The last post was getting crowded. Let's use this one for the weekend. Next week, around Tuesday, I'll draft coverage of the first game.
Some points of discussion:
Oregon and Cal up to no good. We all knew this already, so it's funny to see the media late to the party. SBB has more clout than angrybeavs, though, so now bigger outlets might run with it and investigate (what we've been saying for years!).
http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/ducks-cal-troubling-ties-to-mentor-of-recruits-29826
Also, depth chart update.
http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2011/08/oregon_state_football_latest_d.html
What jumps out to me is how thin the left CB position is. Jordan Poyer is probably the one defender the Beavs can't lose. Also, Andrew Seumalo listed as a starting DT. I mentioned last week this might happen. The depth at those two positions borders on terrifying.
One more note: I am trying to incorporate a function that will allow users to search comments rather than just the main posts. Look for that improvement soon.
Two things, one about the originating post:
Does anybody else think Ryan Handford has potential to contribute thisyear, or am I the only one impressed by his highlight film? I thought he played the ball well when it was in the air (INTs!) and tackled well in run support. I recognize its highlights only, but is he nothing more than a backup?
Second thing is the College Football News 5-year program analysis & rankings: OSU comes in at #25:
Ranking criteria include academic performance, NFL draft picks, attendance, and wins.
“25. Oregon State
Program Analysis: Oregon State had the Rose Bowl puck on its stick in 2008 and 2009, but Oregon screwed that up. Even so, getting into the top 25 is impressive considering the lack of national respect and coverage Mike Riley’s program has received. The Attendance Score is among the lowest of any of the top teams, and the APR isn’t great, but the 18 wins over teams that finished with winning records is tremendous and winning close to 65% of Pac 10 games is phenomenal. OSU has had as many players drafted over the last five years as Florida State and has had more talent talent than South Carolina, UCLA, and Oklahoma State.”
http://cfn.scout.com/2/1098781.html
Now I know these kinds of rankings are easy to poke holes in, but a 5-year period is reasonably fair, and the one value this kind of article brings is a positive,and broader public perception of the OSU program. I was a bit surprised to find OSU here, I expected them in the next bracket up (26-40). There are several programs that have a perception, and record, of being “big time” (e.g. UW) that are quite far behind, at least during this 5-year period.
Kinda fun to read on a slow news day…
I really wish OSU would be more discriminating with their acceptance requirements. I know, I know, their job is to education the public/State…still, do they even require SAT scores yet? Just bumping up the standards minimally to ~1000 (old test, not sure how that works now) would do wonders for reputation. It’s hard to rely on research alone for academic reputation.
1000 is not a very good score. anymore, the max is 2400 now i think. I believe they pretty much only look at your SAT scores if have a not-so-great GPA. I think if you had higher than a 3.0 in high school you are automatically in for the most part. They still require you to take the test though. Now that they have a massive frosh class coming in next term, maybe they can start raising the min. requirements for admission.
…and we were still too tough academically for Uso Olive? Portland State has even lower requirements than OSU?
http://www.pdx.edu/admissions/minimum-admission-requirements-freshmen
http://oregonstate.edu/admissions/admission-requirements-0
That knock on APR is misleading. We were second to only Stanford in the Pac 10 in the latest APR release (2009-10). And I think everyone who left the team last year did so in good standing and/or graduated. The problem with going back five years on APR is that you’re actually going back seven years according to data released. That would put us in APR limbo with a coaching change and DE being the previous coach–two factors which notoriously hammer a school’s APR.
http://web1.ncaa.org/maps/cVbnp9TaprRelease.jsp
Interesting points; but what are your takes on Handford? : )
I liked his tape too, but I’ve heard very little about him since he’s been here. I’d hate to think we’re just wasting ships on JUCO kids who were never going to pan out.
At the CB spot, I am not expecting Parker to ever really pan out, he just doesn’t sound like the cover type of player to stay with a receiver in and out of breaks. Is that the wrong read?
I’ve always thought they should have put him at a receiver position (back-up) and a kick-off returner. His greatest attribute seems to be straight line speed, and opposite someone like Wheaton, that could pay off for a big play now and again.
I think you’re right.
His best spot is probably kickoff returns. He could be a Gerard Lawson type.
I was at the OSU @ Hawaii game a few years, Lawson delivered there with a 100+ return. What a blast that game was – you could feel the concrete walkways of that stadium shaking, they sold beer in the stadium, and it was a boisterous crowd. Moore to Stroughter for about an 80 yard TD…it was the bigger fighter landing big punches against the smaller challenger – but with WAC officials to keep you guessing…. I wander.
minus the three fumbles against UCLA
Meet Dylan Wynn
http://rivals.yahoo.com/video/college-football/beaverblitz-tv-meet-dylan-wynn-1097487
Angie Machado seems to have trouble with players names pretty regularly. Saw on a recent video she was talking to Jordan Poyer and almost called him Brandin Hardin.
Machado tweets “Could Fr. Dylan Wynn burn his redshirt? He’s practicing with the 2’s right now.”
He gave our starting guard a concussion…
It sounds like he’s ready.
Anyone else notice her arms a bigger than his. Maybe she can play DT?
