Hey Edgers!
Today was the final spring practice before the spring game on Saturday and @ryan_harlan7 has all the details from the day!
Today's practice video
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Interviews with DB Coach Rod Chance, OLB Nikko Taylor, and DB Tyrice Ivy!
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Nuggets via @ryan_harlan7
The Beavers took to the Protho practice fields for the final (open) time this spring, preparing for Saturday's spring football showcase. Practice was much more relaxed overall than over the past few weeks, with more emphasis on special teams and seven-on-seven work.
Offense
It was a slow day for the offense in today’s practice as the team is preparing for the spring showcase, but the biggest update from practice was that quarterback Gabarri Johnson took live reps for the first time this spring. Johnson primarily ran with the second-team offense in the limited team periods in practice, with some first-team offensive guys rotating in at times.
I thought that Johnson had a solid performance in practice taking live reps today, but at times did struggle with some accuracy issues. However, the accuracy issues were mainly just an overthrow of the intended receiver or the receiver dropping the ball after the pass hit them directly in their hands.
One pass where I noticed this was wide receiver Zach Card used his speed to blow by the defense on a vertical route. Johnson threw the ball his way, and the pass hit Card right in his hands, but he dropped it, trying to secure it toward the endzone.
This is likely due to timing issues and Johnson getting familiar with how receivers are running and breaking out of their routes.
Throughout practice, Johnson improved his timing and could fit some of his passes to receivers in tight windows, including one to wide receiver Tastean Reddicks. He threw a pass to wide receiver Jailen Holmes on a crossing route with linebacker Aiden Sullivan in coverage. Had Johnson been a second late with the ball, Sullivan could have had a pass breakup or an interception.
Although I only have Johnson’s performance from today to evaluate how he’ll fit into the quarterback competition, he has a lot of potential to put himself into the mix for the starting job. Not to say he’ll win the job, but I’d expect him to land either somewhere as the second or third quarterback on the depth chart. He has the best arm talent and is accurate with the football when he’s on time with his throws. Johnson is also mobile like McCoy, but I think he’s a more dynamic runner in football than McCoy, which could give the offense another wrinkle in the season.
Nonetheless, I’m excited to see if he takes any live reps in the spring game and how he looks headed into fall camp.
I thought quarterback Gevani McCoy had one of his better days of practice today. He took care of the football in the team periods portion. He also used his legs to escape the pocket on one throw to wide receiver Trent Walker; McCoy threw across his body and connected with Walker on a crossing route for 15 yards.
I think this offense will succeed this year compared to last year by using the running backs more out of the backfield. Offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson mentioned he wanted to use the running backs in the passing game, and running back Anthony Hankerson showcased that today running a wheel route for a 15-yard gain.
Tight ends Carter Neuman and Cooper Jensen did not practice today, and their status for Saturday’s spring game is unknown.
Quarterback Ben Gulbranson did not practice again this week but was at practice in street clothes with a boot on, and his status is currently unknown.
Wide receiver Trevor Pope changed his number from #80 to #4
Defense/ Special Teams
It was challenging to get a read on the defense today because there were no team periods. In practice, they looked solid and sometimes gave the offense trouble moving the ball down the field.
The front seven sometimes limited the run game to minimal gains but got gashed for some big run plays by running backs Hankerson and Jam Griffin. The defensive line is young and inexperienced but has shown improvement throughout spring ball, playing as a unit together. There are things to work on before heading into fall camp.
The unit is in a good spot in the season, and one standout for me was outside linebacker Zakaih Saez. Saez looks to be in the mold of a speed rusher of the edge; he uses his quickness to get around the offensive tackle, which gives the lineman in practice some fits in pass protection. On one play, Saez got to the quarterback before the offensive lineman could get set in pass protection, sacking quarterback Dom Montiel before the play could develop.
The secondary didn’t generate many turnovers today, likely a byproduct of how practice was designed ahead of the spring game. However, despite the lack of turnovers in practice, they got around the football and generated pass breakups with tight coverage against the tight ends and receivers.
The defense led by defensive coordinator Keith Heyward should see no drop off in performance as a unit. The strength I still think will be the secondary due to their experience and depth in that position group based on what I have seen in practice.
This will be a welcome change for this season, as the Beavers found themselves in trouble last season due to a lack of depth on the defense's back end.
