Cliff Kirkpatrick

First here’s a link to my Oregon State football notebook in Friday’s GT. The lead is on CB Keenan Lewis going to the Senior Bowl with OT Andy Levitre on Jan. 24 in Mobile, Ala.

I caught up with defensive coordinator Mark Banker after the final young guys practice Thursday evening to talk about the future defense. Here’s the breakdown of how it shapes up for next season.

Defensive end: Ben Terry and Kevin Frahm are the incumbents to take over as starters. However, if Simi Kuli ever shows up he’ll be in the mix right away.

A guy to look to be a pass-rush specialist is Taylor Henry. “We’ve known about his speed and quickness for a long time, and he continues to progress,” Banker said. “One guy who came out of the blue we can use is Matt LaGrone, the transfer from Nevada. He has some size.”

Defensive tackle: Stephen Paea returns as a starter. The other will come from the rotation of Mitchel Hunt, Sioeli Nau and Latu Moala. All of them got some work this season, so that’s set. Castro Masaniai and Jesse Fifita have been impressive in their development so the interior is deep.

“They’ve improved a lot in different ways,” Banker said. “Jesse had a knee (injury) out of high school. Physically, he’s back to the way he was. Castro was unrefined coming in, and has come a long way.”

Linebacker: The outside is set with Keaton Kristick, Keith Pankey and Dwight Roberson. Kristick may move back to the middle where he played two years ago, but serious thought of that won’t come up until the spring. Zane Norris impressed Banker on the outside this week.

If Kristick remains on the outside, the middle has David Pa’aluhi and Tony Wilson as the top candidates. Pa’aluhi goes in with the nickel package, while Wilson has been impressive in practice. Will Darkins is in there, too.

Safety: This is set with the trio of Cameron Collins, Lance Mitchell and Suaesi Tuimanunei. Tuimanunei is projected as one starter. Collins and Mitchell will compete in the spring. Josh LaGrone is someone else to watch.

“Those are guys (the trio) who continue to grow, and it’s important they do,” Banker said. “It’s important they do because between those guys, those are are our starters for next year.”

Cornerback: Tim Clark will be one starter. Patrick Henderson will be looked at as the other one having been in the program so long. The youngsters coming on are Brandon Hardin, Keynan Parker and Kevan Walker.

“Brandon has a big body some people may say he should be a safety, but has the speed and agility to play corner,” Banker said.

Parker and Walker spent the season as WRs, but converted to corner this week. Coaches see the same thing in them as what they saw in Brandon Hughes when he changed positions.

“We are excited about the group of guys we have,” Banker said. “Some of these guys are farther ahead than the guys we’ve had in the past who have been good players.”

Halahuni update
TE Joe Halahuni got results back from his MRI on Thursday, and it showed no injury. He’ll return to practice once the pain goes away.

That’s good news for the Beavers. Coach Mike Riley was planning on using him and TE Gabe Miller has emergency running backs, and as third-down backs in the Sun Bowl.

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2. Future OL
3. Looking at the future
4. Future hoops
5. Future football schedule