Hey now. It’s cool to make fun of someone’s infantile words or ideas, or their deciding to run for some kind of office based on said ideas. But unless she’s dressed like a Duck, then there’s no need to attack physical characteristics.
Danny Evans is now trying out at cornerback.
Yikes. Well I suppose it’s worth a try. The switch worked for Brandon Hughes, although he had more than a week to work on it. Can we get David Ross back from PSU?
The sharp shooting guard from the Ralph Miller era? Geez depth is worse than I thought!
Maybe get Ruben Robinson there? It’s closer to the sideline….
Beavers added a player to the roster today. Austin Slade-Matautia. He was DE in high school but apparently has been converted to a TE.
So where do these last minute additions come from? I don’t fully understand the process of college football players coming to the team.
Has Austin been practicing with the team all along? Did Riley make a call to this player that he knew about all along but didn’t want to offer a scholly? Did he just invite him to walk on?
He’s probably a walk-on. I believe they can join at any time.
If he received a scholarship, I have no idea.
Don’t frosh walk-ons usually come on when the roster expands after week one? I believe they can participate in fall camp if standard players are officially deactivated… a show cause type of thing. Does this say something about Hardin and Clute?
Beavers add Austin Slade Matautia as tight end insurance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=646PXzpcgw8
Like the Sandstorm soundtrack
Cliff posted this link to a Q&A with Riley. Decent little article.
http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/6889999/oregon-state-beavers-coach-mike-riley-goes-gridiron-page-2
I thought it was interesting that the coaching move he regrets most is the 2pt conversion that he called at UW last year. Probably just the thing most recently on his mind.
I agree with him though. I would have also accepted “Making Keith Pankey a starting OLB.”
Haha.
Weird, I thought the 2-pt conversion was the right call given how much energy the Beavs spent clawing back into that game and the fact it was on the road and raucous.
Hated the play-call, though, but what else is new…?
Seriously. If you’re going to go for two and pass the ball, at least have Quizz in the backfield making them respect the run possibility. Man I was pissed when that happened.
Amen to that!
It was definitely there…poorly excecuted…Katz could have run…dropped pass…bad throw? It was the right decision, maybe even the right call if there is execution. At home…maybe you kick it and play on.
He likes some obscure country stuff. Kelly Willis is good, I saw her perform once in a club in LA. I didn’t realize he had such deep Texas connections. I didn’t like the two point decision or the play call. Huskies weren’t good enough to bother going for two against. Do that against the Ducks or USC.
Alright…here we go again!!! The *ucks are at it again with black uni’s!!! This time it’s their pro combat unifroms….they look stupid!
Hey Nike, The makers of TRON called….they want to take you to court!
Here’s the link:
http://eye-on-collegefootball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/31540406
Just back from Thursday practice. Here are a few quick comments:
– Dylan Wynn again made the most of his reps at DE (right side) against the first team. First, he read a pass play, blew by his blocker, and got in Katz’s face (would have been a sack in a real game). Next play was a draw and DW read it again, quickly disengaging from his blocker, sliding to his left, diving, and tackling the tailback for a loss. On each of those plays, the coaches yelled out praise to DW. He’s on the radar, for sure (even if he’s still buried on the official depth chart….)
– Brandin Cooks had several TDs in various drills. Most impressive, in my opinion, were consecutive reps in 1-on-1 drills (where BC was going against a DB) where BC beat his man deep and made difficult catches on long passes. BC would have had another TD on a long pass if Katz had not underthrown the ball. I can’t wait to see this guy play in real games — gonna be a treat.
More later….
More comments on today’s practice:
– I watched JR warm up. Not a shock, but JR clearly has less flexibility in his left knee (the knee that was injured last season) than in his right knee. In a stretch where the player grabs his own foot and brings it up and towards his chest, JR was able to rotate his right knee a lot further than his left knee — and JR didn’t seem to want to push too hard on the left knee. But on the positive side, watching JR run routes against defenders, JR was driving hard down the field, and making sharp cuts, consistently getting space vs his defenders and cleanly catching the ball. Best I’ve seen JR look so far in camp…
– Kevin Frahm was about five feet away from, talking quietly to a guy, and saying he felt good post-operation, and expected to be back in as few as 10 days. For what it’s worth….
– Early in practice, all the QBs took a few reps running read-option plays (sometimes handing off, sometimes keeping the ball). Can’t tell how serious the coaches are about the read-option play. Looks like they are toying with it, but not devoting that much time to it (and it’s something that does take time to get right….)
– In the first 1-on-1 receiver-DB drill, the matchup was Wheaton against Poyer. The receiver coach laughed and said “Iron sharpens iron” (meaning, I assume, that this was the best vs the best). Poyer won the battle the first time, staying stride-for-stride with Wheaton and knocking away a deep sideline pass. Wheaton won the next two reps, catching shorter passes against Poyer (with the coach yelling what sounded like “way to go Creamy” after one of the catches — I’m guessing that’s Wheaton’s nickname, from Cream of Wheat?) Anyway, clear that Wheaton and Poyer respect each other, and enjoy competing against each other (and that others enjoy watching these two warriors battle…)
– In 1-on-1 drills, Mullaney was matched against new CB Malcolm Marable. Mullaney easily got separation from Marable, and then made two highlight-reel catches. One was a diving fingertip catch on an overthrown ball that got oohs and ahs from the crowd. The other was an underthrown ball on a deep route where Mullaney had to come back, and was able to twist his body around and take the ball away from Marable. The coaches loudly praised both catches. Mullaney has been catching everything lately…he’s improved a lot in the past couple of weeks. Don’t know if it’s too late to avoid redshirting for Mullaney, but he’s going to be a good receiver for the Beavs when he gets his chance….
