Happy Friday Edgers! Hope y’all are having a splendid end of July and that you’re all as excited for fall camp as I am! With Oregon State’s media day slated for the 31st and practices starting on August 1st, the start of Beaver football is just days away...
- I want to start off this Insider Report by saying that it was a great experience to cover Pac-12 Media Day and I couldn’t have been happier to represent Edge to kick off the season! With that being said, let’s get to part 1 of the inside scoop from Hollywood.
- For starters, it was really eye opening to see and observe that there was a much more optimistic vibe around the Beavers. Granted, Oregon State is coming off a 2-10 season and was still picked to finish last in the conference, but I have to say that the positivity surrounding the Beavers was noticeable.
- The Beavers made a great call sending Jermar Jefferson and Isaiah Hodgins with Jonathan Smith to media day...I had the pleasure of having lunch with Smith, Hodgins, Jefferson, and several others and I have to say that Hodgins and Jefferson are not only talented individuals, they’re terrific people too.
- Jefferson has really grown and matured into a veteran presence almost overnight and it’s hard to believe he’s only a true-sophomore. In what I consider to be a savvy veteran move, he noted he has been in regular touch with new grad-transfer center Nathan Eldridge. Jefferson noted that he’s been extremely impressed with Eldridge’s work ethic and that he’s expecting him to have a huge impact. It’s not often that you see a 19 year old kid take on the sort of leadership responsibilities that Jefferson already has. Sit back and enjoy the ride Beaver fans, his time in Corvallis is going to be special.
- Hodgins had himself quite the offseason as he’s not only been training regioursly for his upcoming junior season, he also popped the question to his girlfriend Maya who said yes and the two were married in May. Hodgins spoke about having his priorities straight in life and it was impressive to see the confidence in which he spoke with. He’s definitely emerging as a big-time leadership presence and I couldn’t have been more impressed in speaking with him. He’s got high hopes for this season...
- Heading into Pac-12 Media Day and the season as a whole, we’ve all been talking about the potential that the Oregon State offense has this year, and at media day, it was clear from talking to Smith, Hodgins, and Jefferson that they think they’re going to be really good. I think Hodgins said it best when he noted that if fans thought the offense was fun last year, it’s going to be really fun this year. Bottom line, the Beavers have a bevy of options on offense. There’s still some question marks up front in terms of unproven talent, but both Jefferson and Hodgins were optimistic that the right pieces were in place based on what they saw in spring practice.
- While the quarterback derby is far from decided, my gut feeling that Luton is going to be the guy hasn’t changed. While Smith also offered praise for Gebbia when asked about Luton, Hodgins’ words really sold me on why I think he’ll end up being the guy. He noted that Jake has really upped his leadership this offseason and is coming in with the mindset to win games.
- On the defensive side, Smith tackled the issues surrounding the poor play on defense a season ago early in his press conference as it was the first question. Without question, Smith believes that the Beavers are better defensively thanks to key additions at linebacker and defensive line. He spotlighted Hamilcar Rashed, Andrzej Hughes-Murray, Matthew Tago, John McCartan, Avery Roberts, Addison Gumbs, Jordan Whittley, Simon Sandberg, and Kaleb Hayes as guys that he expected to make a big impact on this season. Smith also noted that he feels that the Beavers biggest noticeable improvement will be run defense, so that will definitely be something to watch early in fall camp.Without bringing a defensive player to media day, the defensive questions and answers were at a premium, so look for Oregon State’s defensive questions to be better answered at its media day on the 31st.
- One thing that I found interesting was when I asked Smith about how difficult last season was, he semi-acknowledged how bare the cupboard was prior to his arrival. Smith has been pretty adamant of talking about the program only since he took over, but hearing him say that he knew it was going to be tough right away and that they were taking the long-term approach speaks volumes to the endgame that Smith is playing. He’s not to ever flat out say it, but the team he inherited wasn’t a good one and he’s spent countless hours undoing the damage that the former staff did to the football program. It’s clear to me that Smith himself has grown more confident in himself as a head coach and heading into his second season at the helm, it bodes well for the Beavers.
Expanded Injury Report
We’ll have to wait just a little longer for the Gumbs debut on the practice fields as Smith noted that he’s targeting a mid-to-late fall camp return in order to be on the field by the start of the season. As we all know, Gumbs has the potential to be instantly one of the most talented and capable playmakers on the field, but he’s still coming off a torn ACL suffered last fall camp at Oklahoma, so it makes perfect sense that the Beavs are playing it safe. Smith has been somewhat coy with injuries in the past, but if he’s saying that Gumbs will be ready by the start of the season, he will be. It’ll be interesting to see when he makes his practice debut and how many he’s able to get under his belt before the season starts as he’ll likely have to shake off some rust, but it’ll all get answered in due time.
Sandberg is back at 100 percent following an ACL tear in JUCO before the start of last season and will be ready for the start of fall camp. Given that Sandberg was a high-priority get for the Beavers, having him on the field right out the gate will be crucial for the re-tooled defensive line.
Another great bit of news for the Beavers is that David Morris is feeling as healthy as he’s ever felt heading into fall camp. I ran into Morris prior to Pac-12 Media Day and he told me that he was really excited about the upcoming season and that he felt really good health wise. The vibe that I got from him is that the Beavers really think they can surprise some people this season. Given that Smith highlighted Morris at media day as a guy that wasn’t able to play last year but is healthy now and expected to be a key contributor on the defense says a lot about the progress he’s made. There’s no doubt he’s a game-changer when he’s on the field and the Beavers need him to stay healthy and productive to have an improved defense.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Insider Report coming early next week!
