Amid the long shot USC rumors for Oregon State coach Mike Riley, he’s on the road recruiting for the 2010 class for the Beavers.
A call to him over the weekend wasn’t returned, and some who work with him and are his friends away from work said they would be surprised if he left Corvallis. So, we’ll see what his moves are in the wake of this situation.
His intentions were squarely on the Beavers right before he left on the recruiting trail. Here’s a story in the GT Sunday that came out of an interview with him before the USC stuff started. He is excited about the 2010 team and work that he enjoys doing.
Riley has many plans for his team in the offseason. He’s retooling the running scheme so it’s not so predictable, he may change positions of players and he’s going to tinker with the receivers.
And of course, he has to prep a new quarterback in Ryan Katz and/or Peter Lalich. Riley came across excited about the prospects of his 2010 group, and eager to play TCU in Cowboys Stadium.
This is college football’s silly season, stealing a NASCAR phrase. Every time USC’s coaching opening comes up, Riley’s name is always attached.
Until he says otherwise, every indication from his actions, what he says, the way he acts and the sense of family he loves and created points that he’s not interesting the USC job.
Then there’s the L.A. Times’ T.J. Simers, who says Riley is line for the USC job since he has not come out and said he’s not interested. True, the only way to silence the rumor is that or USC hiring someone else.
Hopefully, Riley returns a call or puts out a statement. This craziness is getting out of control. The L.A. media only want him around because he’s one of the few truly nice guys in major sports. And that would change with the way he would be treated down there.
And if USC does go after Riley, it’s up to AD Bob De Carolis to do anything he can to keep him the way he kept Pat Casey away from Notre Dame. More money would be good, but a lifetime contract, other incentives and taking care of assistants would be good.
Riley is wanted because he builds a stable program. OSU has that, and can’t let that go without a fight. The unknown in this situation would not be better.
17 comments
beavsfan10 says:
Jan 10, 2010
Very nice to hear that Riley is looking to tinker some things to be able to get to that next level. I think after the way the last two regular seasons have ended Riley realizes that we can be better than just consistently being in lower-tier bowl games. I think that Riley's competitiveness is definitely underrated.
Cliff, any thoughts on the potential players that might be changing positions besides Poyer? I know there has long been talk among Beaver fans that maybe Ryan McCants should get put on the defensive side of the ball. Do you think this could happen? Thanks.
angrybeaver says:
Jan 10, 2010
Agreed, Cliff, but I think the Beavers are going to wind up throwing more money at a coach who has no intention of leaving. On the positive side, this will get Riley's name/brand out there and help seal some recruits and maybe open the eyes of some who don't know much about Riley's reputation. It's good to have a hot name this time of year.
http://angrybeavers.wordpress.com
BeaverDon says:
Jan 10, 2010
USC may look at Riley, but USC wants to win in September, win the Pac-10 title and compete for the National Championship, none of which Riley has shown he can do. He has given OSU a stable program, but the program is a consistant 2nd or 3rd place Pac-10 program. We may be in the hunt for the Rose Bowl, but we fall short. We end up in the 3rd, 4th or 5th tier Pac-10 Bowls. OSU doesn't win in Septemver against non-conference teams, that win National Championships. We are not even close the looking at a National Championship.
Cliff: Offseason football, Riley « Cliff Kirkpatrick | NFL Topics Blog says:
Jan 10, 2010
[...] Shay Riley wrote a very interesting post today. Here’s a quick excerpt:Cliff: Offseason football, Riley 2933Commentshttp://cliffkirkpatrick.mvourtown.com/2010/01/10/cliff-offseason-football-riley/Cliff%3A+Offseason+football%2C+Riley2010-01-10+16%3A42%3A46Cliff+Kirkpatrick. Amid the long shot USC rumors for … [...]