– Obum Gwacham is doing a better job of catching the ball on slant patterns and quick outs. But Obum still has problems on deeper patterns where he needs to catch the ball while turning back, and fighting the DB (the same play that Mullaney made so well today). Obum dropped another one of those today in practice, and the receiver coach spent a long time with Obum after the play, discussing how Obum needs to get his body and hands in better position to catch balls like that.
– Katz did not have a particularly good day today. On one play, in shell drills (no linemen), Katz threw behind his receiver, and Akuna stepped in an intercepted the ball (nice play by Akuna, by the way). Shortly after that, Katz threw behind the receiver on a sideline pattern, and Sean Martin intercepted the ball. In red zone drills, I was watching Katz’s eyes. He focuses for the first couple of seconds on his primary target. If the primary target is covered, Katz seems to look for anyone even close to open, and then rushes his throw. Maybe I’m imagining this, but it really does look like Katz is uncomfortable and not at his best in red zone situations. Again, hope this is wrong….
– Vaz had his share of bad plays, too. On one play, he reminded me of Ryan Katz in the opener against TCU last season, taking his eye off a shotgun snap, leading to a fumble. Vaz also threw a number of off-target passes today. Maybe Vaz’s back is still bothering him? I think Mannion is clearly playing better than Vaz lately (although Vaz is still #2 on the official depth chart). As for Richie Harrington, once again he got very few reps. But I did watch RH warming up, and also throwing in some of the QB-only drills — RH releases the ball very quickly and smoothly. Wish the coaches would give him more reps….
– On the last play of today’s practice, there was a pass over the middle (don’t remember which QB threw the ball) that was tipped by Akuna (another nice play by SA…) and then intercepted by Tyrequek Zimmerman. During practice, TZ was getting lots of attention from the safeties coach, with the two of them standing together, 20 yards behind everyone else, discussing the fine points of various plays. Looks like everything possible is being done to coach-up TZ asap, figuring he may become a guy who plays quite a bit this season (especially if Lance Mitchell isn’t healthy….as may be the case).
Glad to hear Harrington did well. :D
Great update. It’s good to hear that some more freshman are making an impact and getting noticed by the coaches. The safety position is looking strong for the next couple years with TZ and Ryan Murphy.
Good stuff, SS, even if I only get to read it late at night….lol.
nice recap…thanks
Hearing Oregon may have committed academic fraud
Not surprised if true. Does it involve LMJ’s academic all-american selection?
Not surprised if true. Where are you hearing this?
Brother. He had some classes with players and there were players posing as another player in order to get them to pass their classes.
Gee, how could that possibly happen? lol. Didnt we already know of such stuff … since James is an academic all american, but couldnt pass the Texas math test to get out of High School? He must have someone taking tests at UO for him.
Any names? I remember hearing rumors about that Hillsboro kid who graduated highschool early.
Scott Grady and Javes Lewis.
Funny how both are gone now.
If you guys want a place to discuss Pac-12 football with fans from other teams, check this board out:
http://www.pac12board.com
Can never have enough Beavs over there! (My id is beavskid)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/819579-oregon-state-beavers-2011-predictions-for-every-game
I know we are going to struggle, but this seems a little extreme.
That was probably one of the worst analysis I’ve ever read.
I actually had to wrote a note to the writer, which I never do. He was that bad.
I completely agree. Had I not been on my phone, I would have probably done the same.
According to that guy Oregon St will end up with 17 points five times and 21 points four times. Not only is that author a poor writer, he doesn’t have much imagination eithet.
Here’s hoping the scores are as close as he predicts them to be. :-(
So from what I have read on this site the past couple of weeks on this blog, how inaccurate is the Bleacher article? If Katz is getting rattled in the red zone where no one can touch him, how will he be when he is again running for his life in a real game? Isn’t the offensive line that returns basically last years “block wall”? And with the exception of Dylan Wynn on the defensive line, I don’t see a lot of worry in opposing QB’s. With what sounds like a good class in 12, the next couple or three sound like rebuilding years. On another note, I haven’t seen anything on Root picking up any games, I thought at this time last year they had most of the games. Is this part of the new tv deal? I thought that didn’t go into effect until next year. I hope I don’t have to watch most of the games on the radio.
I think the Beavers win at least 8 games so to me it very inaccurate.
You missed Crichton. But he’s been a solid lock from day one, so there’s not much to discuss. DB’s are more than solid, though CB lacks depth and experience. I’m still waiting to hear something about Unga and Wilson doing better this year. Those two were on an upswing late last year which (thankfully) marginalized Robinson. I’ve heard Akuna, Welch, Te’o and Johnson have all shown flashes of future greatness, and a couple or more might break into regular roles beyond special teams. It’s just that damn DT position that worries me the most. We’re not deep, and we’re not that big beyond Castro. And to top it off, we’re riddled with injuries or suspensions or both.