- I want to start off this Insider Report by saying that it was a great experience to cover Pac-12 Media Day and I couldn’t have been happier to represent Edge to kick off the season! With that being said, let’s get to part 1 of the inside scoop from Hollywood.
- For starters, it was really eye opening to see and observe that there was a much more optimistic vibe around the Beavers. Granted, Oregon State is coming off a 2-10 season and was still picked to finish last in the conference, but I have to say that the positivity surrounding the Beavers was noticeable.
- The Beavers made a great call sending Jermar Jefferson and Isaiah Hodgins with Jonathan Smith to media day...I had the pleasure of having lunch with Smith, Hodgins, Jefferson, and several others and I have to say that Hodgins and Jefferson are not only talented individuals, they’re terrific people too.
- Jefferson has really grown and matured into a veteran presence almost overnight and it’s hard to believe he’s only a true-sophomore. In what I consider to be a savvy veteran move, he noted he has been in regular touch with new grad-transfer center Nathan Eldridge. Jefferson noted that he’s been extremely impressed with Eldridge’s work ethic and that he’s expecting him to have a huge impact. It’s not often that you see a 19 year old kid take on the sort of leadership responsibilities that Jefferson already has. Sit back and enjoy the ride Beaver fans, his time in Corvallis is going to be special.
- Hodgins had himself quite the offseason as he’s not only been training regioursly for his upcoming junior season, he also popped the question to his girlfriend Maya who said yes and the two were married in May. Hodgins spoke about having his priorities straight in life and it was impressive to see the confidence in which he spoke with. He’s definitely emerging as a big-time leadership presence and I couldn’t have been more impressed in speaking with him. He’s got high hopes for this season...
- Heading into Pac-12 Media Day and the season as a whole, we’ve all been talking about the potential that the Oregon State offense has this year, and at media day, it was clear from talking to Smith, Hodgins, and Jefferson that they think they’re going to be really good. I think Hodgins said it best when he noted that if fans thought the offense was fun last year, it’s going to be really fun this year. Bottom line, the Beavers have a bevy of options on offense. There’s still some question marks up front in terms of unproven talent, but both Jefferson and Hodgins were optimistic that the right pieces were in place based on what they saw in spring practice.
- While the quarterback derby is far from decided, my gut feeling that Luton is going to be the guy hasn’t changed. While Smith also offered praise for Gebbia when asked about Luton, Hodgins’ words really sold me on why I think he’ll end up being the guy. He noted that Jake has really upped his leadership this offseason and is coming in with the mindset to win games.
- On the defensive side, Smith tackled the issues surrounding the poor play on defense a season ago early in his press conference as it was the first question. Without question, Smith believes that the Beavers are better defensively thanks to key additions at linebacker and defensive line. He spotlighted Hamilcar Rashed, Andrzej Hughes-Murray, Matthew Tago, John McCartan, Avery Roberts, Addison Gumbs, Jordan Whittley, Simon Sandberg, and Kaleb Hayes as guys that he expected to make a big impact on this season. Smith also noted that he feels that the Beavers biggest noticeable improvement will be run defense, so that will definitely be something to watch early in fall camp.Without bringing a defensive player to media day, the defensive questions and answers were at a premium, so look for Oregon State’s defensive questions to be better answered at its media day on the 31st.
- One thing that I found interesting was when I asked Smith about how difficult last season was, he semi-acknowledged how bare the cupboard was prior to his arrival. Smith has been pretty adamant of talking about the program only since he took over, but hearing him say that he knew it was going to be tough right away and that they were taking the long-term approach speaks volumes to the endgame that Smith is playing. He’s not to ever flat out say it, but the team he inherited wasn’t a good one and he’s spent countless hours undoing the damage that the former staff did to the football program. It’s clear to me that Smith himself has grown more confident in himself as a head coach and heading into his second season at the helm, it bodes well for the Beavers.
Expanded Injury Report
We’ll have to wait just a little longer for the Gumbs debut on the practice fields as Smith noted that he’s targeting a mid-to-late fall camp return in order to be on the field by the start of the season. As we all know, Gumbs has the potential to be instantly one of the most talented and capable playmakers on the field, but he’s still coming off a torn ACL suffered last fall camp at Oklahoma, so it makes perfect sense that the Beavs are playing it safe. Smith has been somewhat coy with injuries in the past, but if he’s saying that Gumbs will be ready by the start of the season, he will be. It’ll be interesting to see when he makes his practice debut and how many he’s able to get under his belt before the season starts as he’ll likely have to shake off some rust, but it’ll all get answered in due time.
Sandberg is back at 100 percent following an ACL tear in JUCO before the start of last season and will be ready for the start of fall camp. Given that Sandberg was a high-priority get for the Beavers, having him on the field right out the gate will be crucial for the re-tooled defensive line.
Another great bit of news for the Beavers is that David Morris is feeling as healthy as he’s ever felt heading into fall camp. I ran into Morris prior to Pac-12 Media Day and he told me that he was really excited about the upcoming season and that he felt really good health wise. The vibe that I got from him is that the Beavers really think they can surprise some people this season. Given that Smith highlighted Morris at media day as a guy that wasn’t able to play last year but is healthy now and expected to be a key contributor on the defense says a lot about the progress he’s made. There’s no doubt he’s a game-changer when he’s on the field and the Beavers need him to stay healthy and productive to have an improved defense.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Insider Report coming early next week!
