Cliff Kirkpatrick

The Oregon State football team finished its three workouts during the bye week. The coaches now head off on the recruiting trail to watch players Friday and Saturday, and let the players rest and catch up with their academics.

“It was good, we got what we wanted to get done with some good work,” coach Mike Riley said Thursday afternoon. “I was excited with the effort in practice. We did exactly what we needed to do. The kids will get a couple days of not talking to us. I’m sure they will like that.”

The Beavers only started preliminary prep for next week’s USC game, but most of the work begins Monday. They’ll have an extra day of practice this week due to the bye. Sunday will be a day off, unlike typical game weeks.

Players, however, are already thinking Trojans. Their breakup cheer was “Beat USC.”

“They’ll go down there and compete, and the key for them is the week of prep,” Riley said. “The bye is good for a lot of reasons. You hope it’s good for the following game, but what we did this week is for the second half of the year.”

No stress weekend
Riley pointed out earlier in the week that he doesn’t have a list of players anymore who are of questionable character. So, he’s not concerned about letting them loose for three days.

“I’m not worried about them anymore, but I always give them that reminder to make good choices,” he said.

Some reading material
In case you missed it, here’s a link to the AD Bob De Carolis interview with the media that ran in Thursday’s GT. I’ve heard people are hot about his comments, or how they came across.

Let me say that De Carolis is a breath of fresh air because he’s truthful. He doesn’t sugarcoat things. I like his matter-of-fact approach. And another thing, his tone is light. But you can misinterpret that in print.

Here’s a link to the OSU midseason report, and the midseason report card. The overall feeling I have is the Beavers have potential to make some noise by the end of the year.

They always walk the fine line of success and failure. So far they’ve done well more times than not. It will be interesting to watch.

Wildcat note
The wildcat formation is the latest innovation by the Beavers. It worked the first game, but it took some time to get ready. C Alex Linnenkohl has a crucial role in it, adjusting to Jacquizz Rodgers as the QB instead of Sean Canfield.

“He is a little shorted but my snap being too high is not an issue,” Linnenkohl said. “It’s the cadence with a receiver going in motion. His timing is a little different. Right away we had a little issue, but it got worked out before we tried it.”

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It easily topped 100 degrees in Corvallis on Tuesday, and you could feel every degree as it climbed throughout the day. So, while running errands around town I noticed it was the time in the afternoon when the Oregon State football players work out on their own.

With it being late in the summer and so blistering hot, I decided to swing by and see who the hardcore guys were. And there were a few.

Seven offensive linemen were doing their striking drills, led by C Alex Linnenkohl and OG Ryan Pohl. Young guys I recognized were Colin Kelly, Colin Lyons and Michael Philipp.

A group of six defensive players, who were influenced by DT Stephen Paea and his first love, were playing rugby. I noticed DT Latu Moala, CB Brandon Hardin and S Suaesi Tuimaunei. Former player Al Afalava was involved, too.

Players usually do this practice session after working out with the strength and conditioning coach earlier in the afternoon. So they deserve a shout out for their efforts as everything wilted around them.

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