Offense will be better than it was last year. That’s about all I can say at this point. How much better? Well, I think James is a more important piece to this puzzle than any one RB has ever been. Though, SJax did line up at WR once in a while as well.
I agree with your assessment on both sides of the ball.
Defensively, DT is my biggest concern as well and I don’t know what the answer will be. But the increase in speed at DE and LB (particularly OLB) will make the front 7 improved overall. The defensive backs should be slightly improved overall. Overall defensively, we’ve got more speed and the same system…any prediction of the defense being worse seems silly to me.
While his Bleacher Report writer predicts us to score 255 points, which would represent the lowest point total since 1997, I think we will be improved.
The complaints about Katz’ relative lack of red zone prowess may be accurate – but it’s not as if this is a new problem. He wasn’t as effective in the red zone last year as we generally turned the ball over to Quizz to create offense. I’m sure Katz will frustrate us all at times, but he did have a better ‘rookie’ season than Matt Moore or Sean Canfield in terms of passer rating. Both players improved greatly in their second season. I expect Katz to do the same.
The loss of James Rodgers is pretty big, but I think that Brandin Cooks will be a more than adequate replacement for him. It’ll be great to get James back, but I think we’ve got more weapons than last season. With a return of some healthy TE’s, we’ll have more and better weapons to catch the ball than we’ve ever had before.
From what I’ve read, the O-Line will be improved. I can’t really speak to that but it does sound like we’ve given up far fewer sacks and we’re creating openings for the run game a bit better than we were last year.
So that leaves running back as a concern. Maybe I’m just a cock-eyed optimist, but having 5-6 options, some more viable than others, somebody is going to step up and shock us. I’m not quite as confident about that as when Quizz came to town, but it’s not far off.
Overall, the 4 win prediction is absurd.
Not only was it absurd, but the writer had everything backwards. He claimed we have no weapons, when we have Wheaton, Cooks, Bishop, Gwachum, Halahuni (at some point), and Katz (who many consider a weapon, though I’m neutral/frustrated with his progress at this point). Agnew even sounds promising. We actually have a ton of weapons.
He also claims Oline is a strength. It seems obvious he wrote that because they’re a year older and doesn’t really know anything about the talent level.
He also claims defense will be a weak point. While I worry we’ll have a soft middle (i.e. DT), the overall defense is better/faster.
The writer is atrocious in both writing and analysis. He must have slept his way to the top!
I’m thinking BR is the bottom, and he set his NCAA ’10 simulation up with poor defaults to make this analysis.
When has bleacherreport put out anything worth reading? It’s always just a bunch of “top 10 reasons why ……” or “top 25 ……” slideshows. Nothing of substance, just a bunch of pretty pictures.
It’s also horrible to try to navigate. It’s just one big trap designed to generate hits.
Man, the LSU fight stuff has swept Willie Lyles and the Ducks under the rug. Damn,the Ducks are blessed right now.
I seriously doubt the LSU bar fight has affected the NCAA investigation into UO. The Miami mess might, though. What sort of resources does the NCAA have for conducting investigations? They might be getting spread too thin.
I was referring more to the media than the NCAA. The NCAA investigative team better have the head count to keep up with demand!
When the season starts, the media is going to get focussed on the actual football and if the UO gets a win streak going, that will be the news. But who knows, maybe the local media brings up Lyles every so often, just to keep the prod in, and keep the UO fans riled up…lol! Keep those angry comments commin, UO uberfans!
The NCAA should hire temps, also known as slave labor, to investigate Oregon. I’m a sucker for irony and payback.
Ha!
What do we think the players might think if we had a bunch of 13-year old Chinese and Indonesian girls asking them questions?
“Did you sell the shoes I was beaten into submission in order to lovingly make for you?”
I am sorry, but those “employees” seem to be chained to their work bench, and are unavailable for “reassignment”.
Sounds like the QB, Jefferson and LB Josh Johns have been issued arrest warrants. So much for the police waiting until after the game. Guess they aren’t getting the favoritism duck fans claim.
My biggest worry over last year was not how our D and O lines would be in 2011, although I was/am concerned, but I just didn’t see Katz get smarter in 2010. I can remember yelling at the TV as much at the end of the year as I did at the beginning of the year in 2010 – “Come on Katz stop trying to go for the bomb! Use your head! Wide open short!” Reports on Katz from practices so far haven’t been good. Looks like more yelling this year.
My wife HATES it when I yell at the TV…she’s not a sports person and doesn’t get it. It could be a long year for both of us.
Football is frustrating to watch.
Katz still completed 60% of his passes and had a 17-11 TD to INT ratio in his first season for a QB rating of 127.
That QB rating was better than Moore or Canfield’s first season. Better than ANY season Derek Anderson had.
I’m not saying that won’t get frustrating, but he was pretty solid last season and Mike Riley quarterbacks generally improve in their 2nd year.
