, just like Ross and Allen.
The Beavers finally won a recruiting battle with Nebraska for a 4-star DB, then never even put him on the field once to see what he can do.
Meanwhile, we have to suffer through watching Hardin and Pankey get burned over and over and over.
Is it really hard to understand the point that well-sought talent should see the field instead of being forced to transfer?
How do we know Ross wasn’t just snooting his life away? Do you know he was better than Hardin? I am not saying I know but it is not uncommon for star athletes to party all the time and do a bunch of coke. You have to be a pretty amazing athlete to make it on talent alone. Talent alone takes you through High School but not that many guys can get away with not busting ass in the NCAA’s. It is not inconceivable that a 2-star that busts ass and knows the coverage is better than a lazy 4-star guy. Not saying if this is the case or not but I think it is crazy to assume just because a kid has a bunch of stars next to his name means he should see the field.
My WAG is instead of having a problem with coke Ross couldn’t break the habit of looking back for the ball.
OSU DBs do not look back for the ball, even if it hits them in the back of the head.
I never played beyond high school, but we were coached one way. If the DB doesn’t turn his head to look for the ball then we should throw directly at his head.
Also, regarding Munoz and Nichols, Munoz isn’t a great argument as he himself has only seen a handful of snaps.
Nichols is different…seemed to me he became a nonfactor after that concussion. It’s like it made him tentative, and it killed his game. So in retrospect, post-concussion Nichols probably should have ridden the bench. But pre-concussion Nichols was a pretty awesome player. Without a significant effort coming from practice (which I think it’s safe to say Walker did not provide), starting Nichols seems like a pretty good decision.
You were at practice and saw Walker slacking off?
I was at practices and never saw Walker stepping up. He was ok. And for a good receiving core, ok’s not good enough.
I call BS on that. Sure, he had talent coming out of high school, but that certainly doesn’t guarantee he was good enough at the next level. High school talent is an indication of college success, but it certainly doesn’t guarantee it. 5 star athletes wash out or drastically underperform all the time- look at 2010 Texas!
Are you really basing this off of one successful play? A sample size of one? How do you know the guy wasn’t given a chance?
How do you know the guy wasn’t given a chance?
Because I watch every game, and he basically never played. The one time he did he caught a 20 yard pass.
Of course there are 5-star busts. That is a strawman argument.
Argue against my point, which is this: a promising talent should be given a chance.
I’m well aware he hasn’t played in any games- that’s not what I said. His chance was in practice, a chance to distinguish himself enough to earn a starting position.
I remember going to practice and hearing about the trio of Bishop, Walker, Munoz during their redshirt sophomore year, and the consensus was always Bishop in the lead, Munoz and Walker in a dead head shortly behind. If Walker never stepped up his game in practice, it doesn’t make sense to oust a starter to play him. Unlike other positions, our WRs have been generally very good over the past several years.
Any position must be earned, and I’m not convinced Walker ever earned it. All he had was a high school pedigree.
That makes no sense. He was clearly in the 2 deep since he saw action. The fact he cracked the 2 deep pretty much destroys the argument that he slacked off in practice. When Nichols became ineffective, why not put him in and give him a chance?
Also, JackBeav and I discussed this in the past–some players do better in games, when the pressure is on, than they do in practice. It is not that uncommon.
I don’t know…as I said above, post concussion Nichols appeared ineffective. So in retrospect it’s easy to say we should have tried something else. But who knows- that was around when the O-line and Katz’s play started to truly fall apart, so maybe Nichols wasn’t really the problem.
And while practice and games are very different, it still doesn’t make sense to play someone who’s been mediocre in practice just on the off-chance that they end up playing well under pressure. Again, that is making a decision based solely on a high school pedigree. Nichols – at least at one point – played very well under pressure.
I agree with your larger point, and with a failing unit (ie O-line) I would agree completely. But with a successful unit like our WR core, I don’t think we really have the basis to complain too much. WRs are also a unit where Riley has been very active in stocking talent (starting Rodgers, Catchings, Wheaton as true freshman over proven starters, etc).
Did Walker get a fair chance? I don’t think we’ll ever really know. I suspect yes, you can feel free to suspect no. But I really can’t imagine that the move hurts the program.
Do you think it was right Ryan Pohl never saw action over Grant Johnson or Burke Ellis? What I remember of Pohl’s lone start, he handled USC’s tackle pretty well in a Beaver victory.
I think in 2010 there should not have been an O-lineman on the roster without playtime and a significant shot at a starting role. So no.
You might be able to know – someday -depends upon where or if he plays at his next stop. However, that isn’t even a reliable gauge. Consider the nfl players who bounce from team to team, finally find a niche and excel.
How do you know he wasn’t given a chance? Were you at every practice. You prove yourself in practice then you get a chance on game day.
With regards to the suggestion for an “Air Raid” offense, S-I on Leach…
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/stewart_mandel/01/19/mike.leach/index.html
Leach will be an amazing value (i.e. top coach available at a low salary) for whichever school has the balls to give the finger to public perception.
The more I think about this, the more I think he’s a good hire for OSU. This is based on the assumption he’d come in as an offensive coordinator in a 4-5 year contract, and given his current lack of offers, he might.
Leach could be the Yin to Riley’s Yang – he’s aggressive in his desire to win;
He’s a good fit for OSU’s lack of strong run blockers and its slew of skill position players;
He and Riley would get more out of Katz, Vaz, and Mannion, than a Riley/Langsdorf combination;
Riley is trying to be a lifer for 6-win seasons, Leach is HIGHLY motivated to kick some ass and be on good behavior to get into head coaching again;
The Pac-12 would offer Leach some good exposure;
Riley is a great damper to Leach the Offensive Coordinator – with a more limited set of responsibilities, Leach is out from under the microscope of head coaching and free to focus on game planning and dissecting opposing defenses;
Leach’s offense would generate interest and appeal, and attract recruits. Likewise, when OSU stepped into their brutal preseason schedule every other or every third year, they’d have a much better chance of not only competing, but winning. This is the guy that beat Texas. Hard to imagine Riley doing that.
Leach could eventually get in the good graces of coaching again, and OSU would likely raise its exposure and improve its recruiting. Leach would leave for a head coaching job once some time had passed, and he and OSU would both be better off for the relationship.
Leach might feel above OSU…and it’s also hard to imagine Riley hiring someone with character issues. His current OC donated a kidney! But, in theory, it is an awesome hire, which means in reality it will never happen.
In the interest of full disclosure, the UCLA offer was likely related to his father’s employment status. His father was then the D-coordinator at UCLA (DeWayne Walker). He is actually a person I have cited as wishing was our D-coordinator. He is currently a head coach.
I really liked Kevan when I met him, he is a nice guy. I also thought he was a great athlete, I think he was just a victim of the depth chart. He was probably smart to leave, he saw all of the incoming WR recruits and knew he would be buried. I don’t know that it was because he was a poor player, I always thought he had talent. I think that it is probably one of those coach bias situations and bad luck. Best of luck to Kevan, hope he dominates for the rest of his career and gets an NFL shot.
+1
I wish him well; he seems like a good guy. Good point about his father, too. I vaguely remember musing of Kevan not being able to qualify at UCLA…not 100% sure of that, though. Minnesota, Utah, and OSU aren’t bad offers either way.
