The defense is ready for a big spring.
The Oregon State football team hit it hard on the second day of spring practice Thursday in the indoor center.
It was sloppy at times, but that’s because much more was thrown at the players.
“It was pretty fast out here today,” coach Mike Riley said. “It will be good to put pads on (Saturday). The first couple days guys are anxious to play you worry about (them hitting each other). There was good intensity with good pursuit defensively. The coverage down the field was good.”
Check out more of Riley’s post-practice comments about a variety of topics and players in the above video.
S Ryan Murphy stood out in coverage with two INTs in the 11-on-11 portion of practice. QB Sean Mannion was the victim both times.
Both Mannion and backup Cody Vaz threw some knuckle balls, but made many good throws.
P Tim McMullen is holding for PK Trevor Romaine. The funny part was him yelling “fire, fire, fire” on the bad snap practice with his Aussie accent. It sounded cool.
The first two days of practice, both the DL and OL left practice about 20 minutes early. They are going into the weight room for an extra lift.
The WRs at work.
The GAs have been shifted a bit. Trent Bray and Mitch Meeuwsen are in the two spots right now. Bray is coaching the LBs and Meeuwsen is helping DB coach Rod Perry with the safeties.
The NCAA is allowing four GAs to coach starting Aug. 1. Alan Darlin will be back in that role and former OL Kyle DeVan, who played in a Super Bowl with Indy, will be the fourth.
Check out the GT story on former football coach Joe Avezzano, who died in Italy at age 68.
“What shocking news about coach Avezzano,” Riley said. “I have a lot of respect for him. It’s very sad news for everybody and Beaver Nation. There’s a lot of respect for coach Avezzano in college football and NFL for him.”
And here’s my story on the RB situation in Friday’s GT.
22 comments
OS_Beaver says:
Apr 5, 2012
Lamar Hurd may be the next Bachelor. Great way to get National recognition for OSU Athletics. Lamar is a class act and will represent Oregon State very well. Hope he gets the gig.
See his audition tape:
http://beaverbyte.com
Benny B. says:
Apr 5, 2012
It’s funny how there is an orange nation undivided banner over Riley’s shoulder in the video above. Since all he does is divide. He in no way brings orange nation together. Time to retire Riley.
bone says:
Apr 5, 2012
wrong, wrong, and wrong.
Tagup says:
Apr 6, 2012
“All he does is divide”….example please? Most reports I hear is that the players really like him, family athmosphere, etc
bbb says:
Apr 6, 2012
he separates osu from “W’s”.
tagup says:
Apr 6, 2012
I wonder if the USC staff would agree…..
bbb95 says:
Apr 6, 2012
who cares if you beat usc when you go 5-7 overall? if you can beat usc you shouldnt loose to WSU at home in the same season.
bone says:
Apr 6, 2012
Yes because OSU was a continuous contender with a tradition of winning before Riley arrived.
bbb says:
Apr 6, 2012
bone-
you can be happy with 7 wins average per season. i, however, dont have to be. i’d take a 3-9 every 5 years if there was a bcs and a holiday bowl mixed in there to go along with it btw.
tagup says:
Apr 6, 2012
Isn’t that what you have?…The last two seasons were down years, but the previous 4 were all 8+ wins.
Jerry2005 says:
Apr 6, 2012
Yes Mike did bring winning back the the program. At the same time we have watched things fall apart over the last four years with him at the wheel. Are you happy for a short window of winning or do you want to see continued success? It’s interesting to read some of these comments, people act like Riley is the only coach available to OSU.
Mike Riley is a good coach and I like what he started at OSU; he just has not changed things up in 10 years, the rest of the conference has figured him out. Mike and his staff need to go to clinics and learn new things in the off-season or the rest of the PAC-12 will continue to leave him and OSU behind.
At some point if a coach dose not change what they do and bring continued success to a program then the coach needs to be changed. That’s the nature of college football.
bbb says:
Apr 6, 2012
tagup-
when did we go to a bcs bowl or the holiday bowl under riley? i missed that i guess.