Check these stats:
Matt Moore, year one: 11 TD, 19 INT, 123 QB rating
Matt Moore, year two: 18 TD, 7 INT, 139 QB rating
Sean Canfield, year one: 9 TD, 15 INT, 106 QB rating
Sean Canfield, year two: 21 TD, 7 INT, 143 QB rating
Lyle Moevao, year one: 2 TD, 6 INT, 98 QB rating
Lyle Moevao, year two: 19 TD, 13 INT, 128 QB rating
Ryan Katz, year one: 17 TD, 11 INT, 127 QB rating.
Dude, I completely agree. A weird phenomenon on this site: if I say I’m concerned about a guy everyone jumps the gun and puts words in my mouth, acting as if I said the guy is terrible.
Clarification from the horses mouth:
Katz was better than most 1st year QBs in this system and against the most difficult schedule in the country. That’s a reason to be bullish. Katz has had a bad fall camp where he’s shown little progress in overcoming his problems (i.e. missing check downs, going for deep passes, converting 3rd downs, and overall efficiency) from last year. Those are reasons to be bearish. I am down on Katz right now because I expected a much better fall camp. I expected to read reports that he’s checking down, being efficient, keeping the chains moving, etc. Overall, being a heady passer.
All that being said, I think Richie Harrington is the best QB talent on the roster. I know people will laugh at that since he’s a rookie walk-on, but what I see is a guy with terrific accuracy and touch, NFL level footwork, and quick/heady decisions. Granted, that’s from 5 minutes of film, all highlights no less. Still, until I have a reason to believe otherwise I’m trusting my eye for talent. He’ll have to overcome depth chart and politics just to get a shot, so we may never know.
Wow angry, I can’t believe you’re saying that Katz sucks. ;)
The schedule is easier this year, and the WR depth is in place prior to the season. Katz will begin the season as he did last year, being overly cautious for a few games before breaking out. But this year, instead of losing his primary target and having to relearn priority receivers’ skills, he will be overly cautious while throwing to those he has camped with and add extra talent he’s already familiar with (James and Joe) about the time he’s ready to let it fly.
His primaries now will be a part of one big pass catching stew of players once he settles into the season, and we won’t be screaming as much for him to just let the ball go when the o-line can’t hold on. I’m also thinking Riley trusts him that much more so that he can pull the ball down and take off when he wants to. He’ll be smart enough to know his angles and when to get down/out or throw it away.
http://twitter.com/#!/RandyRosetta/status/107107772709085184
Lucky *ucks.
Don’t forget this bit:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-lsu-shepardsuspended
The Lyles investigation may be basis for investigation into Nikegon’s program, but it won’t be half of their problems when all is said and done.
However, it’s funny that an LSU/Lyles inquiry is the reason the Ducks first opponent has to bench their starting WR.
Yep… I was WRONG! :-( Oh, lawd, how dat be?
They were worse boys than I thought….. Well, UO better have it together and get the cheap win. I was wishing ill on the SEC, so maybe that affected things…
If a man is in the woods and he says something with no woman within 10 miles, is he still wrong?
Who the hell has 49 pairs of sneakers? LOL…
Who the hell has 49 pairs of sneakers???
Wait…didn’t Quizz have a hundred or so?
I think I’ve got 3.
My prediction: “We will let the legal system run its course. The fine young men have not been convicted of any wrong doing, and will remain a part of our Team.”
Vote Oregon State a Top 5 Pac-12 team!
http://beaverbyte.com
I’d rather just see it.
Thomas Tyner article:
http://oregonpreps.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1255941
“”Stay in Oregon! You should stay and play with me,” said Tyner.
As we asked if that was a preview into the fact that he was already going to be a Duck or a Beaver he merely replied, “I’m only a Junior. So I don’t know…I’m just playing around.”
We shall see. ”
Doesn’t sound as committed to being a Beav as he did even a few weeks ago. Going to be a long 1 1/2 years till signing day.
He’s intentionally vague for his own reasons, but it will be a long 17 months regardless.
I think you should take his comments in the spirit of their context, namely humor. Braydon Kearsley and Dallin Leavitt are as likely to stay in Oregon for their college careers as Tyner is likely to play for Eastern Oregon… or, as I think, Duck High.
I’m 99% sure he’ll be a Beaver.
If we have track.
you two are way more confident about tyner being a beaver than i am. i guess that’s a good thing.
i think i’m still haunted by owa and his orange polo…
On the serious side, I do hope he working on Doug Brenner to come play with him. That would make me happy.
That kid looks like a badass. His sisters are at Oregon and Oregon State. I’d love to win that tie-breaker.
Remember also that a prospective student-athlete can’t be officially contacted for recruiting until September 1st of his junior year. And even that has to be written. He can receive the general academic fliers and pamphlets for a school, questionnaires (which I’m sure are designed to be leading in many cases) and summer camp brochures. But official “Hi, I want you to play football for me” letters can’t be sent until next week. And verbal contact initiated by a coach is limited to one call in April or May (until September 1st of their senior year).
Official offers are the same. When you hear about Fink getting a verbal commit from some three-year old, that’s because the kid visited Fink at USC at his own cost and Fink forwarded a verbal, unofficial offer.
I’m thinking that Riley is so by the book that he doesn’t even bother with the verbal offers. Instead, he would evaluate players’ games and their questionnaire responses before that date, and he would rather make contact officially–properly polite and all that.