Since we’re talking about random stuff…Facebook has made me realize my girlfriend is 10x cuter than that whom DI athletes date. I have no idea how or why that happened, but it’s pretty sweet that an average looking dork like myself can get a better looking girl than Peat Jr.
Score one for the bad guys.
Apparently it’s being reported that ALL FOUR Grant HS recruits made the trip to Corvallis this weekend…
Posters on other forums claim that “rumors are swirling” that at least two of them (Lopa & Paulo) have silently verballed already…
Yeah, that was written in the Sacramento Bee, and it was based off old information. If Moala was on campus people would have seen him–can’t hide that guy.
I’d like to hear about Torian White more than any of the Grant kids…. He is needed more.
Really? I heard Moala visited Cal this weekend actually. It was scout who said that so……….
Getting Lopa would be awesome! Having him, Parker and Wynn is what I wish for at DE. the Beavers would be loaded at the position for the next 3 years or so.
Tomorrow we should find out what Peters decided.
Anyone hear anything on Foster or McGill?
Anyone hear anything on Foster or McGill?
I heard McGill is a no go, and Foster is a maybe. I really want Foster. He’s underrated as a corner.
Peters has silently verballed somewhere. It’s either OSU or Washington–we find out tomorrow. Rumblings are that it’s Washington.
The Beavers really need Peters, so naturally he will end up as a Husky. I’m hoping for the best tomorrow but we know how the story usually ends.
My updated predictions of who OSU gets”
1. Darryl Paulo
2. Akeem Gonzalez
3. Juda Parker
4. Earl Foster
5. Samson Kalekini
6. Vi Teofilo
7. Rahmel Dockery
That’s pretty much how I see it going to. Beavers may get Lopa though. Hopefully when the 2011 class is completed that list ill include Peters.
I think we get Earl Foster based on his Facebook listing Oregon State but not Houston considering he’s already a soft verbal there….
Out of this list I think we’ll get:
3. Juda Parker
4. Earl Foster
5. Samson Kalekini
7. Rahmel Dockery
To speak to one of your smaller issues, it really is time to try and shed this “ag school” image. I realize that’s part of the history of the school, but in this day and age I’m not sure it’s something worthy of embracing.
Corvallis is a small rural town, there’s no getting around that, but that’s not uncommon for colleges. However when you are portrayed as, and embrace to some degree, a “farm boy” school, that’s not a good way to attract athletes on the west coast, or new legions of fans for that matter. I would love to see more of a marketing push in Portland, where other than alumni we’ve lost nearly every casual fan to the Ducks.
Case in point, I flip on the basketball game Saturday and most of our band is decked out in some sort of camo, and in general looked like they’d just returned from a hunting trip. We’ve got kids from Phoenix, LA, and Oakland on recruiting visits and we look like we’re hosting the Pendleton Buckaroo.
Hahaha.
Seriously, and they always show that Grizzly Adams dude at the basketball games. That can’t help with…anything.
Oregon State: you can be good at the natural sciences and all, but there’s a point where knowing too much about farm animals is just plain creepy.
It’s 2011, bros.
Somebody inform Bob D that Wrangler butts don’t drive prospective athletes nuts.
Seriously though, It’s great the school offers the program(s), but it’s just not the image you want out there from a marketing standpoint.
Nobody is going to confuse OSU with Howard University, but from my time at school there, I don’t remember much of an “ag” vibe. Yet the outside perception remains.
I didn’t know one person studying ag when I was there. It is a good engineering and sciences school and has an improving business program. I don’t get how that image remains either. Ducks are always trying to push that. I don’t think it helps when for Collge Gameday we let the Duck steal the show in our sacred MU. The Giant Killer unis were cool but a problem is the Ducks were made out to totally be the Giants and we shouldn’t be acknowledging that quite in the way we did. The Giant Killers should have been worn against USC and the impression of that blowout victory for us would have even more awesome in front of a national audience. Or we atleast needed to make the Civil War a back and forth contest or even won it. I think focusing on science and techology and the future is maybe what OSU needs to do more. You can still have nice unis without being too old in fashion. I think our basketball unis stood up well against Oregon and the orange and black is actually easier to use then green and yellow. It is our issue that we aren’t maximizing that more. I think ALL the old murals in Gill should be painted over ASAP. No younbg recruit in the 21st century cares about old black and white or brownish paintings of guys from the 50s and 60s or whenever they are from. We have the engineering and tech programs that Oregon can’t touch. We should be selling that and science and a new century of progress and advancements.
I’ll just point out that we swept UO in basketball last year, and went 4-1 against their tournament-caliber baseball team. So no, there is no big brother-little brother yet. That requires a few years of domination by one side, and that hasn’t happened yet.
Well, that depends on the parameters you set, right? The Ducks have absolutely dominated in basketball the last 10 years. Maybe there is a slight uptick if you want to exclude Saturdays debacle, but why do I feel like the window is going to close quickly? Baseball? What other college has the ability to go from 14-42 in its first season and make the tournament one year later? Lots of very tight Beaver victories last year. Window closed, programs are about equal. Football? Fairly equal for 10 years, three straight losses, two not really close..window closed. I think U of O fans can feel the momentum and if the OSU athletic department does not do something fast, you could see U of O continually dominating in all three.
I don’t think you can really say that the baseball programs are equal. Maybe the gap is closing, but I don’t think anyone would say that the two programs are equal. Basketball , OS is much more talented at this time than UofO. There is little doubt though that Altman is heading in the right direction and if CR doesn’t take the program a major step forward in the next 2 years, they will certainly pass us. Football, we need something major to happen there, UofO is dominating and looking like they will be a power for years to come. (Most likely until they get sanctioned for some wrong-doing. See USC.)
Anyone hearing anything about this weekend’s visits?
By the way, in basketball, it would really help OS if UofO’s program got a bit better. Saturday games would be a bit easier if the Ducks could put more pressure on teams at the Thursday games.
Ducks are going to lose their best player for the next 2 years in a row in basketball but yeah Altman is a heck of a coach.
Upside potential. If U of O can take aprogram from infancy to tournament in two years I would guess they will move beyond the baseball program in two-three years. It is just the current reality.
By that logic, they’ll be national champs this year, and undefeated the year after.
Just because a team experiences a successful year does not mean they will continue to make leaps and bounds. Teams have one great year, then regress all the time (ask our basketball team, or our Fiesta Bowl team).
And you can pick whatever window you want for basketball, we have the 2nd-most wins in the NCAA against them, and even during their cute runs with failed NBA players, we still played competitively and stole a lot of those CWs.
The Oregonian lists RB Malcolm Agnew as substantially bigger than other sites (195 v. 180). Hope this is true.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2011/01/countdown_to_signing_day_orego.html
Hope the hamstring problem isn’t perennial. If he’s this big, maybe he, Ward and Woods can contribute this year.
MARCUS PETERS will be a Husky…. great….
Well, at least we may have stole Akeem Gonzalez from them… wait, his UW offer was pulled (sigh)
Riley needs to pull out a miracle for Stefan McClure now.
Also, CAL has offered Lopa (Miami as well). Looks like he will choose between CAL or UCLA most likely.