Defensive backs coach Rod Chance mentioned that while he was adjusting to his new role, the one thing that he wanted to make sure of was that the defense was not put into that situation again for next season. While injuries can happen whenever during the season, I think that if they are emphasizing this now in spring ball, then it’ll be a move that will pay off when we get into the latter half of the 2024 season.
The highlight of the day defensively came from safety Jaheim Patterson, who picked off quarterback Gabarri Johnson in seven-on-sevens
Rotations
First team Offense
QB - Gevani McCoy
RB - Anthony Hankerson/Jam Griffin/Isaiah Newell
WR - David Wells
WR - Jeremiah Noga
WR - Trent Walker
TE - Jermaine Terry/Bryce Caufield
LT - Jacob Strand
LG - Grant Starck
C - Van Wells
RG - Flavio Gonzalez
RT - Nathan Elu
Second Team Offense
QB - Gabarri Johnson/ Dom Montiel/Travis Throckmorton
RB - Jake Reichle / Gavin Haynes/Dyonte Navarrete
WR - Zach Card / Jailen Holmes/ Joe Valadez
WR - Montrell Hatten Jr./Jordan Anderson
WR - Jamai East/Tastean Riddicks
TE - Carter Neuman/Cooper Jensen
LT - Tyler Voltin/ Thomas Schnapp
LG - Ryan Berger/Luka Vincic
C - Dylan Lopez/Zander Etsy
RG - Jason White/Ben Hartman
RT - Nathan Elu/Jacob Anderson
First Team Defense
DL - Semisi Saluni
DL - Jacob Schuster
OLB - Nikko Taylor
ILB - Melvin Jordan
ILB - Isaiah Chisom
OLB - Olu Omotosho/Zakaih Saez
DB - Noble Thomas
DB - Jack Kane/Amarion York
DB - Skyler Thomas
DB - Jaden Robinson
Second-Team Defense
DL - Tevita Pome’e
DL - Quincy Wright
DL - Thomas Collins
OLB - DJ Wesolak
ILB - John Miller
ILB - Aiden Sullivan
OLB - Mason Tufaga
DB - Mason White
DB - Harlem Howard
DB - Jaheim Patterson
DB - Sai Vadrawale III
Today was the final spring practice before the spring game on Saturday and @ryan_harlan7 has all the details from the day!
Today's practice video
WATCH: Oregon State Football Spring Practice Video Day 13
Video from Oregon State's 13th day of spring football...
WATCH: Oregon State Defense Talks Spring Football Day 13 & MORE
Hear from Rod Chance, Nikko Taylor, and Tyrice Ivy Jr. following day 13...
Nuggets via @ryan_harlan7
The Beavers took to the Protho practice fields for the final (open) time this spring, preparing for Saturday's spring football showcase. Practice was much more relaxed overall than over the past few weeks, with more emphasis on special teams and seven-on-seven work.
Offense
It was a slow day for the offense in today’s practice as the team is preparing for the spring showcase, but the biggest update from practice was that quarterback Gabarri Johnson took live reps for the first time this spring. Johnson primarily ran with the second-team offense in the limited team periods in practice, with some first-team offensive guys rotating in at times.
I thought that Johnson had a solid performance in practice taking live reps today, but at times did struggle with some accuracy issues. However, the accuracy issues were mainly just an overthrow of the intended receiver or the receiver dropping the ball after the pass hit them directly in their hands.
One pass where I noticed this was wide receiver Zach Card used his speed to blow by the defense on a vertical route. Johnson threw the ball his way, and the pass hit Card right in his hands, but he dropped it, trying to secure it toward the endzone.
This is likely due to timing issues and Johnson getting familiar with how receivers are running and breaking out of their routes.
Throughout practice, Johnson improved his timing and could fit some of his passes to receivers in tight windows, including one to wide receiver Tastean Reddicks. He threw a pass to wide receiver Jailen Holmes on a crossing route with linebacker Aiden Sullivan in coverage. Had Johnson been a second late with the ball, Sullivan could have had a pass breakup or an interception.
Although I only have Johnson’s performance from today to evaluate how he’ll fit into the quarterback competition, he has a lot of potential to put himself into the mix for the starting job. Not to say he’ll win the job, but I’d expect him to land either somewhere as the second or third quarterback on the depth chart. He has the best arm talent and is accurate with the football when he’s on time with his throws. Johnson is also mobile like McCoy, but I think he’s a more dynamic runner in football than McCoy, which could give the offense another wrinkle in the season.