This might be the source of our recruiting frustrations of the past–at least if you’re a ratings junkie it is. All the top talent travel to all the major schools and meet all the coaches. Many coaches will make verbal offers at that time. And if Riley is one to hold off, the kids might not understand his methodology and mistake it for his not wanting them on his team.
How often does the pretty girl hear no?
Since Tyner is a well known quantity, and since he’s visited with Riley numerous times on his own dime, I’m sure this has been explained to him in detail. Then, I’ve heard, Riley likes to just sit and shoot the shit like he’s your favorite uncle looking to catch up on your life. And I’m pretty sure their visits end with Coach saying something like, “Thanks for stopping by. I really look forward to talking to you again. Call me anytime, and be sure to check your mailbox on September 1st.”
So Tyner’s vague statements may simply be a result of having no offer in hand to respond to with a commitment. They may also be his way of drawing attention to his teammates by luring all the scouts and big time schools to his games to see him. Or it may be a case of him being wide open for now, but having a genuine like for one person and his program whether he ends up there or not.
I’ll take one of the first two.
How’s that for a justification?
Nicholls State is the third non conference game on the schedule for next season.
Charlie Stubbs eh?
Next year’s schedule looks like a good one. Home games against the toughest teams (Wisconsin, Oregon, Arizona State, Utah), road games against some middle of the road teams (BYU, Arizona, Washington, Stanford w/o Luck, UCLA) and a few more weak home games with CAL and WSU now Nicholls State.
I wouldn’t call BYU middle of the road. Heaps will be a junior next year and should be really good. I believe it’s the opener too and the Beavers will really have to play great to win that game. Other than that it is really setup for the Beavers to make a run.
where do you see the schedule…can you post the dates?
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-12/pac-10/2012-oregon-state-beavers-football-schedule.php
Nicholls State is now on the 15th.
however, the official Nicholl State Athletic website mentions Beavs will be their season opener
http://geauxcolonels.com/news/2011/8/26/FB_0826114515.aspx
So if that is true, then BYU might either be moved to another date or postponed for the future.
I didn’t catch that. I would say it gets postponed to a different year. Don’t see any way it really works for both teams to move it to a different week.
http://www.fbschedules.com/2009/05/boise-state-oregon-state-schedule-home-and-home-football-games/
This article says we host Boise St on the 15th. The article is two years old so maybe things have changed??
If the BYU game is in fact replaced by Boise State, that will be a great year to have season tickets. Wisconsin and Boise St at home are both ESPN worthy matchups. Would be great exposure for the program. Compare that to Oregon which has Arkansas State, Fresno State and Montana State next year.
Boise has been moved to either 2015 or 2016. Sounds like they will have to add another team to next year’s schedule with BYU likely being moved back a few years if they play the at all. Likely to be a road game against a solid-good team since that’s how Bobby D likes to schedule.
Practice is at 2pm tomorrow, correct? Are they still practicing at Prothro field, or Reser?
They’re in Reser today, so I would guess it’s the same tomorrow.
Canzano is going to have Brooks on his show in the next couple of hours to talk about the Otis Yelverton story.
Anybody think the remaining practice schedule doesn’t do the Beavs any favors when it comes to preparing for the Wisconsin game? I know it’s 2 week away, but look at the remaining practice schedule:
Aug. 27 (full gear), 2 p.m.
Aug. 28 No practice
Aug. 29 (full gear), 3 p.m.
Aug. 30 (full gear), 3 p.m.
Aug. 31 (full gear), 3 p.m.
Sept. 1 (full gear), 1:30 p.m.
It seems like the team would be better served to have practice starting around 7:00 or 8:00 AM. The Winsconsin game kicks off at 9:00 Pacific time. Seems like the team should be taking advantage of this week to get their internal clocks adjusted to playing at full speed that early in the morning. Maybe they’re planning early practices for the week between Sacramento and Wisconsin, but it seems like it would make sense to start adjusting now.
That’s not a bad idea.
At the very least, they should definitely practice early the week of that game. 1 week is probably enough time to adjust. Any idea which day they’re flying to Wisconsin?
I’ve thought all off season fall camp should feature such a schedule. Beats being embarrassed again. The personnel differrences across the lines is enough of an advantage for WI, OSU needs to prep for the start time. Better yet, negotiate for a reasonable time for your team….
According to Cliff, next week’s schedule has the Beav’s going from 2-4 PM everyday. Still not sure what day they plan to travel to Wisconsin. Doesn’t make much sense…
we should be practicing in the heat of the day and we are when we practice at 3pm. I know it’s an early game, but it’s not that eary in Wisconsin. I would rather see our players prepare for the heat and humidity then worry about what time of day they are playing.
Average temps in Wisconsin that time of year is in the high 70’s. Don’t think that will be as much of a factor.
http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/USWI0411?month=1
Arizona State in October will be warmer than that.
You called it, practices 2 ~4 next week per cliff’s blog
It would appear that scheduling Nicholls State is pretty much an admission that this has to be done in order for the Beavs to have any chance of making to a bowl game. SHIT!!!
I’m going to assume you’re joking cause you cannot be serious.
I’m very serious.
No we just don’t need to schedule hard games for all three non cons. We have a new wave of cash coming next year so we don’t need payoff games. We still have a marquee game so we aren’t the sec. Also, record now matters in the bowl selection process so we have to cater to that as well.