Saw Oregon State is in his top 5. We know how that story will end. I won’t get my hopes up.
Marcus Peters just committed to UW.
Back to Kevan Walker…who cares?
David Ross sucked after he left OS. Ryan Allen sucked after he left. My guess is Kevan Walker will suck when he gets to play again as well. Those guys just weren’t that talented to begin with. They got plenty of chances and they failed to capitalize on those chances.
I know we’ve got a couple good RB prospects in this class, but I wonder how big of a push we really made for Bishop Sankey out of Gonzaga Prep in Spokane. The kid has an offer sheet that’s off the charts…and is a verbal to WSU, although I doubt they hold on to him. Will probably end up a Husky.
He never had any interest in playing for the Beavers to begin with.
Purely rumor at this point, but a lot of Colorado fans saying Parker is going to CU. He hasn’t announced yet, but likely will next friday or saturday after he gets back from a retreat back in HI.
I’d take it with a grain of salt. However, yet again the Beavers miss out another recruit with Peters. Nothing ever changes.
I started hearing that yesterday, too. I also heard he committed to the Beavs, though. There have been more silent verbals this year than any I can remember…
As more and more “commitments” become staged announcements akin to NFL draft selections, I think the behavior filters down to lower ranked recruits who want to manage at the least the perception of tension or drama.
I think you’re spot on.
Never fear guys… I hear there is some zero-star kid our of South Dakota that we can all get excited about.
AND he had an offer from North Dakota on the table….”He’s the kinda guy that’s going to bring his lunch pail. Its a pretty neat deal…”
You guys are inspiring me to write a “The Onion” style satire of Beaver football…
I think its entirely appropriate to have a satirical blog post occasionally. Humor as an approach can be as illustrative and valid as many other approaches to making a point.
“Area high school student to walk-on to OSU football program.” Write that one up, we’ll all enjoy a laugh.
I think I will give it a try.
I don’t know if that’s someone trying to be funny or if there is such a person/signee, but I will mention that U of Montana has a bb player – Brian Qvale – almost 7 feet tall – who kicked Beaver ass in their game and is from Williston, North Dakota. In addition, check the UCLA-Montana basketball score from earlier this season.
There are plenty of good athletes in the parts of the country you so disdain. It takes a little more work to find them, however, than only connecting with name schools in California and Arizona or lists from Rivals and Scout.
You guys are going on about logos and design without talking about who pays for it. I suggest a fund made up on donations from former OSU players who now have pro salaries.
North Dakota is beautiful. I lived there for a year. It’s one of the least populated states, so I think the person above was making a joke. They also know how to balance their state budget and then some.
I think it is in Oregon State’s best interest to get modern and selling tech and science as our areas of leadership along with an improving business program. When Erickson arrived there was a VERY in the moment feel and it brought OSU into the limelight as the 21st century ushered in. It was the best breath of fresh air ever for the football program. If we stay with the “old” idea too much then the Duckies will forever call us the ag school even though ag is extremely low in percentage of students at OSU who mostly are in engineering, science and business or even the liberal arts.
Our colors are easier to design with then green and yellow. We have plenty of options and if we push Nike, or Adidas or whoever can get teh job done for us to give us a great look we should be able to market Oregon State much better and leave a better impression on today’s students. This is the Ipad generation and they don’t care about old murals in Gill of players from the 50s. Most of those guys are dead now for crying out loud. College is about young adults and good programs can recruit these kids and give them what they want. A great education that positions them for success in the 21st century. Oregon State even has advantages here over the Ducks in that technology, science and business play such a huge role in all our lives. Get modern and give them what they want. Our colors and school are a great product to promote. We just shouldn’t be stuck in a feeling like we are obsessed with being portrayed like it was 50 years ago. Always live in the current moment and give to it the best that you can. the future is more important at a college educating our youth than the past. We need to acknowledge this if we really want to be seen as relevant today and in the future! Ditch the ‘old’ theme and live in the moment and for a better tomorrow..
Eh, retro can be modern, though. Look at hipsters with their Beatles haircuts. Thrift stores selling kids shirts from the 1960s for $60 a piece.
I don’t think it’s wise to destroy the little tradition we do have. Should TCU get rid of all their Sammy Baugh memorabilia?
Maybe a redesign is in order, but regarding basketball: you definitely want recruits (and the world) to know you were once great at something.
Personally, I love retro things…from record players to audio equipment to uniforms. I think it would be a neat, stark contrast to the Ducks to be old-school. Right now we’re in limbo…not cutting edge, and not retro. It’s the worst place to be, so of course it is where we are…ah to be a Beaver.
I would rather just have sleek unis that highlighted our colors. We can always selectively go retro like NFL teams do. I think the murals in Gill are lame. Yes we once were good..we still have all the banners like UCLA does. Their facility looks current though whereas ours is stuck in the 50s. I think we have a btter chance at success if we give our current and future studenst what they want. To be relevant and a part of the current times. The new basketball practice facility gives me hope and I feel like Reser will look modern once the new side is built. It has good architectural elements..reminds me of Flushing Meadows in NY where they play the US Open in tennis. The lines stand out nicely. I think the key is be current but giver a nod to your past every so often. We just have a feeling at OSU like we are always behind the times and too concerned with the past which has not been that great in some sports. What all fans care about is winning in the present and confidence in the future strength of the programs. We are behind here and need a fresh take on promoting Oregon State.
Note: this is just a rant, feel free to ignore.
Quite simply put, the OSU athletic department needs to stop being a collective pussy. Wait, that’s just insulting to pussies, which are awesome.
Perhaps assholes, as per the “Team America: World Police” monologue, would be the better word. When they don’t come out and play in games they should win, when they make excuses like “tough schedule” and when they lose out on top recruits the program, the coaches, and the players are all being assholes and shitting on this opportunity to be a part of the sport they love. Instead, they are content with mediocrity and it shows. What we need are dicks, who will fuck those pussies and assholes in line.
Are there not ANY tough guys left in the world of sports? I wouldn’t have a problem with our pathetic recruiting classes if all the guys were tough as nails and wanted to knock the crap out of someone. Instead we have players that reflect the AD and coaches and are tentative in EVERYTHING. If only things would change…
Sadly, any hope of this happening will die IF DeCarolis is granted his wish and is allowed to stay at OSU. The dude is going to be paying for the college experience of his twin girls and I bet he knows deep inside that he’s a piece of shit and wouldn’t have been able to last at Michigan- so why not sucker Ed Ray into keeping him on board with some crazy decade long contract?
Then again, I believe that things wouldn’t be like this if the fans weren’t so passive. At this point, a site like this one is imperative considering how fucking passive our fan base is.
Like your retro point of view Angry, and I wish it were that easy. I for one am a big retro fan too. I so wish my team was sporting that look rather than neon – although 80’s neon is kind of retro too at this point. But here is the delimma:
Do I want my team’s gear to please me, or please recruits? That actually is a bit of quandry because if they want fan support of middle americana – i.e. donations…, then cater to me. However, if you want recruits, better find out what they like most. My newphew is a teenager and we were looking at snowboard gear last week when he showed me a “rad” jacket that looks like a one-off 80’s looking teal butt ugly thing. I was thinking, what the? Sad truth is that it would probably fit with Oregon’s motif. I have to admit I like some of what Oregon has done, but not all for sure.
