Check out Marcus Greaves' Thursday practice report!
- In today's practice, the offense focused on the deep passing game. Both Jake Luton and Darell Garretson launched several deep passes to Trevon Bradford and Jordan Villamin. They were focusing on using Bradford down the seam, and the quarterbacks were working on perfecting their connection with Villamin. If they can get Villamin involved early in the season and keep his confidence high, the passing game will finally break through. The quarterbacks and receivers connected well on down the field passes against the scout team defense.
- Luton’s communication is starting to pay off down in the redzone. The past two practices, the offense was able to drive all the way down field but could not get the ball in the endzone. Now, from the looks of it, Luton and Villamin especially look on the same page as they were able to connect on short routes and passes in the back of the endzone.
- Both Ryan Nall and Thomas Tyner's reps were limited today in practice. This allowed Trevorris Johnson, Calvin Tyler and Artavis Pierce to take the majority of the reps. We already knew that the running back position had a lot of depth to it, but you can make a strong case that this is the deepest backfield Oregon State has ever had.
- Shawn Wilson was seen back padded up at practice. His reps were limited, but this is a good sign for the cornerback position. Now, they were able to rotate constantly and give each player some reps in order to keep them on the same page. This shows that the depth is back for the cornerbacks.
The cornerback rotation looked like this today:
First Team: Xavier Crawford, Jay Irvine
Second Team: Jaydon Grant, Kyle White
Third Team: Shawn Wilson, Kaleb Hayes
- With Seth Collins not practicing, the next man up appears to be Trevon Bradford. Bradford may not have the size and length of Collins, but with a player like Bradford, who is extremely quick and shifty, the offense can utilize him with more fly sweeps and put him one-on-one with a much slower linebacker for a mismatch and hopefully easy yards.
- Mason Moran was taking reps with the scout team defense, and this is going to benefit Moran greatly. We cannot forget that Moran played safety as well as quarterback in high school. Getting back into the flow of playing safety will not come easy for Moran, but if he can work his technique back, he can provide some great depth for the safeties and even the corners.
- Aaron Short was seen taking reps with the scout team offense today. This is interesting in my mind because Short has some serious speed and ability to make guys miss. Short has dropped a handful of passes though. I see Short being able to contribute later in the season as a returner on special team - maybe even being a part of the rotation with the receivers when he looks ready enough.
- Gary Andersen said today that the team is not where they need to be in order to beat Colorado State. With a high powered offense like Colorado State's, there has to be pressure on the quarterback, as well as disruption in the run game. There has been improvements and strides with the defensive line, but they will need to be more consistent and have more than just Bright Ugwoegbu and Kee Wetzel bring pressure up front.
- Ugwoegbu's reps today were extremely limited and he only took one or two snaps on defense. A smart move in my mind as Bright is coming off injury, and it is imperative that he stays healthy. Being an athletic pass rusher the Beavers are going to need him in order to disrupt Colorado state's offense.
Gary Andersen interview
Scott Barnes interview
- In today's practice, the offense focused on the deep passing game. Both Jake Luton and Darell Garretson launched several deep passes to Trevon Bradford and Jordan Villamin. They were focusing on using Bradford down the seam, and the quarterbacks were working on perfecting their connection with Villamin. If they can get Villamin involved early in the season and keep his confidence high, the passing game will finally break through. The quarterbacks and receivers connected well on down the field passes against the scout team defense.
- Luton’s communication is starting to pay off down in the redzone. The past two practices, the offense was able to drive all the way down field but could not get the ball in the endzone. Now, from the looks of it, Luton and Villamin especially look on the same page as they were able to connect on short routes and passes in the back of the endzone.
- Both Ryan Nall and Thomas Tyner's reps were limited today in practice. This allowed Trevorris Johnson, Calvin Tyler and Artavis Pierce to take the majority of the reps. We already knew that the running back position had a lot of depth to it, but you can make a strong case that this is the deepest backfield Oregon State has ever had.
- Shawn Wilson was seen back padded up at practice. His reps were limited, but this is a good sign for the cornerback position. Now, they were able to rotate constantly and give each player some reps in order to keep them on the same page. This shows that the depth is back for the cornerbacks.
The cornerback rotation looked like this today:
First Team: Xavier Crawford, Jay Irvine
Second Team: Jaydon Grant, Kyle White
Third Team: Shawn Wilson, Kaleb Hayes
- With Seth Collins not practicing, the next man up appears to be Trevon Bradford. Bradford may not have the size and length of Collins, but with a player like Bradford, who is extremely quick and shifty, the offense can utilize him with more fly sweeps and put him one-on-one with a much slower linebacker for a mismatch and hopefully easy yards.
- Mason Moran was taking reps with the scout team defense, and this is going to benefit Moran greatly. We cannot forget that Moran played safety as well as quarterback in high school. Getting back into the flow of playing safety will not come easy for Moran, but if he can work his technique back, he can provide some great depth for the safeties and even the corners.
- Aaron Short was seen taking reps with the scout team offense today. This is interesting in my mind because Short has some serious speed and ability to make guys miss. Short has dropped a handful of passes though. I see Short being able to contribute later in the season as a returner on special team - maybe even being a part of the rotation with the receivers when he looks ready enough.
- Gary Andersen said today that the team is not where they need to be in order to beat Colorado State. With a high powered offense like Colorado State's, there has to be pressure on the quarterback, as well as disruption in the run game. There has been improvements and strides with the defensive line, but they will need to be more consistent and have more than just Bright Ugwoegbu and Kee Wetzel bring pressure up front.
- Ugwoegbu's reps today were extremely limited and he only took one or two snaps on defense. A smart move in my mind as Bright is coming off injury, and it is imperative that he stays healthy. Being an athletic pass rusher the Beavers are going to need him in order to disrupt Colorado state's offense.
Gary Andersen interview
Scott Barnes interview