Nonetheless, I’m excited to see if he takes any live reps in the spring game and how he looks headed into fall camp.
I thought quarterback Gevani McCoy had one of his better days of practice today. He took care of the football in the team periods portion. He also used his legs to escape the pocket on one throw to wide receiver Trent Walker; McCoy threw across his body and connected with Walker on a crossing route for 15 yards.
I think this offense will succeed this year compared to last year by using the running backs more out of the backfield. Offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson mentioned he wanted to use the running backs in the passing game, and running back Anthony Hankerson showcased that today running a wheel route for a 15-yard gain.
Tight ends Carter Neuman and Cooper Jensen did not practice today, and their status for Saturday’s spring game is unknown.
Quarterback Ben Gulbranson did not practice again this week but was at practice in street clothes with a boot on, and his status is currently unknown.
Wide receiver Trevor Pope changed his number from #80 to #4
Defense/ Special Teams
It was challenging to get a read on the defense today because there were no team periods. In practice, they looked solid and sometimes gave the offense trouble moving the ball down the field.
The front seven sometimes limited the run game to minimal gains but got gashed for some big run plays by running backs Hankerson and Jam Griffin. The defensive line is young and inexperienced but has shown improvement throughout spring ball, playing as a unit together. There are things to work on before heading into fall camp.
The unit is in a good spot in the season, and one standout for me was outside linebacker Zakaih Saez. Saez looks to be in the mold of a speed rusher of the edge; he uses his quickness to get around the offensive tackle, which gives the lineman in practice some fits in pass protection. On one play, Saez got to the quarterback before the offensive lineman could get set in pass protection, sacking quarterback Dom Montiel before the play could develop.
The secondary didn’t generate many turnovers today, likely a byproduct of how practice was designed ahead of the spring game. However, despite the lack of turnovers in practice, they got around the football and generated pass breakups with tight coverage against the tight ends and receivers.
The defense led by defensive coordinator Keith Heyward should see no drop off in performance as a unit. The strength I still think will be the secondary due to their experience and depth in that position group based on what I have seen in practice.
This will be a welcome change for this season, as the Beavers found themselves in trouble last season due to a lack of depth on the defense's back end.
Defensive backs coach Rod Chance mentioned that while he was adjusting to his new role, the one thing that he wanted to make sure of was that the defense was not put into that situation again for next season. While injuries can happen whenever during the season, I think that if they are emphasizing this now in spring ball, then it’ll be a move that will pay off when we get into the latter half of the 2024 season.
The highlight of the day defensively came from safety Jaheim Patterson, who picked off quarterback Gabarri Johnson in seven-on-sevens
Rotations
First team Offense
QB - Gevani McCoy
RB - Anthony Hankerson/Jam Griffin/Isaiah Newell
WR - David Wells
WR - Jeremiah Noga
WR - Trent Walker
TE - Jermaine Terry/Bryce Caufield
LT - Jacob Strand
LG - Grant Starck
C - Van Wells
RG - Flavio Gonzalez
RT - Nathan Elu
Second Team Offense
QB - Gabarri Johnson/ Dom Montiel/Travis Throckmorton
RB - Jake Reichle / Gavin Haynes/Dyonte Navarrete
WR - Zach Card / Jailen Holmes/ Joe Valadez
WR - Montrell Hatten Jr./Jordan Anderson
WR - Jamai East/Tastean Riddicks
TE - Carter Neuman/Cooper Jensen
LT - Tyler Voltin/ Thomas Schnapp
LG - Ryan Berger/Luka Vincic
C - Dylan Lopez/Zander Etsy
RG - Jason White/Ben Hartman
RT - Nathan Elu/Jacob Anderson
First Team Defense
DL - Semisi Saluni
DL - Jacob Schuster
OLB - Nikko Taylor
ILB - Melvin Jordan
ILB - Isaiah Chisom
OLB - Olu Omotosho/Zakaih Saez
DB - Noble Thomas
DB - Jack Kane/Amarion York
DB - Skyler Thomas
DB - Jaden Robinson
Second-Team Defense
DL - Tevita Pome’e
DL - Quincy Wright
DL - Thomas Collins
OLB - DJ Wesolak
ILB - John Miller
ILB - Aiden Sullivan
OLB - Mason Tufaga
DB - Mason White
DB - Harlem Howard
DB - Jaheim Patterson
DB - Sai Vadrawale III
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