So I was thinking, the ultimate would be to find something that appeals to both young and old, but historically speaking, when do youth like what old folks like? They will go the other way just out of spite at times. So, do I swallow my pride and follow a team that looks cool by my standards, or looks cool to 18 years old studs? There is a definate trade off, or perhaps the beavers would call us Duck fans sell-outs. Either way, whatever keeps the program fresh in the kids minds (to a point I suppose) is my vote. IF that keeps us with great talent. How many years did we have to listen to you all make fun of our uni’s. Seems like in the end, Oregon got it right in the kids minds. And if the kids come and win, the dontation flow regardless of what we mature folks really think of uniforms.
Who knows tho – your retro Justin Beiber hair-cuts slant might be the next great thing in 16 year olds getting ready to become seniors and chose a school in a few years.
Is Bieber retro? He looks like he just has a comb-over.
But I think you have some good points. What’s cool to us and to the youngsters? Whose opinion matters more?
I think the smart thing the UO’s AD did was to change their uni so drastically (even game to game) that they became unique. Love or hate their uni’s. Love or hate the school. They are recognizable to everyone. And that’s half the battle.
So I seriously think nobody in the Pac 12 is going to “out-cool” the Ducks as far as design at marketing are concerned unless they follow the same pattern. Since few can afford to do this and less are willing, the only alternative would be to contrast them. Make your uni’s sleek, simple, efficient, graceful and powerful at the same time. Remove all bell’s and whistles and emote confidence through simplicity.
Don’t get your hopes up for the murals inside Gill to be painted over anytime soon. They were put up in 2004 when I was a design intern for the sports marketing dept. They hired a company out of LA to come up and paint them and it wasn’t cheap. However to their credit, at least the company they hired is the same company that paints the murals outside the Staples Center in LA.
Having been part of the Sports Marketing Department I can truly say they don’t have a visionary mentality. The problems I saw while I was an intern are the same problems that many independent design firms/marketing agencies have. You have clients that desire the “cool factor” and point out examples of it “apple, nike, UO…etc” but when you present them with that new look or idea they become hesitant. Will this work? Is this going to offend anyone? This hasn’t been proven…They end up asking for a few revisions and a few more revisions. Ultimately the finished product looks very similar to what they started with.
I say we re-brand the athletic teams image for the university through viral marketing.
Like the viral idea. Throw some ideas out as to what image you think best serves Oregon State for success in sports now and into the future. Then we can keep trying to spread the word. The one commentor was right though about OSU being very passive. I can’t stand the way Riley talks about games and does not get tough or to the point about what he expects. He mostly talks in generalities that leave people with a “hope” we can pull off a win today attitude, instead of having confidence that if the team executes the plan they will win. BDC and Riley are both way too blase. I don’t like the idea of giving BDC more than a couple more years. Supposedly it is most likely he will get a 5 or 10 year extension. We would be making a BIG mistake to ever do a 10 year extension with BDC. 5 years is more than I can handle just thinking about how he doesn’t listen to the fans enough and also doesn’t come out and have confidence in OSU athletics. I guess we have to pray that just 5 years is granted even though I think we need a new direction and someone bold who will demand higher benchmarks against the rest of the Pac-12 as BDC likes to say when he explains why it is OK to lose to Oregon most of the time.
Viral idea #1 Have angry get the feedback from some of the current players and or new players on what they like about OSU and what sold them on coming. Brandin Cooks is a high profile recruit, what did he like? Dylan Wynn is another high profile guy what was it that appealed to him? Once we have an idea of what kinds of things actual appeal to the kinds of recruits we are going after we can begin coming up with solid ideas to sell the school.
Yes, those murals are especially lame. Gill is actually a great place to watch a game, but those murals need to come down. They definitely bring the place down a notch. They look like they should be painted inside some cheesy high school gymnasium.
One of my biggest beefs with Gill is the fact that there are not any signs on the building! Please correct me if signs have been added recently, but last time I was in Corvallis there wasn’t even a sign that said Gill Coliseum! WTF? If you are from out of town and drive by that place at night you wouldn’t know what the hell it is. It could be a huge sheep barn as far the out-of-towners know.
Check this out: http://orensamtraktrip.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/img-8998.jpg
A sign like this would totally change the feel of the place. It could say “Gill Coliseum…Home of the Beavers,” or something to that effect. Orange can actually look great if done right – check out the SF Giants. Is anyone really running the show at Oregon State? I have to wonder.
A sign like that would be nice.
The murals are pretty bad, but worse is that cartoon Beaver in the center of the court. I love the new UCLA center court logo design. So good. So simple.
I don’t mind the murals. They’re so far out of the picture that they’re only of note to someone who is interested or looking for something to complain about.
The cartoon beaver on the court is front and center, and it’s as wrong now as it was when it was conceived.
A marquee is an excellent idea. I wonder why nobody ever thought of it before now. In fact, the only two I think have any national relevance in terms of recognition are Wrigley Field and the Rose Bowl.
One of the major problems with Gill is the entrance plaza. The shrubs in front need to be removed some ten years ago. I’ve thought about the university putting up some artwork like the stainless steel football in Parker Plaza combined with a broad cover for people to remain dry curbside.
Now I think we should have a large stand-alone canopy as I imagined. But we should also have marquees on all sides. Think of Madison Sq Garden’s main entrance.
Here’s what Gill looked like when it was a youngster. It was way ahead of its time.
http://www.cardcow.com/images/set354/card01104_fr.jpg
Is there a native ivy that grows in Oregon? Gill could be awesome with a Wrigley Field-esque makeover. Talk about a cheap renovation with miles of style.
It’s been a while since I’ve been on the UofO campus, but wasn’t/isn’t their old barn of a gym covered in Ivy? If so, good idea, but pass.
I don’t think you can convince any sane landscape designer to trail ivy anymore. It is such a headache to maintain, and because it’s so invasive I think many people are turned off by it.
There are only two vertical climbing vines I can think of that are native. One is the blackberry. That would suck to intentionally plant and tend near a structure. The other is orange honeysuckle, which gets to about 25 feet tall… sometimes a little taller depending on who cares for the plant (optimal soil, sun, water, etc.). The honeysuckle doesn’t anchor itself in cracks and crevices like an ivy does, so it wouldn’t threaten the integrity of the structure other than preventing routine maintenance on surfaces directly behind it. A trellis or support structure separate from the original base structure is usually best when trailing climbers anyway, so I’m sure something could be done in that regard.
The honeysuckle is an evergreen, and it climbs quickly. I can see Gill’s lower protrusions (stairwells, side ramps and entry canopy) covered in evergreen with orange blooms from May through July.
It also loves the sun, so when the trees surrounding Gill finally come down (and they will one day) honeysuckle would be a viable option for providing greenery to the facade.
No kidding those murals were the biggest waste of money ever. Can’t believe they are new from 2004. Look like they were there since the 60s. My high school did have something similar and we all thought it looked outdated and uncool. I hate both the murals and the black and white banners of players. If it isn’t in color it is too old. They made Rebel Without A cause in color instead of what they knwe would be old Black and White and decided to reshoot some early scenes. That was 1954 when it was filmed. Can’t they do Disney Technicolor or something on Steve Johnson or AC Green and get all these guys in color so we aren’t 50 plus years behind every other school in the nation? (PS. Love the AT&T Park sign. A bright orange sign like that outside would have been 100 times better investment and idea than the awful murals.
