The Beavers had a strong first week of camp
The Oregon State football team completed six days of training camp and seven practices in the first week.
Coach Mike Riley is always positive, so you have to look at body language of the coaches to figure out how things are going.
What was on display supports a group that is making steady strides forward. There’s a workman-like approach to getting ready for the season. It helps that the first game is against Sacramento State for a warmup before the Wisconsin trip.
The Beavers are installing their systems and drilling players in technique as usual. The veterans have looked impressive at times and most of the young guys look, well young.
“When you are installing new plays it’s two steps forward and a step back,” Riley said. “But now that we’ve had four heavy days of putting in plays, it should be all about refinement. It should be a lot of situational football and a little bit of scrimmaging.”
Riley got upset only once during the week, and that was from a late hit. He’s worried about injuries. There was only one major injury with true freshman CB Larry Scott (knee). He’ll be out for the season after surgery. However, everything else has been treatable.
WR James Rodgers (knee), TE Joe Halahuni (shoulder) and RB Jordan Jenkins (shoulder) were all held out of contact. So the full offense wasn’t on display, yet.
Colin Kelly held on to the starting RT spot so far. Burke Ellis held on to the RG spot. The RB situation looks like its going to be Ryan McCants and/or Terron Ward. Both continue to perform the best and get the bulk of the reps.
WR Brandin Cooks and WR Tyrequek Zimmerman have stood out in the newcomer group, Cooks especially. Cooks is working in behind Rodgers and Darrell Catchings at flanker. His speed could be interesting on the fly sweep next year.
The big concerns are still the OL and DL until they show something in games. Development was seen in both groups. The first scrimmage will be Thursday, and then we’ll be able to see the Beavers go full speed.
“We still have a long way to go,” Riley said. “This team has a lot to prove.”
7 comments
angry says:
Aug 14, 2011
I think we need more reports about our special teams. It’s 1/3 of the game, and we haven’t been good at it (all around) since 2006.
I’ve heard Romaine has struggled. I also heard he has the mindset to come back and keep kicking. So, how about a report that focuses on special teams, and an interview with Romaine asking if his accuracy is usually good and this is just nerves, or if this is going to be a problem all season? Also, how about asking Riley who “plan B” at kicker is. Max Johnson looked horrible last season, so there is no way he can be plan B. If he is, they need to get Romaine righted. What is Bruce Reed doing to fix the issue? Etc.
Cliff Kirkpatrick says:
Aug 14, 2011
In time. You can’t do everything at one time. Training camp is two more weeks.
tucker says:
Aug 15, 2011
Iv only heard good things about Romaine. He is suppose to be “pressure proof” and extremely accurate. I think he could either be plateauing or just thinking too much about other stuff. I’m not worried about it, I think it’ll get settled. The lines are more important right now.
doug hamer says:
Aug 14, 2011
I have watched two days worth of practises and they were Friday and saturday. Studied things as much as possible and a few things popped out to me. RB situation seems capable with good run blocking, speed is their. Recieving looks fine, however, bigest thing that stands out to me is how little time QB’s have to find open recievers. Most routes that are effective are short to mid. The time just does not seem their for much else. Which is a lead to my next point. I’m impressed with the defense, speed wise. Good looking group as far as I can gather. A little bit on the short side to play without nickel though. I see us getting alot of mis matches with our island approach. I think we are moving in the right direction team/coaching wise. Looks over all promising for the first week.
angry says:
Aug 14, 2011
At this time of year, having the defense ahead of the offense is a good sign. You don’t want to see the opposite.
Jerry2005 says:
Aug 15, 2011
I will still be concerned about defense while we only get to see them in practice against our Pro style offense. We have always played well against Pro set teams and struggled against any option variations.
I have wondered what a 3-4 defense over a 4-3 with our team speed and lack of size up front would look like. 3-4 allows more eyes to be looking over the line reading the backfield and reacting to plays faster. Even with the 4-3 we rely on gang tackling, I don’t see a downside to putting more speed on the field. most of our D-ends are converted line backers anyway. Thoughts???
Aileen says:
Jan 22, 2012
An intelligent answer – no BS – which makes a plsenaat change