SPORTS
8A — THE OBSERVER
MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2019
Beavers confident they are on the right path to success
By Steve Gress
Corvallis Gazette-Times
It’s been a tough fi ve years
for the Oregon State football
program as the Beavers have
failed to make a bowl game
since the 2013 campaign.
During that stretch, the
Beavers have gone 5-7 in
what was Mike Riley’s last
season, then had 2-10 and 4-8
seasons under Gary Andersen
before a 1-11 campaign in
2017 when Andersen left six
games in.
It wasn’t a whole lot better
in 2018 under fi rst-year coach
and former Beavers star quar-
terback Jonathan Smith as
Oregon State was just 2-10.
Add that up and the Bea-
vers are a dismal 14-46 since
fi nishing 7-6 after a Hawaii
Bowl win over Boise State on
Christmas Eve 2013.
Most outside of the pro-
gram don’t expect much to
change this season, but the
players remain optimistic that
there will be plenty of growth
and success in Smith’s second
season.
“If you look at the strides
that we’ve made and where
we’re at compared to last year
it’s a whole different squad,”
said senior offensive lineman
Blake Brandel. “The amount
that we’ve improved over the
past year and a half, longer
than that, since the coaching
staff got here, is a testament
to us and I think it’s a testa-
ment to the coaching staff for
getting us right.
“I think we’ve made huge
strides and it’s going to be a
fun year.”
For the Beavers to have
success, it would appear they
need to be more competitive
at the line of scrimmage.
Oregon State had just 15
sacks in 12 games last year,
tied for 118th out of 129 Foot-
ball Bowl Subdivision teams.
On the other side, the Beavers
gave up an FBS worst 48 on
offense.
Smith said Friday he felt
better about the line of scrim-
mage than a year ago but
putting that in perspective
may not be all that comforting
to many.
“I think the defense has
done a great job,” senior
defensive lineman Elu Aydon
said. “Our focus was stop the
run and get pressure on the
quarterback.”
The defensive line had a
rough season thanks to inju-
ries that destroyed any depth
the Beavers may have had.
But the addition of Jordan
Whittley and others on the
line has helped, even with the
loss of Jeromy Reichner to an
ACL injury.
“All the new guys have
come in and they’ve contrib-
uted,” Aydon said. “Camp
was basically a baseline for
everybody and getting to see
where people are. I feel like
we will be ready for the game
next Friday.”
Brandel said he has seen
the improvement each day in
camp.
“They’ve made huge
strides,” he said. “The best
part about that is they get bet-
ter and then they challenge
us so we’ve got to get better
so it’s kind of feeding off each
other’s energy and making
each other improve. They’ve
been huge in us improving
and I think we’ve been huge
in them improving.”
The defensive players
understand just how bad
they were last season: 128th
against the run (281.1 yards
per game), total defense
(538.8) and points allowed per
game (45.7).
They have owned up to the
performance and vowed to be
much, much better.
“I believe we’ve grown a lot,”
junior linebacker Hamilcar
Rashed Jr. said. “That’s in
every position group. I feel
like everybody’s grown. We
have young guys and they’ve
stepped up a bunch so I feel
like every position group,
even my room, we’ve stepped
up. Every day we’ve got to
compete and it’s a big step
right now and we’re going to
continue to fi ght.”
Another area for concern
with the defense from last
season is tackling. It was often
a topic of discussion following
each game but Smith said he
has liked what he has seen in
camp.
“Obviously we’ll fi nd out
better here in a week,” he said.
While the defense had its
struggles, the offense was
able to be competitive despite
playing musical chairs at the
quarterback position due to a
rash of injuries to Jake Luton
and Conor Blount.
Luton received a sixth
year of eligibility and was
announced as the starter on
Friday, beating out Nebraska
transfer Tristan Gebbia. Lu-
ton passed for 1,660 yards and
10 touchdowns last season
and led a miraculous come-
back at Colorado.
“We feel good either way
with both guys whether one
goes down or not,” senior tight
end Noah Togiai said of the
quarterbacks. “Obviously I’ve
been with Jake for three years
now I know what he can do
and this year he’s performing
at the highest level I’ve seen
him perform at. It makes me
excited, everybody on the of-
fensive side and the defensive
side excited to see what he’s
going to do.”
Luton has been the starter
for the opener the past two
seasons but was injured in
the fourth game of the 2017
season and did not return,
then and suffered a concus-
sion in the opener last season
and also missed some time
with an ankle injury.