My 2cents re what attracts athletes. A coach with fire in his belly, not some milk-toast hip hip hooray guy who wouldn’t say shit if you rubbed his face in it.
I still remember reading Banker’s and Riley’s lips during one of the first ass kicking’s that Boise State put on a Riley team. Banker: “I’m sorry”; Riley: “That’s O.K.”. This was during the time period when Riley used to smile a lot as his team stunk up the place and weren’t even competitive.
Oh, them were the days.
Yet another thing I still haven’t gotten over (this was after Riley had been back for a year or two) is the memory of a story about a player complaining about the team not doing any tackling practice.
Oh the guys on Pure Orange were all over this kid like stink on shit. It turned out he wasn’t lying.
That frigging Riley wasn’t having any tackling practice.
The way the team was tackling this year made me wonder if Riley was back to his old tricks.
Yet another ass burner: A big stink in the paper about OSU not doing a damned thing to help make sure the players got something out of their classes.
And yet again the Pure Orange mob were all over the reporter. Again it turned out to be true and it was only because of the publicity that OSU finally put something in place to help the kids with their studies.
It also burns my ass about how much time Riley and his buddy Banker spend in Hawaii recruiting. Imo the return doesn’t justify the expense. Let them two ass-holes spend the off-season recruiting in the continental U.S., preferably in the Deep South (LA, MS, AR, AL, OK, TX, etc.).
Oh, by the way – thanks a fucking lot Mr. Riley for the stellar class you’re bringing in. NOT!!!
Heard Lamar DeRego likely to decommit from OSU and commit to Arizona.
We can only hope. It won’t be the worst class in history, but then again it should have been the best class.
Yeah, this class should have been a lot better.Honestly, we knew this would happen. With Riley’s track record we should have known we would be disappointed with the class.
I feel like we all new what was going to happen. We were all just hoping for that game winning shot at the buzzer. Nothing wrong with that. This class seems to be a bit better than usual… we’ll have to start hoping that one of these guys can be a contributor next year.
It’s not over yet. I’m not holding my breath, but anything can happen with the guys left on board. I just want some good news soon!
I think the fat lady sang a long time ago, unfortunately.
one wonders how much this class would have been impacted if they had been able to hang on in eugene 2 years ago…
I met Scott Rueck this weekend, he was at the the BASF meeting that I attended on Saturday. He looked me straight in the eye and gave me an overview of the areas he thinks will take the most work to make OSU into a winning program. And he expects to win, right now. If he can recruit, he’ll be impressive in a few years.
BDC has a quote in a recent release saying “there is we want to accomplish then just wins and losses.” NOT REALLY. There is no substitute for wins to a great college athletic dept. Wins drive all the success, a happy fan base, good bowl games instead of largely lame ones and the ability to reach the elite program level. The Ducks made a successful step to the elite level. Oregon State was on the cusp of starting to be upper echelon. But we couldn’t quite ever seal the deal with Riley. Either Riley, BDC and co. start putting 8 plus wins every year as the #1 expectation or we will be asked to wait even longer for our Holiday, Alamo or Rose Bowls. We need a BCS bowl though badly to legitimize and keep us near the top of the Pac-12 since plenty of teams like UW, UA and Utah are ready to try to take another step forward themselves. Riley has to start winning more recruiting battles and BDC needs to get that new west side built and find better ways to promote OSU and keep the wins coming.
While I don’t think you’re saying “Win at all costs,” there is a fine line there I think you may be crossing. BDC has to concerned with more than bowl games, even if football is the number one revenue generator for college athletics. And as much as I want the occasional rose bowl (I think 2 per decade should be the goal), I think you have to be careful about making an athletic DEPARTMENT all about bowl games.
For example, Orgon’s approach is going to catch up with them in the near future in the context of violations and ethics; they’re just throwing too much money at it. The “contracts” of Kilkenny and Belotti are symptoms of that, as are the shenanigans to get new facilities from Knight; some decision maker is going to lose context and make bad choices that will hurt the university.
I think that’s why Angry uses the Minnesota Twins analogy; its about being efficient and creative with program resources and being competitively relevant at frequent, regular intervals; not just “win and that takes care of everything” or limit yourself to the Sun Bowl.
That’s not a disagreement necessarily, I just think there is more subtext than you’re speaking to in your post.
I agree with you objcritic.
I look at what happened with the Trailblazers as an example of the sort of fine line you have to walk with regard to winning at all costs.
Portland spent a TON of money and won a lot of games around the turn of the century. They enjoyed a lot of success. But all it took was one down year and a LOT of fans turned on the team. Suddenly, season ticket sales were down, corporate sponsorships dried up and it was very much in fashion to rag on the team and what they had become. It wasn’t just because they were losing. They were spending a shit ton of money, losing and they were a bunch of dickheads.
In my opinion, you need at least one of the two main factors to maintain a fan base: lots of wins and decent guys you’re proud to root for. Two of two is great. One of two is okay. None of two…you’re in deep, deep trouble. Especially in college sports.
DeCarolis and Mike Riley, for all of their faults, seem to want to build a program that can withstand some down years by building things up slowly but sustainably. I think that’s admirable. I’m fine with it. But then again, I’m patient.
What do you make of this film of Robins?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i-tSX1Z4Z5E
They’re comparing him to Paea in terms of strength. I just don’t see it. He gets pushed backwards on many plays, and on others reaps the good fortune of his teammates’ effort. This guy looks like a large project. He looks a little more fluid in this video than his other one, though.
Yeah I don’t see it. O-live gave a glowing report on him. To me he looks like he is too slow to play DE in the Pac-10. I wonder if he is going to go the Frahm route. I think it works to have a quick guy at DT (for DT standards) if you have a monster next to them. He is definitely a huge project. If he has the work ethic to get to the next level then I can live with it I guess.
He’s probably going to greyshirt, so he would have a year to add on some decent weight. i think we’re planning to move him to DT.
He does look slow and looks as if though he gives up too quickly on plays. Then he takes the Paneky role and puts tackles on player once they are down.
I am pretty disappointed with this hearlded recruiting class.
Seems to me his productivity must be put in context of a HS defense that apparently had defenders all over the place getting sacks. Accounting for 11.5 of 72 sacks is great, but I wonder if he was more of an “opportunist” than the difference maker. Another 6.5 TFL’s are impressive too. Being an opportunist is fine, as long as OSU has others creating opportunities for him….
but I wonder if he was more of an “opportunist” than the difference maker
That’s what I see.
In other news, Gonzalez lists us as #1, but is tripping to Nebraska. I’d be more excited about Gonzalez if we were planning to use him at tackle. We really don’t need another DE in this class.
He’s very good with his hand on the ground, but he’s less than average when standing. It’s not even funny how different he plays from either set. From a three-point he has speed, quickness, strength and good hands. From a standing position he looks like Pankey.
He played at 6’3″, 245# this last season. If he puts on 40 pounds of good weight he can play well on the strong side. 50+ pounds puts him on the interior, where I think he could be very good.