We should schedule one bad team (Sac St), one average to bad DI team (e.g. Minnesota), and one good team (e.g. Wisconsin/Boise St, etc).
I have more of an issue with the BYU game than the WI game this year. That’s a difficult game, and I don’t see great reward.
Agreed about byu. Heard somewhere that they get 11 ESPN games a year. I guess that is a plus for us.
I just got this from Root sports when questioning about Beaver broadcast.
Dear Viewer,
ROOT SPORTS have up to 6 days before kickoff to decide to air College Football games based on the available broadcast windows.
Best regards!
They jumped all over games last year well before 6 days. I guess they had higher expectations last year and not so much this year.
It ticks me off that Root won’t broadcast. Would it be different if it was the old Fox Sports NW? Is Steve Preece involved anymore? I guess when the P-12 Network goes into effect we won’t have to worry about it. The Big Network broadcasts everything not picked up by ESPN and the other networks.
I caught the last part of practice today at Reser (situational 11-on-11 plays). Here are a few things that stood out.
– Dylan Wynn was playing DE with the first string. DW made one very nice play, where he stood up Remmers, read a run by Agnew to the opposite side, and was able to slide off his blocker, dive and tackle Agnew for no gain. DW looked okay on other plays, but didn’t do anything spectacular against the first string o-line. Still, seeing DW starting at DE today was a pleasant surprise. And then came the tweets, after practice, announcing that DW will not redshirt this year.
– In a redzone drill, with Vaz at QB, Obum caught 3 TDs in the space of about 8 plays. One was a quick slant starting from the right side. One was a crossing pattern where Obum got free in the left side of the end zone. One was a jump ball in the left back corner of the end zone, where Obum outleaped his defender and came down with the ball. Good stuff. Unfortunately, Obum dropped a few passes later in the practice, including two passes he should have caught for TDs. Obum continues to be a work in progress (but at least there is progress….)
– In a redzone drill, Katz threw a pass into the endzone that should have been intercepted by Unga at MLB, but Unga dropped it. That’s not the first dropped interception in camp by Unga — not sure he’s got such great hands….
– On a punt from his own endzone (line of scrimmage at the one yard line), in the face of a decent rush, Hekker boomed a punt to the opposing 42 yard line (57 yards from the line of scrimmage). I expect Hekker to have a really good season for the Beavs this year….
If Hekker has a good season I’ll be a happy man. That clown’s punting drives my blood pressure through the roof.
Hekker’s inconsistency last year didn’t help my blood pressure, either. In the offseason, Hekker seems to have strengthened his leg and improved the consistency of his mechanics. In Fall camp, Hekker has shanked a few, for sure, but most of his punts have been high and long. We’ll see soon enough, but I’m optimistic that this year’s Hekker will be significantly better than last year’s model….
I hope to see Hekker complete a few passes this season, from punt formation and possibly when he is the holder. Surely we can sneak a couple of our outstanding receivers into a formation.
At least OSU is starting to play the best players, regardless of seniority…
http://mobile.oregonlive.com/advorg/pm_100882/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=EORjbemh
I am a subscriber to Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Magazine, and I actually got a direct answer from him about Oregon State’s upcoming season on Facebook recently: (For those of you who are not aware of him, his publication has been voted most accurate in terms of predictions for the last 12 years in a row). According to him, here’s some interesting info:
Power Plays (projected statistics at the end of 2011)
Offense: 100 yds rushing/game, 260 yds passing/game, 25.5 points/game
Defense: 170 yds rushing/game, 240 yds passing/game, 28.6 points/game
We have the 4th toughest schedule in the country (oh, ANOTHER top 5 sched?)
Phil also had this to say to me directly when I inquired about OSU’s win/loss record for the year:
“HC Riley is one coach who for many years always seemed to overachieve and exceed my expectations but LY naturally didn’t live up to expectations. Right now I have them penciled in for 5 wins with 5 losses and two toss-up games vs BYU and Stanford. However I do have them on my Most Improved List which means I have them making a bowl game and a majority of their games this year could come down to the 4Q so I think there is a possibility they could go anywhere from 5-7 to 9-3 with 6 or 7 wins the most likely scenario, Thanks!”
After doing some quick calculations in the magazine, I deem that he sees us beating Sacramento State, UCLA, Arizona, @ Washington State and Washington. The 3 losses he’s got us penciled in for are @ Wisconsin, @ Arizona State, and @ Oregon.
I think it’s more likely that we end up 5-7 considering our talent vs the talent of the teams we’re playing against. If we get a 9-3 season out of this year, I’d be ecstatic, in fact, I’d run to the bank with it if you give it to me now. On the other hand, it’s kinda sad that some of us, including myself, already have a defeatist attitude towards the Civil War. There is always hope, though.
Lol .. The season hasnt started and some are already writing it off. Hey, it could happen again. But in general, when OSU is not highly regarded, they overachieve. A number of signs indicate things might be better than last year. I see no reason for pessimism. Let the season start before condemning it. Even then, I recall seasons starting poorly and ending well. Last year was an oddity, with the team letting go as the season wore on. Lets presume it wont happen again.
