Oregon State QB Ryan Katz has had his ups and downs as a first-year starter. The sophomore won games with ability and lost them by trying too hard, but always keeps coming back to try again.
Coach Mike Riley has been as high on him as he has been hard on him. Katz shows plenty of potential as he goes through a better-than-usual adjustment period.
However, he still has a long way to go.
“Ryan is basically going through the first-year quarterback situation,” Riley said. “He has had great moments, and even in the game (against Washington State) he had great plays. We just have to get him more consistent.”
Katz has completed 154 of 255 for 1,840 yards, 14 TDs and five INTs. His QB rating ranks sixth in the Pac-10. He’s using his feet to make plays with 214 positive rushing yards before sacks and two TDs.
The main thing that has given him problems in the last two games is the limited time to pass due to a lack of blocking. Katz is running more because he’s nervous in the pocket.
“There isn’t anything we’ve called that is unfamiliar to him,” Riley said. “It’s about getting reps and getting the best practice situations we can.”
Leadership void?
The Beavers have been questioned about the leadership void on the team after veteran QBs Sean Canfield and Lyle Moevao graduated. It didn’t help that key starters such as WR James Rodgers and DT Brennan Olander have been lost for the season due to injuries.
However, they say there is enough vocal leadership on the team with RB Jacquizz Rodgers and CB James Dockery, and plenty of leaders by example.
“I don’t know how vocal that has to be,” Riley said of the leadership. “James was never vocal. He was a leader by example. I have faith in the older guys on the team who work hard, care and do the right thing. The leadership factor, the best way to do that is doing that by example. We have guys who do that.”
“All the elements are there,” C Alex Linnenkohl said. “There are guys there trying to inspire people. We are just scoring less than the other team. And it hurts.”
14 comments
NC_Ducks says:
May 25, 2013
At Oregon we’re better than you and we know it. … The time for the ducks has come and I can’t explain how good it feels to have see you in your place and us in ours!! GO DUCKS!!!!
ckirkpatrick says:
May 25, 2013
Your comment was edited. Name calling, particularly vulgar kind, will not be allowed on the blog. You can argue all you about about Beavers and Ducks, but keep it civilized.
JuneauJim says:
May 25, 2013
Thanks Cliff. I really appreciate that I can read the comments on your blog without it turning into one big flame. If I wanted that, I'd read The Oregonian online.
GoBeavs64 says:
May 25, 2013
Your better than no one and soon you will find that out , enjoy your time in the sun cause all that big mouth talking is going to come back and bite you on the asses and you all will be crying in your beer . You talk a big game but everyone knows you can't back it up . Your chokers and unless you can talk the talk and walk the walk ( win the big one ) you haven't proven anything . How many big time teams have you played this season so far that was up to your game ? Three , Stanford , USC , and Cal . How many top 5 teams have you faced ? NONE ! Your cake walk through the schedule has been almost as easy as Boise States so when you have played the TCU , Boise , Auburn and better yet Alabama and beaten them then you can talk and we Beavers will respect your team but in reality , the team itself seems to be staying level headed and classy while fans like you give it a bad name . The same people that last year promised Roses then wept when the Roses died at the hand of the Buckeyes . When the Ducks produce a National Championship or a Rose Bowl win feel free to come back and gloat , until then act like an adult if you are one and shut up . Most adults I know don't go around spouting crap like were better than you and we know it , neener neener so just please go away and SHUT UP !
GoBeavs64 says:
May 25, 2013
LETTERS IN THE EDITOR’S MAILBAG
Published: Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 05:00AM
Some fans are embarrassing
I am a Duck fan. I don’t have season football tickets, but I have cheered our team on for years. When I get a chance to go to the game here, I do. I just don’t buy season tickets. The reason is the fans. Most home games that I have gone to I have seen Duck fans cursing, drunk, belligerent, obnoxious, vomiting, fighting and just plain fowl (pardon the pun).
The last game I went to was against Cal. We flew south to Berkeley, joined thousands of fellow Ducks, and cheered our team on. Well, most did. I sat next to a bunch of drunken Ducks. They were embarrassing. They were using foul language, passing a flask they snuck in, pushing and being just plain stupid.
We have an opportunity to be in the national spotlight, to set the example, and to be seen as a classy and unique university sports program. Our mascot is fabulous. Our team is great. Yet some of our fans are embarrassing. This is a time when we can show how good we are as a team and a fan base. We can set the example of team support in college athletics, or just be a bunch of drunks who spill over from the tailgate party to the stadium. Tell the people around you who act like this to knock it off. Call security. Have them ejected. And if you are one of them, stay home or change. Only other drunks enjoy your company.
ean says:
May 25, 2013
Why did Vaz take snaps at the end of the half? I must have missed something did Katz get shaken up or was it just because he was ineffective?
ckirkpatrick says:
May 25, 2013
Shaken up emotionally. He needed to settle down.
NC_Ducks says:
May 25, 2013
All this says that Riley was wrong abut Katz. Katz just isn't that good. Oregon has two, possibly three quarterbacks on their team that would start for the beavers. Pathetic. Sub-par recruiting year after sub-par recruiting year leads to 4-8
WebTraveler says:
May 25, 2013
Your comment is BS. The kid is a sophmore QB. He's got a line that has 290 lbs defensive lineman come crashing through on a regular basis. The kid is nervous, but he also takes off and gains some good yardage on the run.
Katz is a good QB and this season behind him he will do even better in years to come.
But we have to get a line that will stop him for being beaten to death.
aaron_ says:
May 25, 2013
web, dont mind him. just another troll.
JackBeav says:
May 25, 2013
Umm… no. Not one of the Ducks QB's would start for the Beavs in a year with poor depth. I think the same might be said of the Beavs QB's in the Ducks system, though I think Kelly's offense is a lot more adaptive to the signal caller than is Riley's offense.
ean says:
May 25, 2013
well he is definitely getting a trial by fire. Hopefully he is ready come next year.
tradernum1 says:
May 25, 2013
a trial by fire, and beatings. Hopefully he is healed by next year, and we have a line that can manage to show a little courage once in a while.
Of course if the defense keeps playing the matador scheme, it won't matter how good he is.
ean says:
May 25, 2013
lol… true. I think the defense needs a serious retooling. The majority of our opponents are running a wide variety of looks. WSU was running read options. I recall Cliff saying on the blog that OSU only face 2 or 3 teams a year that run that kind of stuff so the defense can't be tooled to face those kinds of attacks… well now over half our opponents are running spread option or similar attacks, time to retool.