I think putting on the 50 and moving inside is his lone hope. Luckily, I hear DT is the Beavs plan for him.
Faitele Fa’afoi was offered by Arizona last week. He must have buckled down on his schoolwork.
Apparently other Pac 10 teams are ting to buzz about him as well. Stoops took a chance that the kid would qualify, and it might pay off for him.
http://ht.ly/3JhiE
Jovanny Melendez… 6’2″, 290… squats 535# and has a 4.1 GPA? Is this more of the “project” type we would want?
Anyone willing to share their Rivals or Beaver Blitz user and password to read about recruting?
I’ll give you a rundown…
The Recruiting Boat has already sailed to sea, but we are still running toward the dock trying to catch it. When we finally reach the dock, we realize there is no boat while we are standing there holding our bags…
Paea hurt his knee… can Beaver Nation ever get a break?
Stefan McClure is down to UCLA, Oregon State, Cal and Boise State. We’re close enough to have hope he will commit to OSU but we know what will happen.
Apparently his mom is pulling for him to go to OSU. Maybe we can actually gain one because of family influence.
Where’d you see that at Warren? It would be nice if because of family influence he committed to OSU. Of course not all kids go to a school because of what their parent wants. Beavers might have a legitimate shot with McClure though, I won’t get my hopes too high.
Rivals insider said it’s a source very close with McClure. We’ll see, not getting my hopes up.
People so desperate to salvage this class and hear good news that they’re reaching for possible angles.
Is there a shot McClure ends up at OSU? Sure. But Cal and UCLA have to be considered the favorites. My prediction is Cal.
Speaking of which, Cal has landed an amazing class, on paper at least.
On paper it’s a great class for Cal but they will do their usual, underachieve.
McClure will make his commitment Thursday morning.
FYI -while we wait for some news developments.
http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/osuprof/recruiting-2/
There is no doubt you can go to a BCS game with a team of nothing but 3-star talent. The thing is it must be legit 3-star talent. 3-stars = above average since 2.5 would be an average player using the scouting services’ 5 star maximum.
Problem is, OSU lands many 3-stars who are not in fact 3 stars. Pankey is a perfect example. He was a 1-star LB, not a 3-star. Remember Kameron Krebs? He was listed as a 2-star, but he was a 0 or 1 star at best. Ben Terry is another example off the top of my head. 3-star DE? Not even close.
I think a problem OSU faces, and one I don’t talk about a lot here but probably should, is that the 3-star talent they land tends to be either (a) near the bottom of the 3-star talent pool (i.e. a 5.2-5.5 on rivals scale) or (b) in reality a 2-star talent. You can argue all coaches make mistakes. Sure. But if you just watch film of certain guys you know they are not DI material. E.g. Watch film of Pankey playing RB to get a feel for how slow he was even at the HS level. Watch Blake Harrah.
Some examples from this past class:
Justin Addie looks like a 2-star guard. Blake Harrah a 1-star DE. Desmond Collins looks like a 2-star LB/DE. Someone like Lavonte Barnett is a legit 3 star. You can win big with guys like that.
This is a big deal…getting 3 stars is great so long as they’re legit. Riley & co miss a lot on evaluation. This goes back to my motto: become the Twins of college football. Never miss in evaluation. Put in the time to get it right.
Addie a low rated player? Are you sure you’re not a little harsh? He looks about average to a little better than average as a junior.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz3jV07xwk0
Harrah as a DE, yes, a low rating. As a DT he has more upside.
Collins’ tape is terrible. I’m told he is much better than that tape. It would have been nice to see some of his actual highlights (his stats were impressive for the state championship team).
I like Teofilo much better, and he’s only/wrongly a 2-star. Addie gets pushed backward too much, and when he is blocking down field he looks clueless. His team is also horrible, and I like players from a winning pedigree. We’ll see…a lot of people like him, I’m just not one of them. I think he’s a pretty clear bust waiting to happen.
Edit: Rivals recently bumped Teofilo up to 3, but still only 5.5. I think he’s a 5.6-5.7 3-star.
I don’t see anything that screams “future star”, but I don’t see him being pushed around either. He didn’t play at all his senior year, so his offer list won’t tell us anything.
Paea hurts his knee in practice, may require surgery.
In other words, OSU just lost a potential multi-millionaire/future donor. Paea seems like the kind of guy who would be thankful and give back.
Hope for the best. He could still be a second rounder. If it is a small meniscus tear he should recover.
Name the last former athlete who donated anything to OS athletics.
*crickets*
Didn’t Payton give quite a bit?
I thought Anderson did, too.
Payton didn’t give a dime. He promised 3 million for the basketball program and ultimately gave nothing.
That is why I disapprove of all games that are not necessary. Such as the Army East West Game and all others like it just so they can show off their skills and risk injury.
Chad Johnson is coming back! Switching his last name back from Ochocinco. Chad is one of the all time great Beavs for achieving very high levels in both football and entertainment. We need some more players like him motivated to reach the top and have fun doing it. He is a BCS Beaver through and through.
Vi Teofilo commits to ASU.
Ouch.
Damn! who do we got still on the boards
I’d have to think Gonzalez just became a big priority, and the staff really needs to keep him as an OL. Much bigger need than DE right now.
Where did you read that angry? lol ;)
http://arizonastate.scout.com/2/1042824.html
Washington poaches Bishop Sankey.
bummer… I like Wazzu.
Today’s Oregonlive: signees like the family atmosphere. Yek -how many non-signers because they didn’t like it? Most 18-year-olds want something different and to be away. Also OL took note of all the 3-pointers that go in against the Beavs. One would think/hope that the coach could see that and change the defense.
So we haven’t closed on a single recruit that visited the past two weeks? Did we give all these guys food poisoning or something?
If we get Peat and/or Mcclure, all will be forgiven, but the lack of poitive news from the last two weeks is very disappointing.
Riley is not a closer. He didn’t close on two Rose bowl opportunities, he doesn’t seem to be closing on the biggest recruits of need. Granted difference-making D and O lineman are highly competitive recruits, but it still needs to get done.
Riley has done his job to get the program competitive, OSU now needs someone who can now create a culture of winning.
Time for the no-names to start trickling in, and to hear about what great finds they are and the kids the program had targeted for months…
Riley’s biggest error was that he never hired a great recruiter. He had a chance when Nigel Burton left, and he hired Heyward. Heyward may be the best recruiter on the staff right now, but when compared against other Pac-10 schools he is not elite.
Down the road, I can see guys like James Dockery or Lyle Moevao becoming great recruiters, but that’s 5-10 years down the line. We need someone now.
Also, firing Langsdorf after this season and hiring an OC who could recruit would have been wise.
Especially if Riley goes back to calling the plays… we might as well have an OC that can recruit. I still think Riley is about the best we can do though. He is a more competitive guy than he gets credit for and I think replacing him would more than likely bite us in the rear. I think he also knows he has to make some tough personnel choices if they don’t turn it around next year. I hope he is telling some on staff to save their pay checks.
I’m not Anti-Riley, but his staff is pretty horrible other than Cav and Joe S.
Riley could win with some yin to his yang. He hires people who are in his comfort zone, personality wise, and it holds the program back.
I’m wondering if another losing season next year is actually better for us long term. Force Riley to make more changes?
