Story posted ---> https://oregonstate.rivals.com/news/oregon-state-turns-attention-to-washington-state
Practice nuggets from Marcus Greaves
- The defense emphasized assignment football on Tuesday. With the struggles we have seen with miscommunications, defensive coordinator Kevin Clune is demanding the players know who they have and what they are suppose to do. The defense continually repped a handful of plays WSU will run and ran them until everyone is confident and comfortable.
- Wesley Payne is a major piece that the defense is missing. He took first team reps today and is a playmaker in my mind and can turn the tides of a football game. He is a spark of excitement and has a killer instinct. If the defense lacks anything, it is not having a player like Payne starting.
- With an offense that has lacked consistency with staying on the field, having a player like Seth Collins back will be a huge plus. Collins was seen running full sprints in practice and has been listed as probable for the WSU game.
- With Dwayne Williams and Xavier Crawford out, Kyle White and Jay Irvine are going to have to step up and take the role as starters. They split reps with the first team defense. I think starting either of them will be a good idea. Both are lean, strong and fast. Also, Shawn Wilson will get reps at cornerback as he did last week.
- From what I witnessed in practice, the offense is going to back to their fundamentals and focusing on controlling the clock. Against Minnesota, the offense looked extremely uncomfortable. Fast paced, uncomfortable football is not the way they won games last year. Getting back to basics is what needs to be done.
- Jake Luton is putting the offense struggles on his shoulders and looks to improve the offense as a whole by holding everyone accountable and leading the way. After every play, Luton pulled the offense aside while the second team goes and made sure everyone is on the same page.
- The running backs are focusing making the first defender miss and getting yards after contact. What made this group so effective last year was the ability to make people miss in open space, improving this will improve the run game and make them effective once more.
Kevin McGiven interview
Practice nuggets from Marcus Greaves
- The defense emphasized assignment football on Tuesday. With the struggles we have seen with miscommunications, defensive coordinator Kevin Clune is demanding the players know who they have and what they are suppose to do. The defense continually repped a handful of plays WSU will run and ran them until everyone is confident and comfortable.
- Wesley Payne is a major piece that the defense is missing. He took first team reps today and is a playmaker in my mind and can turn the tides of a football game. He is a spark of excitement and has a killer instinct. If the defense lacks anything, it is not having a player like Payne starting.
- With an offense that has lacked consistency with staying on the field, having a player like Seth Collins back will be a huge plus. Collins was seen running full sprints in practice and has been listed as probable for the WSU game.
- With Dwayne Williams and Xavier Crawford out, Kyle White and Jay Irvine are going to have to step up and take the role as starters. They split reps with the first team defense. I think starting either of them will be a good idea. Both are lean, strong and fast. Also, Shawn Wilson will get reps at cornerback as he did last week.
- From what I witnessed in practice, the offense is going to back to their fundamentals and focusing on controlling the clock. Against Minnesota, the offense looked extremely uncomfortable. Fast paced, uncomfortable football is not the way they won games last year. Getting back to basics is what needs to be done.
- Jake Luton is putting the offense struggles on his shoulders and looks to improve the offense as a whole by holding everyone accountable and leading the way. After every play, Luton pulled the offense aside while the second team goes and made sure everyone is on the same page.
- The running backs are focusing making the first defender miss and getting yards after contact. What made this group so effective last year was the ability to make people miss in open space, improving this will improve the run game and make them effective once more.
Kevin McGiven interview