Tagup says:
Apr 6, 2012
bbb- I’m not sure OSU can control what bowl might be available (or choose the Beavs) for any particular season but if Riley can duplicate 8-9 win seasons would you be satisfied? Consistantly gaining BCS bowls by OSU is a tall order and I’m not sure a change in coaching staff or philosophy would necessarily accomplish that goal.
bbb says:
Apr 6, 2012
tagup-
its a tall order, very true. people say “this is corvallis and we cant expect ________”. i challenge that. just look what they have done up in wsu by comparison. WSU has had a terrible run as of late but they have gone to the rose bowl. osu has not. i would say WSU has a tougher road than we do. like i said, i can take a down year or two if the trade off is a BCS game or two in any given decade. i just dont want osu to be forever the bridesmaid and never the bride. we can even be the fat one every now and again but the fat one needs to go on a diet, work out, get her teeth fixed, get implants, and look hot eventually. right now i spend the season watching games and trying to drink osu skinny. always fails.
bone says:
Apr 6, 2012
I don’t think some people realize how valuable Riley is to this program. He can sell this program so well, lets face it Corvallis and the Oregon State athletic department are middle of the road. You read any of what recruits have to say when they sign with OSU it’s not because of the facilities and the tradition, it’s because of Riley and how he is able to sell the program.
bbb- so you would be fine with one rose bowl trip followed by a decade averaging 4 wins? Yes I would love a Rose Bowl appearance but what Riley has done has given us is consistent winning in a program who is known for constantly losing
Tagup says:
Apr 6, 2012
WSU illustrates exactly how hard it is to get to a competitive position and then stay there. bbb, your point is well taken that if WSU can do it so can OSU I agree!. The Beavs were nearly there a couple years ago and got derailed (twice?) by the ducks. To me that shows that Riley can get it done, but it also shows how fragile the mid level programs are…an off recruiting year or a couple of injuries can set a program back years.
RICK says:
Apr 7, 2012
WAKE UP BENNY. MOST RESPECTED COACH AROUND. THE 5% OF BEAVER NATION THAT KEEPS HARPING ABOUT THE COACHES WILL BE THE ONES JUMPING ON THE BANDWAGON WHEN IT’S TURNED AROUND THIS YEAR. SAVE YOUR ENERGY AND ROOT FOR YOUR TEAM AND STOP WHINING ABOUT SOMETHING YOU CAN’T CONTROL
OSU4Life says:
Apr 5, 2012
Is Kyle DeVan’s NFL career over? What happened?
Realistic says:
Apr 6, 2012
I’ve lived in many parts of the country and have travelled the world. The people of Oregon, and especially Corvallis, have a massive sense that they deserve more than anyone else. This alone is why so many Beaver “fans” have a problem with Riley. Get over yourselves and recognize Corvallis, OR is not a place great players want to come to. Riley does an amazing job. Starting freshmen and sophomores last year and you people whine about the record. Wow. Just completely nieve.
bbb says:
Apr 7, 2012
i to have been all over the country and world. corvallis sucks. true. but not nearly as bad as lincoln nebraska. just sayin. btw, eugene blows to. money and marketing can build a winner anywhere. osu doesnt have that super donor so they have to build their brand. the people currently in charge of that mission dont have what it takes. the ad is a softball coach for cryin out loud.
bone says:
Apr 7, 2012
One thing that both Oregon Schools aare at a disadvantage is that the state of Oregon is not a hot bed for college football talent, Nebraska is. Both Oregon State relies on getting the second tear plays from other states, and until just recently Oregon had the same issue.
Cliffs daddy says:
Apr 7, 2012
First of all to Cliff, why does it sound cool for someone to yell “fire fire fire” in an australian accent? Are you simple? Makes me wonder
Next to all the commenters here, relax. The season will either be another disaster or it will be a miracle. A winning season would be kind of a miracle. You guys firing back at the complainers have you looked at the Roster? have you LOOKED? Now look at the schedule- which team on there besides Nicholls state is not going to run right up the middle on the beavs and which team besides N state is not going to make Mannion throw the ball 50 times a game?
Maybe two or three but i dont know which ones.
You complainers will probably get your 3 win season and that should be enough to get Riley to step down.