Another losing season won’t make Riley make changes. We all know he won’t make a change. If a season like 2010 happens and he doesn’t makes changes, do we really think a change will ever happen?
I don’t think another year like 2010 will help anyone. I know that there is a bit of a dislike for the “general” fan base on this site. But those blue hairs still pay the bills. 2010 still had an increase in the average attendance at the games.
I am not at all a fan of Duck fans but those fair weather Duck fans that jumped on their band-wagon spent a bunch of money this year. I would hate to see all of those idiots driving around with their brand new Beaver flags, but I’m sure that wouldn’t hurt revenue. With the Ducks likely having another strong team in 2011, the Beavers need to have at the very least a respectable year.
re: “those bluehairs” – it isn’t just osu – attending college sporting events is a form of social life for boomers and older. So, don’t knock it – for the most part, they have money and at least they buy tickets usually season tickets.
Thirty somethings, by and large have 2 jobs, families and go to their kids’ sporting events.
You may have missed my point, I have no problem with the “blue hairs”. In fact I fully agree, they have the money and OS cannot neglect them in any rebranding effort. Also, we can’t have many more 2010’s or we will lose the fair weather fans that also pay a bunch of the bills. There are a limited number of truly loyal fans – mostly graduates. But the program needs others to survive financially.
If this goes down as it has in the past the next gouge in the eye for the fans and OSU will be some, perhaps most, of the players who other Pac-10 schools were also after will never set foot on campus because of grades, etc.
I’m almost afraid to ask if anyone knows how many of the “better” recruits have qualifying issues?
Angry, you listed about 17 points and said: “I mean, I could go on and on.”
I think it would be helpful to organize that list thematically, develop it a bit more, than submit it to BDC.
But the first task needs to be about developing a clear vision for OSU Athletics. There needs to be strategies for achieving the vision, identified supporting operations, evaluation means, and reporting (we are talking about using public resources after all).
Themes might include:
“Marketing”
“Recruiting”
“Football Scheme Enhancements”
“Improving the Fan Experience”
“Increasing Donor Participation”
etc.
This might sound bureaucratic and geeky, but it’s what the athletic department (at least) needs. Hell, it could become the foundation for the athletic departments work plans, budget, and reporting.
Maybe. I always wonder if the effort is worth the payoff with anything OSU related. Say I take time to research these things and make a nice presentation…will it matter?
On a similar note, what do you guys think about an extension campus in Portland? e.g. OSU Portland campus. Pipe dream or viable?
I think an extension campus in Portland is brilliant. I’d hope for a partnership between OSU and OHSU to build classrooms/labs/housing at the south waterfront. Bolster the engineering dept by offering medical based engineering programs, perhaps robotics, bio-tech, whatever. As well making a bridge for OSU pre-med students to make the jump to OHSU medical school. S. Waterfront still has open real-estate and prime I-5 location.
Yeah, I was thinking it could go one of two ways:
1. Make the Portland campus/buildings tailored to what recruits like to study (business, marketing, sports management, etc). We keep getting killed by Seattle and Eugene for these reasons.
or
2. Make a law school or high-tech disciplines that you mentioned, both of which would boost national academic standing/reputation since we get killed in recruiting for this reason as well.
I don’t know if it would be possible to combine both academics and a program tailored to recruits. That would require some creativity. But, I think the way to go is academics and hope it raises the value of an OSU degree enough to win some recruiting battles with Washington and Cal. We’re so close to winning head-to-head battles with those schools, yet they can boast about the value of their degrees outside of Oregon. Academics is a way to bridge that gap.
Also, the main campus should raise admissions standards in general. There is no reason for not having a minimum SAT score. I realize their job is to educate citizens of the state, but every state needs trade work and not every citizen is college material. There should be a minimum score (old SAT standards–I’m not familiar with the new scoring system). Right now we have the lowest SAT scores in the Pac-10.
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/sat/a/pac-10-sat-scores.htm
This needs to change.
I don’t know about this one.
I’m all for expanding the footprint in Portland and having better academics overall, but this Portland campus idea is a non-starter. No kid is going to drive (round trip) 150 miles a day to go to class. How are you going to get back to campus for practice? That’s two hours and $20 a day. No thanks.
Having a law school would be great. having some kind of OHSU link to high-tech disciplines would also be great. But if we’re going to spend money on that type of this, you need it to be in Corvallis, on the existing campus.
Having better academics would also be great. I’m all for the higher admission standards. I just really don’t think a Portland campus, unless it’s just extended learning for non-college age folks, makes any sense and it certainly wouldn’t help in recruiting anybody.
Alternately, we could just move the entire campus to Portland, which would be ideal.
Colleges do this all the time. There’s a University of Wisconsin (Madison) and a University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee)…among others. Doesn’t OSU have a Bend campus already?
Students wouldn’t have to commute if the Portland campus sustained itself. A way to do this would be to start small with specialized programs/degrees (i.e. business, marketing, law, etc…things that cater to urban lifestyle). Have dorms in Portland, profs from Portland, etc. No commuting. It would be an easy way to boost image (non ag), recruiting (urban kids), academics, etc.
I think he’s talking specifically about athletes. Obviously a football player would have to make the awful commute daily if he lived in the Portland campus.
For general university development and branding it would be fine, but it’s hard to use that as a recruiting pitch when there would not be a reasonable way for a student-athlete to utilize the satellite campus.
UW Madison and Milwaukee are separate schools. Like UC Los Angeles and UC Berkley, Irvine, Santa Barbara, San Diego, etc.
I don’t think a Portland extension makes a difference for potential recruits who will spend their careers in Corvallis. I think it helps from a marketing and academic stand point. Especially if it means pre-med students at OSU have a distinct enrollment advantage over others into OHSU medical programs. Doubly so, if engineering is expanding to capitalize on engineering as it applies specifically to the medicine/medical practices.
correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s up to (in part) the state legislature to change the OUS mandate the prohibits OSU from having a Law program, and higher admittance standards.
UW Madison and Milwaukee are separate schools. Like UC Los Angeles and UC Berkley, Irvine, Santa Barbara, San Diego, etc.
I think they call them the Cal or Wisconsin “systems”…different schools, but the same system.
OSU-Corvallis
OSU-Portland
Why not?
correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s up to (in part) the state legislature to change the OUS mandate the prohibits OSU from having a Law program, and higher admittance standards.
Probably. I don’t doubt it’s a political nightmare to execute, but the results would be awesome.
Think I’m getting confused…
This is true, but SOU, UO, OSU, WOU and probably others that I’m forgetting are all part of the Oregon University System. I guess I don’t understand why an OSU-Portland helps our cause, it would be a completely different school with no affiliation to our own other than being in the OUS. They’d presumably have their own sports programs too. We don’t want to add a new school to the OUS we just want an extension campus in Portland.
I doubt any of this happens in the near future, unless one of us becomes a billionaire…
JackBeav follows Oregon politics; he’ll know if it’s possible and why/why not. I’m just an idea man…they call us speculators.
Rudolf Fifita is a Beav. I’m excited, right?! …. right?
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=87&f=4459&t=7091986
Yay?
Biggest recruiting weekend ever!
Angry,
It would be cool if you did some kind of poll between each of your articles. Think you could add that feature. I would like to see 3 polls in particular.
