Cliff Kirkpatrick

The Oregon State football team is in the calmest time of the year, but it’s still busy. Recruiting goes on all year. They do more recruiting than actually coaching the players.

On the heels signing day, I wondered what goes into recruiting all throughout the year. So, I asked coach Mike Riley. Here’s a detailed story about what the Beavers do that ran in Monday’s GT. And check out the video from the latest recruiting dinner above.

“When you put it all together, it’s fun,” Riley said.

The Beavers are busy gathering information on the 2011 class. At the same time the coaches are prepping for spring football, which beings March 29.

“Now days are divided building our team (for the future) and getting ready for the spring,” Riley said. “We spend a couple hours on recruiting, then getting ready for spring practice. Days are normal work days right now, but with a lot to get done.”

And for those who love to follow the rival, here’s the latest on the crime spree going on down south here and here. I always thought Facebook would get people in trouble.

I can truly say; I don’t miss having to deal with off-the-field issues of this sport. 2005 was a wild year for the Beavers.

And if you missed it over the weekend, here’s a link to my Saturday story on what the Beavers are up to in the weightroom.

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Here are some notes of interest plucked for the Oregon State football team wrap-up that was sent out to the media.

• The Beavers concluded the fourth consecutive season with a winning record at 8-5, the longest streak since a five-year run between 1966-70.
• For the second straight year they tied for second in the Pac-10 – a 6-3 mark in 2009.
• Coach Mike Riley is 64-47 in nine seasons and is 10 wins short of Lon Stiner’s (1933-48) school record for victories.
• The Beavers have played bowl games in nine of the last 11 seasons. That’s tied for second most in that span with USC.
• The record in the last decade is 80-46 (63 percent) compared to 29-81-1 (26 percent) in the 1990s and 22-85-4 (21 percent) in the 1980s.
• There have been 241 forced turnovers since 2001. That’s the 13th most in the country. USC leads with 290.

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Oregon State football coach Mike Riley on Thursday night finally talked with the media since his contract extension agreement from last weekend.

Here’s the full story in Friday’s GT, but here are the highlights.

• Riley was uncomfortable talking about the USC job last weekend since it wasn’t official. That’s why there wasn’t any statement until agreeing to the extension.
• He appreciated the interest but was uncomfortable about the rumors because there was no truth to them.
• USC did contact him Saturday about the job. Riley wouldn’t say who, but it wasn’t the AD.
• He told USC he wasn’t interested immediately. There was no pause in his choice because Riley considers OSU his dream job.
• His contract is only agreed on at this point. Details are being worked out.
• What is being worked on is benefits for the assistant coaches. Riley wouldn’t say if it’s money or expanding their annual contracts to multiple years.
• The extension came about quickly because Riley and OSU AD Bob De Carolis had been talking for a month about the extension.
• The only way Riley will leave the Beavers at this point in his life is if he was fired.

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