And while Luton is healthy
and confi dent, the offensive
line and tight ends know
they have to keep whoever is
under center upright and as
untouched as possible.
“I think we took major
strides in the protection,”
Togiai said. “We are a lot more
comfortable in the schemes
that coach M (Jim Michalc-
zik) gives us. I know we have
more experience … everybody
knows what they’re doing
with different looks that we
get, different pressures that
we get, we’re more comfort-
able with picking them up.”
Smith said he has, for the
most part, liked what he has
seen out of the offense in
training camp.
“The passing game has
been crisp, I think we’ve been
solid in our pass protection
and the ball coming out on
time,” Smith said. “I think
we’ve been deep at running
back, B.J. Baylor, the way he’s
been carrying it has been a
positive. I think still we can
clean up some details in the
run game (but) I can say that
for everything.”
TREASURE
VALLEY
STEEL, INC.
Manufacturing Zee & Cee Purlins
In-HouseCustom
HouseCustom Cut Exact Lengths
• 24 Colors
• Custom Trim
• 2 1/2” Corrugated
• Delivery Available
• Full Soffi tt Line
• 3 ft. Gulf Coast Panel
• 3 ft. PBR Panel
• 3 ft. Mesa Panel
• 3 ft. Tuff Rib Panel
• Standing Seam
DELIVERY
• 2 ft. Delta Rib
AVAILABLE
• 3 ft. Pro Panel
40 Year Full Paint Warranty • WeatherX Paint System
Colts suddenly out of Luck
The Associated Press
Andrew Luck watched one
last game from the sideline
Saturday.
Then he said goodbye to
the NFL.
The Indianapolis Colts
quarterback heard boos
as he walked away from
the fi eld, then walked to
the podium and made the
surprise decision offi cial. The
oft-injured star is retiring at
age 29.
“I’m in pain, I’m still in
pain. It’s been four years of
this pain, rehab cycle,” Luck
said. “It’s a myriad of issues
— calf strain, posterior ankle
impingement, high ankle
sprain. Part of my journey
going forward will be fi gur-
ing out how to feel better.”
Luck wasn’t planning to
make the announcement fol-
lowing Saturday’s 27-17 loss
to the Chicago Bears. But
when ESPN fi rst reported
the news during the fourth
quarter, Luck changed the
plan for a Sunday afternoon
announcement.
Instead, he held a 25-min-
ute impromptu news
conference.
At times he sounded
wistful. At others, his voice
cracked with emotion.
One thing was clear: The
endless barrage of injuries
stripped away his joy for the
game and prompted him to
walk away so he could enjoy
the life he wants.
“There’s no doubt when
you hear him talk about the
cycle of pain and injury and
rehab, you can hear that,”
coach Frank Reich said.
“There’s a saying in football
that everyone knows and
everybody lives by, it’s next
man up and even though
this situation is unique, no
one is exempt.”
That task now falls to
Jacoby Brissett, a fourth-
year player whom the Colts
acquired in a cutdown week-
end trade two years ago.
ONTARIO
541-889-4214
BOISE
208-336-7505
1460 N. Verde Dr.
Toll Free 1-866-887-8335
6619 S. Supply Way
Toll Free 1-888-717-8335
WWW.TREASUREVALLEYSTEEL.COM
I got screened.
Now, I’m talking about it.
Screening can prevent colorectal cancer
or catch the #2 cancer killer early when
it’s highly treatable. Most people get
screened because they’re encouraged
by someone they know and trust. So
if you’ve been screened, please talk
about your experience. And encourage
others to get screened too.
SOCCER
Continued from Page 7A
Marley Farrell with just
three minutes left to keep
the score even.
Cottrell again had three
saves. Nan Kiebert and
Bassett were the offensive
aggressors for EOU with six
and fi ve shots, respectively.
Kiebert put fi ve shots on
goal, and Bassett had three.
Eastern had 15 shots total,
nine of which were on goal,
while Midland had 14 and
four, respectively. Rodriguez
took fi ve shots for Midland.
The Mountaineers (1-0-1
overall) will face yet another
ranked opponent when they
host No. 10 Embry-Riddle
(Arizona) on Friday.
COLORECTAL CANCER
The cancer you can prevent.
TheCancerYouCanPrevent.org
Karen King
Pendleton, Oregon
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded campaign