Cliff: Offseason football, Riley « Cliff Kirkpatrick at Blogging says:
Jan 10, 2010
[...] more from the original source: Cliff: Offseason football, Riley « Cliff Kirkpatrick test Filed under Football | Tags: amid-the-long, offseason, riley, the-long, usc | Comment [...]
beavfan05 says:
Jan 10, 2010
I agree with angry beaver on his points. Riley essentially has a lifetime contract already and is unlikely to leave. And since the athletic dept is already strapped for cash, giving Riley more money doesn't help their financial situation. I am foreseeing more money espn games in the near future which more likely than not a negative impact to our chances at a run to the top.
but hopefully these rumors can be leveraged properly into benefiting the program as a whole.
best comment i saw on another board referring to Riley's rep and if he went to SC "how is he going to develop players there? turn 4 and 5 star recruits into 6 and 7 stars?" haha.
Cliff: Offseason football, Riley « Cliff Kirkpatrick | teste says:
Jan 10, 2010
[...] View post: Cliff: Offseason football, Riley « Cliff Kirkpatrick [...]
Ted0 says:
Jan 10, 2010
I too would like to know who the players that might switch position are other than Poyer to CB. Maybe a LB to DE? I remember they wanted to do that with Keo Kamat this season, but I think he was injured so they didn't get the chance in the spring. Also what does "tinker with the receivers" mean. Like more 4 and 5 WR sets? Or maybe just more rotation of the receivers?
ckirkpatrick says:
Jan 11, 2010
When I talked with Riley he didn't say who he had in mind because he hadn't talked with the players first. Beyond Poyer, McCants is a good guess since Quizz and Stevenson have established themselves.
As for the WRs, Riley is in the studying mode, but he has to get Jordan Bishop in more, make room for Catchings and he wants Markus Wheaton, Kevan Walker and Geno Munoz to get more playing time.
I see the slot and split end spots being adjusted in terms of the depth chart.
Ted0 says:
Jan 11, 2010
Maybe Jordan Bishop will be the full time starter instead of spliting them with Kjos next year. Nichol seemed to play a lot in the slot and had more yeards than the other two. Maybe it'll be Bishop, Nichols, Kjos in 2010 rather than Bishop/Kjos, Nichols. Also I guess Walker could over take Munoz as back up split end. Where would Reggie Dunn play even if he did get here? I'd think it be at split end and compete for the back up spot.
osbeavs says:
Jan 11, 2010
Don't forget the necessity of blocking by WR's. OSU asks their WR's to do that alot, especially the one in the slot. I am not a huge Kjos fan but he called on to block quite a bit, which he does quite well. I wouldn't be surprised to an individual win a large amount of PT at any spot simply because he can block well. Camp is in over Joe a bunch except on obvious passing downs for that very reason.
Ted0 says:
Jan 11, 2010
Agreed with you on Kjos. I think that's the big reason on why he was starting over Bishop. I do hope that Bishop works that out because I would prefer to see him start with the the speed he has.
osbeavs says:
Jan 11, 2010
I definitely like the upside of Bishop. He has caught some nice balls this year and has good size. The one position that really excites me for the future is WR, I can't wait to see wait to watch these guys mature. If only we had the depth at RB that we do at WR…
SnohoBeav says:
Jan 11, 2010
I've only heard "silly season" referring to the off season in golf when they play (or used to play) The Skins Game, The GrandSlam, 3-Tour Challenge, etc. Isn't the entire season of NASCAR silly? It isn't even a sport.
"I'd like to thank Penzoil and Goodyear for giving me the chance to race in the Pepsi Throwback/Mountain Dew/Camel 500…"
Ted0 says:
Jan 11, 2010
Also with Poyer doing baseball his transition to CB would all have to be done during next fall camp, but that doesn't sounds like it'd be enough time.
ckirkpatrick says:
Jan 11, 2010
That was what was being discussed. We'll see soon.
Cliff: Offseason football, Riley « Cliff Kirkpatrick | All Topics Blog says:
Jan 29, 2010
[...] Shay Riley wrote an interesting post today on  Here’s a quick excerpt  Cliff: Offseason football, Riley 2933Commentshttp://cliffkirkpatrick.mvourtown.com/2010/01/10/cliff-offseason-football-riley/Cliff%3A+Offseason+football%2C+Riley2010-01-10+16%3A42%3A46Cliff+Kirkpatrick. Amid the long shot USC rumors for … [...]