Starting S Lance Mitchell didn’t practice Monday for the Oregon State football team due to a sore hamstring, and may be out for at least a week.

It wasn’t his recurring injury that caused him a problem for nearly a year. It’s on the other leg. And part of the issue is coming back from a minor offseason knee surgery.

“I’m all right; it’s just a little tight,” Mitchell said. “I don’t want to have the same thing as last year and have it ongoing. We stopped it early and will treat it for a week or so. It’s the other one, but the same thing, real low toward my knee. The tendon is tight. I could go if I really wanted to, but I don’t it to keep going.”

Mitchell hurt a hamstring last spring and it lingered into the fall. He played through the season carefully. He believes his knee problem came about because he compensated for the hamstring.

His position is deep with veterans and up-and-comers, so he’s a little worried about sitting out. However, experience says rest it now so he can play later.

“It’s not a good thing,” Mitchell said of sitting out. “It’s a good thing for the defense for everyone to get reps, but not for me. But I’ll be back to fight for my position.”

Practice report
WR Darrell Catchings (pinkeye) returned to practice after two days off. OT Michael Philipp (knee) remained out. He has a scope Wednesday.

Check out the above video of the WRs run blocking. They get after it a little more than the last WR video I posted of them getting off the line.

There was a lot of team play, and it was sloppy. A lot of new stuff was thrown at the players. Much of it was third-down plays.

Many balls continued to be dropped by the WRs, mixed in with good grabs. QB play was the same — inconsistent.

“I thought it was pretty good,” coach Mike Riley said of the practice. “We went into a lot new stuff today — third down — so there was a lot of pressure and it was chaotic. It was tremendous work and it always starts out rugged. Hopefully, it gets cleaner as we go.”

The secondary made several picks and breakups. The defensive line was in the backfield much of the time. Riley called them aggressive and liked the play of DT Stephen Paea, DT Kevin Frahm, DT Brennan Olander and DE Gabe Miller.

That means the offensive line had a rough outing. Mixing and matching of the guards is constant. OT Wilder McAndrews appears to be holding up after long-term wrist and hand injuries.

“The guys who are playing tackle, we are pleasantly surprised,” Riley said. “They are getting a lot more work than we thought when we went in here because of Michael Philipp’s injury (knee), but it’s really good for them. In the long-run it will make us stronger.”

Indoor workouts
The first four spring practices have been in the indoor center due to the rain. However, the April 14 and 16 practices will be outdoors no matter what because there will be a youth volleyball tournament at the indoor center.

“I’m thankful for this place today for the weather we’ve been having, but I’m very anxious to get outside and get some plays in like punting and special teams,” Riley said.

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