Read Brenden Slaughter's practice report below. The team did not practice on Tuesday and moved the practice to today. The Beavs will have their first scrimmage on Saturday. Brenden and Keenan will be in Seattle for the Pac-12 WBB Tournament.
Andersen on QB battle...
“The best way I can sum it up right now, is the last time we went live, we had three quarterbacks lead three different drives and they all put it in the endzone,” Andersen said. “We are executing with all three kids right now, and that is good to see from an offensive standpoint. The biggest thing is, they are battling, competing, and fighting. They are all finding a way to have success and compete within themselves right now.”
Andersen on O-line...
“With the limited numbers we have, kids are playing multiple positions and that’s been good to see,” Andersen said. “Take (Fred) Lauina for example, he has been playing in the Pac-12 for a while and he is playing some tackle and guard. The communication has been more solid, but physicality is continually going to be a work in progress. We need to be more physical, and stronger at times. We know we have a couple really good running backs, and if we can just get six more inches movement on the line, it makes a big difference.”
Gary Andersen post-practice interview 3/1/17
- The most newsworthy nugget from practice today was that Jake Luton did not take any reps while media was allowed in. Head coach Gary Andersen mentioned it wasn't a major concern.
- With Luton out, Marcus McMaryion and Conor Blount got the majority of the reps at quarterback. It was a mix of the 1’s and 2’s for McMaryion and solely 2’s for Blount. Darell Garretson did receive reps but they were limited. Blount is quickly rising up my quarterback depth chart. Today was easily Blount’s best day as he nailed a couple receivers right in the numbers on several crossing routes and even a few flare screens. And not to sound like a broken record, but his deep ball was working well again today.
- Back to McMaryion, he looked especially good today too. Today was the first day, in my opinion, where he solely had the first team reps to himself with Luton out, and he didn’t disappoint. He made several nice throws over the middle, and one really nice throw to Isaiah Hodgins that we will talk about later.
- Ryan Nall was back with the first team after surrendering carries to Jaylynn Bailey the past few practices. Nall was never hurt, but there is no need to put extra hits on your best running back. Speaking of RB’s that were back in full speed, Artavis Pierce looked really good today too.
- Last thing on RB’s: Bailey still continues to impress me with his toughness and determination. He isn’t the most athletically gifted guy on the field but he never gives up, and plays extremely hard every single down. Gotta love a guy with that kind of heart.
- Another note on McMaryion: He was elusive today. There were several times that he kept the ball on the zone-read action and faked out several defenders en-route to a 6-7 yard gain. He is by far and away the most comfortable running the ball in terms of QB’s. I think Garretson is still testing out the ankle when he moves in the pocket. So something to keep an eye on moving forward.
- Second to last thing on QB’s. Garretson took limited reps today, but was quite inconsistent. Inconsistency has really been the storyline of Garretson’s career since he arrived at OSU, and so far this spring that narrative is continuing. Given that he was OSU’s starter last season, he will still have the opportunity to start, but he has to show more than he has thus far.
- Slaughter’s current QB pecking order: Luton, McMaryion, 3A-Garretson, 3B-Blount.
- I mentioned earlier that we were going to talk about a pass from McMaryion. Well, he threw a beautiful fade to Isaiah Hodgins who had one-on-one coverage with arguably OSU’s best cover corner in Xavier Crawford. Hodgins lept into the air and fought for the ball, and secured it falling to the ground. It was easily Hodgins best play of the spring so far, and showed the athleticism that all of us were waiting to see.
- In terms of defense, they played much better after getting slightly harassed last week. The defensive line was most impressive given that all of the running backs struggled to get past the line of scrimmage today.
- The linebacking core was also impressive today, locking down the middle of the field, and batting away several passes.
- OSU has one more practice tomorrow before having a full scrimmage on Saturday. Some of the notables that Andersen said won’t play in the scrimmage: Dwayne Williams and Manase Hungalu.
Andersen on QB battle...
“The best way I can sum it up right now, is the last time we went live, we had three quarterbacks lead three different drives and they all put it in the endzone,” Andersen said. “We are executing with all three kids right now, and that is good to see from an offensive standpoint. The biggest thing is, they are battling, competing, and fighting. They are all finding a way to have success and compete within themselves right now.”
Andersen on O-line...
“With the limited numbers we have, kids are playing multiple positions and that’s been good to see,” Andersen said. “Take (Fred) Lauina for example, he has been playing in the Pac-12 for a while and he is playing some tackle and guard. The communication has been more solid, but physicality is continually going to be a work in progress. We need to be more physical, and stronger at times. We know we have a couple really good running backs, and if we can just get six more inches movement on the line, it makes a big difference.”
Gary Andersen post-practice interview 3/1/17