Just because YOU see no reason for pessimism does that mean you have the right to judge folks who do?
Sounds aboht right to me unless injuries change the pac12 landscape. A 4th straight cw loss would suck, but would not surprise.
I don’t see the Beavs winning a Civil War so long as Riley is their coach and Chip is Oregon’s coach. Chip has faster players, a better scheme (for college), and is more aggressive.
You are correct. No way in hell do we beat UO as long as they have Kelly and we have Riley. Those who say we are defeatists are absolute dreamers. They need to get real and face the facts.
Completely disagree. Those aren’t “facts” those are opinions. I think next year the Beavers beat the Ducks and have some success against the Ducks in the next few years.
Couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, there are a few Beaver fans out there that I like.
I like reading Phil Steele and I look forward to the mag every summer. It is a great help in learning about all teams from all conferences. He’s not really going out on a limb with the Beavers as most everyone has them around 5,6 or 7 wins. I have noticed after reading the mag for five years now, that a lot of it is filler as he repeats the same historical points/references about teams over and over from year to year. Still a good read.
Here’s how I break it down:
Beavers WILL win: Sacramento State
Beavers SHOULD win: UCLA, Arizona, @ Washington St (Seattle), Washington
Beavers COULD win (but won’t be favored): BYU, @ Utah, Stanford, @ California
Beavers AREN’T winning: @ Wisconsin, @ Arizona State, @ Oregon
That’s my realistic viewpoint: Obviously I want to be wrong about the Oregon game.
Swap ASU and Stanford. ASU is way overrated, returning players doesn’t mean that you will be good, see our O Line.
Stanford is at home. Arizona State is a road game. That makes a difference. How much is difficult to say, but even Phil Steele rated the game with Stanford a toss-up for OSU.
Figures it’s my birthday today, and Hurricane Irene is coming right up my coast. If I lose power I will be pissed.
Happy Birthday Warren! Stay safe.
Happy birthday, man.
So you are 17 now? Time to start looking at colleges…(aka OSU).
Silver, what end spot did DW play at? Henry’s or Crichton’s?
Thx for the reports as always!
At yesterday’s practice, DW was playing on the right side most of the time. But I have seen DW play the left side as well. DW seems to be comfortable either way….not sure he or the coaches have a preference for which side he should play.
Brandin Cooks interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RBN_X-q1b0
Love this guy.
Agnew’s game film, in case anyone forgot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5WoMUo39RU
I need to tip my hat to JackBeav. When Agnew signed I wasn’t sold on him (by signing day I liked him more, but didn’t think he had freshman starter ability). Rewatching that film I’m sort of wondering what the hell my problem was…the guy explodes to the whole and then has the vision and speed to break it. Also, compact with good center of balance.
He actually looks a little bit like Quizz, which will help (me at least) with this transition.
I want someone who looks like Steven Jackson!
Something I noticed, though: Agnew is waay better on turf. Check out his runs on natural grass at the end of the clip.
I realize this is true of most backs, but with Agnew it seems exaggerated.
Agnew reminds me of Marshall Faulk at SDSU (check out the run at the 3:33 mark if you don’t believe me).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDOyV1bphoE
Faulk is clearly a step faster and accelerates quicker, but running style and visually they are similar. If Agnew is half as good we’re set.
wow, that was amazing, i’ve never seen someone run like that
I’ve always liked his southeast ‘pedigree’ if you will, simply because they are crazy about football and ultra competitive, attributes the OSU program can use. Rodgers bros brought the same attributes from texas. These kinds of players don’t want to wait 4 games into the season to start winning, and they want to play in January.
Read this in one of Cliff’s articles. Worries me that our coaches don’t seem to have figured things out with one week to go. Seems to me fall practice is where you are supposed to figure positions and the pre-season games test it to be sure you don’t miss anything. Maybe this is why we have slow starts?
“This is the team we are,” Read said. “They are inexperienced and we don’t know where they fit in yet.”
So they are young but we should by now know where they fit in shouldn’t we?
Aziz Shittu has re-thought his prior committment to Stanford and put us in his top 3 with Texas A&M and Nevada. That’s kind of a strange list, isn’t it?
Here’s a story from when he was still a Stanford commit with some video of him going at it with a bunch of prospects, including Garrett Weinreich and Eduardo Middleton, a couple guys with OS offers. http://mgoblog.com/diaries/tomvh-dt-aziz-shittu-rethinking-his-commitment
Where’d you see that?
It is a weird top 3…
I’m assuming those teams all need DTS? I know the Beavs do! Maybe guaranteed early playing time is the common link.
That makes a lot of sense. Some teams you may not start, ever, and some it may be right away and you are a star.
Where do you see the Beavers are in his top 3? On Scout it lists his the top three as Cal, Nevada and Texas A&M.
Would there be an academic reason for decomitting from Stanford?
Practice at 2 today, it’s 233 and Reser & Prothro are deserted.
Practice was moved to 3 pm today…..
How do you stay on top of these things? Does the department officially communicate this kind of information to the public? This really messed up my schedule yesterday so I only got to see them stretching and a few kicking plays.
brownale9000,
Where are you getting this info on Aziz? Scout and Rivals say little or no interst in OSU.
I hope you’re right but just wondering if that info is online somewhere.