1) If Reser new west side is built should they add double deck to south endzone at same time and horseshoe stadium in for 55K seats and avoid higher future costs?
2) Should the Platypus Trophy be made official or a new Platypus Trophy commissioned that both ADs like the look of and will approve?
3) Would you prefer a 3 yr, 5 yr or 10 yr(please no) extension for BDC if Ed Ray grants it?
You can make any poll you’d like in the forums: http://angrybeavs.com/forums/
UW continues to improve…
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskies/2014047990_uwfb27.html
I didn’t realize they were in the to 10-20 of recruiting classes in the nation.
I feel OSU slippin’ away from its comfortable 3rd place status in the Pac-10, let alone Pac-12.
I wouldn’t be worrying about the Huskies. They went 7-6 with a first round draft pick and QB and would have been 5-7 if Halahuni doesn’t drop the 2 point conversion. Sarkisian just doesn’t strike me as a guy who will have the Huskies finishing better than 4th in the Pac 12 North for years to come. He’s vastly overrated as a coach.
The Beavers just have to worry about Oregon. They will be the Beavers main competition in future seasons in Pac 12 North. as I see Stanford dropping off a bit after next season.
During the Willingham years, I think the talent discrepancy between OSU and UW disappeared, and maybe OSU had the slight talent edge and the coaching edge. With the talent edge gone (in my opinion), I think UW is a credible threat to OSU now.
OSU will have some great skill players, but OSU’s ability, or lack thereof, to control the line of scrimmage is going to start catching up to them more frequently (see WSU, 2010).
And don’t forget, OSU was a couple close decisions away from a few more losses themselves. UW finished well in the Holiday Bowl, which OSU couldn’t get to in a down year for USC and Cal.
BTW, what the hell is the purpose of signing another DE? I realize some of these guys are moving to LB, but is Banker’s response to no huddle, spread offenses going to be to rotate a ton of players to keep them fresh instead of training differently and practicing at a faster pace?
I also don’t understand signing THESE JC’s – unless JC’s are outstanding physical talents, it just doesn’t seem worth it. OSU’s staff can’t get any production out of them in two years of playing time if they’re slow afoot. Signing another DE seems like signing for the sake of signing rather than addressing needs.
Talent wise overall Washington has the edge, coaching wise not at all. Sarkisian is just not a good coach. Talent can make up for tha at times though.
Some DE will either be LB or DT. It would have been nice to get some good DT who’ve been playing the position for years. That is why I’m still holding out hope the Beavers get Peat. The staff though, has made some really confusing decisions. However, there will be a JC player who will be decommitting soon, I’m quite sure of that.
Hopefully, the Beavers by some miracle land McClure or Peat to go with Juda Parker, Akeem Gonzales and some other guys. I would like to see the Beavers end the class well and give us fans more hope that they can be pretty good in the future.
Being a Beaver fan, I’m prepared to disappointed. Hopefully for once, the coaching staff can surprise me.
Many of the athletes the Huskies signed have good ratings, but they don’t strike me as good players or a cohesive bunch. There will be academic attrition and chemistry issues. As mentioned, Sark is an average coach at best. I would not worry about them at all.
Well nevermind on McClure now. Didn’t see it before but looks like Oregon State is no longer in the running for him. No surprise there.
Where did you see we’re out?
It’s been Cal for ~3 weeks now…I feel bad for the Beav fans latching onto the dominoes as they fall one by one.
We are not insane people; we know how the story ends every year. I still think this class is good, but given the fact we missed a bowl and the staff had time to dedicate to recruiting, it should be great.
Read the Beavers basketball program picked up a commitment for the 2012 class, Maika Ostling out of Dayton, Oregon. He’s a 3 star recruit as of right now but seems to picking up steam. He’s listed at 6’10” and is a Center.
Nice. I wish we could land a road-grading big man. Maybe this guy can put on some weight. I see mid-majors with legit big men, and it makes me wonder why, being in the Pac-10, we can’t seem to land one.
Not sure exactly. To me it seems like Coach Rob likes the unconventional big guys. I like Moreland who they have right now and hope he’s around for next season cause he could some damage when he’s healthy. I think if he’s around next season he will start in the frontline with Brandt and would like to see how they do together.
I think for this season CR thought that Moreland was going to be his legit big man and then the injury, but again I think CR just does not know which way he wants to go with this team.
Brandt seems like the classic Euro style player who could run the Princeton given enough pratice and game experience, but now CR has pretty much abandon the point-center concept or has Burton on top who causes me to hold my breath every time he touches the ball.
Anyone have any thoughts on Chris Brown, he looked pretty athletic the couple of times he was in there, but maybe not D-1 talent? I guess Gomis down the line with be an inside presence.
See the forum area–we just signed a new big man. He looks promising.
I thought the reason for signing a JC player was to fill an immediate need, eithr for this year or next. Either that or they couldn’t get the high school players they wanted so the schollie goes to the kid with the most tallent.
Which to me is another indicator Riley’s classes in the past haven’t been all that great and this one isn’t going so well either.
I flinch every time I wonder how many of these kids aren’t qualified, won’t qualify and will never set foot on campus as a student.
I agree the goal of signing JC players is to fill an immediate need, but unless their clearly superior athletes and/or fast, they can’t fill an immediate need effectively and their just taking up scholarships.
A new guy in OSU’s system, whether HS or JC, takes about 2 years to be effective (Rodgers bros a rare exception). So a JC player uses a 3 years to play 2 is taking playing and development time away from what might as well be a high school player with 5 to play 4.
Add in fact that there are SO many DE’s on the roster, and the need for DT and O-lineman is so great, and this approach is perplexing to me.
In Riley we trust!
The Beavers have also refused to extend a scholarship to Alex Mitchell, a dominating 4-star OL, because he slighted them earlier this year. Mitchell reached out to the staff and asked for an offer.
Looks like GreatWhiteHunter’s Vandals are going to land a good one.
Woooo-hoooo! Goooooooooo Vandals!
If we still have a conference when the season rolls around, we’re going to dominate. Well, maybe not dominate but we’ll at least be a force. Well, maybe we won’t be a force but I bet we have bunch of fun…because at the end of the day….we’re still the Vandals.
I think Mitchell’s tape looks like shit and I guess OS’ staff agrees.
You honestly believe that they aren’t offering him a scholarship because he snubbed us? Give me a break. If he was a 2* kid and we HAD offered him, you’d be crying about how we’re taking the wrong kind of kids, the kind who should be going to Idaho or Montana.
The dude is simply not that good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNenAjgS_yc
Says more than I can.
Who here thinks that is a 2-star, crummy player?
If he’s so good, why does he only have 2 offers? PSU and Idaho?
Face the facts…if he were 2* or…god forbid…a walk on…you’d hate him.
Attitude issues. He had a USC offer earlier.
Scout.com downgraded him to a two star, and I have to agree with them. Attitude/issues needs to be a part of the evaluation. Otherwise, the best athletes ever should just be listed as five stars even if everyone knows they’re going to be JUCO busts.
I thought last year that Gio should have been rated a low 3* because I thought he was injury prone. I still think he’ll come back and have a nice career, but he wasn’t D-1 ready.
I see De Rego decommitted.