SPORTS
A10 — THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2021
Has Beavers football become Transfer Portal U?
OSU could start
as many as 12
transfers this fall
By NICK DASCHEL
The Oregonian
CORVALLIS — Four
years into coach Jona-
than Smith’s Oregon State
tenure, the Beavers have
beefed up their football
roster with 19 transfers
from FBS or FCS schools.
They’re not just prac-
tice fodder, either. Fourteen
come from Power 5 schools,
including notable pro-
grams like Georgia, Penn
State, Florida State and
Oklahoma.
Nine were former 4-star
high school recruits. The
19 transfers combined to
play 230 games and start
76 times at their previous
school. Three earned an
all-conference honor at least
one time at their previous
stop.
The result is that as
many as 12 transfers could
start Oregon State’s Sept. 4
season opener at Purdue.
Smith was a little sur-
prised to hear that number,
but on the other hand, not
really. The transfer portal is
a tool OSU has frequently
used since it became a thing
in 2018.
“I will say, we were
pretty aggressive once it got
up and going,” Smith said.
“You think about a guy
from high school who goes
to a school, and that’s not
the right fi t. The next time,
the next place, it’s going to
be about a football decision.
If you think about football,
and coaching, style and
play, we’ve got a lot to sell
to guys.”
Which Oregon State
transfers are in play for
starting jobs this fall? It’s
all over the fi eld.
At quarterback, Tristan
Gebbia (Nebraska) and
Sam Noyer (Colorado) are
leading candidates. Directly
behind them at running
back is Deshaun Fenwick
(South Carolina). The off en-
sive line could have as
many as three transfers in
Nathan Eldridge (Arizona),
Brandon Kipper (Hawaii)
and Heneli Bloomfi eld
(Utah State).
The starting three
receivers are diffi cult to
project, but four transfers
are in play in Tre’Shaun
Harrison (Florida State),
Makiya Tongue (Georgia),
John Dunmore Jr. (Penn
State) and Tyjon Lindsey
(Nebraska).
On defense, four trans-
fers are starting candidates,
and some likely, in out-
side linebacker Addison
Gumbs (Oklahoma), inside
linebacker Avery Roberts
(Nebraska), defensive tackle
Keonte Schad (Minnesota)
and cornerback Elijah Jones
(Kansas).
Others are in line for sig-
nifi cant playing time, such
as off ensive guard Korbin
Sorensen (Portland State)
and inside linebacker Kyrei
Fisher (Arkansas).
Roberts, who transferred
to Oregon State just before
NCAA transfer portal rules
were put in place, said
there’s a primary reason
OSU is attractive to transfer
candidates.
“It’s opportunity,” Rob-
erts said. “They were
rebuilding and there was an
opportunity to play for a lot
of guys who are able to play
at their school or start at
their school.”
Roberts said Oregon
State has delivered on
opportunity.
“I just wanted to play.
I felt like the coaches had
my best interest at heart,”
Roberts said. “It’s a good
school. You can focus on
football and gives every-
thing you need to do what
you want to do.”
Smith began cultivating
the transfer market months
into his arrival in Corvallis,
and even had success before
the portal became offi cial
Oct. 15, 2018. Gebbia, Rob-
erts, Gumbs and Lindsey
all moved to OSU under
old transfer rules before the
portal was offi cial. All have
started at some point during
their careers.
Amanda Loman/The Associated Press, File
Oregon State quarterback Ben Gulbranson (17) hands off to running
back Calvin Tyler Jr. (2) against Arizona State in Corvallis on Saturday,
Dec. 19, 2020.
“We got some good
players and it piqued our
interest,” Smith said.
Smith has developed pro-
tocols to work the transfer
market, just like a program
would with high school/
junior college recruiting.
Smith has a staff er who
monitors the portal daily.
The coaching staff regularly
talks about positions where
they have specifi c transfer
needs. For example, when
Ben Gulbranson hurt his
shoulder late this spring and
needed surgery, the staff
immediately went to work
looking for another quarter-
back. When Noyer became
available, Smith pounced.
Smith says vetting a
transfer “is hard,” because
it’s often a quick decision.
Some of the better players
are often in and out of the
transfer portal in less than
a week.
Smith said he makes
it clear to his staff not to
go anywhere near the line
when it comes to chasing a
transfer. If a player is not in
the portal, they’re off limits
in terms of direct contact.
“If we lose a player
because we had to wait, I
can live that. I’m not get-
ting involved in tampering,”
Smith said.
But if OSU get a
heads up that a certain
player might be headed
to the transfer portal, the
staff begins to collect
background.
“It’s amazing what you
fi nd on Google,” Smith said.
Once Smith or one of his
coaches can talk to a player,
the pitch is generally about
opportunity, but it’s also
broad. An Oregon State
education is a selling point,
as is the culture Smith
believes he’s cultivated.
“It’s coaching, the
scheme you’re going to run,
and then the history. We’ve
had transfers here, look at
how they’re playing,” Smith
said.
Another aspect of the
transfer portal is how it’s
received by the team. Smith
understands some players
might not be completely
excited regarding an expe-
rienced player suddenly
showing up to compete for
their time. But he found a
recent conversation about
that subject with Roberts
and cornerback Jaydon
Grant to be refreshing.
“Those guys are like,
‘Dude, we’re always into
bringing in a good player.
It’s going to make us
better,’” Smith said.
Davis Carbaugh/The Observer
McKaylee Orton signs her letter of intent to play basketball and
softball at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton on
Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. Orton was named 4A all-state as an out-
fi elder in 2021 and helped lead the La Grande girls basketball
team to a 10-0 regular-season record.
ORTON
Continued from Page A9
for a championship, the
pandemic forced the can-
cellation of the season.
“All the basketball
memories and all the tour-
naments we went to stand
out to me,” Orton said.
“Being able to play in the
state tournament in bas-
ketball this year and win-
ning states my sophomore
year in softball are what
I’ll remember.”
Orton will begin her
collegiate career when
Blue Mountain opens
its season against Mult-
nomah on Thursday, Dec.
2. Upon concluding bas-
ketball season in late
February, she will tran-
sition to the diamond
for opening day on
Friday, March 18, against
Wenatchee Valley.
According to Orton,
Blue Mountain was her
fi nal decision after also
considering Treasure
Valley Community Col-
lege. Upon meeting her
future teammates and
coaches at a softball
tournament, she felt it
was a better fi t with the
Timberwolves.
“They were really nice
and really enthusiastic
about the sport and just
wanted to play and have
fun.”
Orton plans to major in
accounting with a minor
in agriculture business.
The multi-talented athlete
leaves behind a winning
legacy in her time at La
Grande.
“She wants to be the
best that she possibly can
and I have no doubt that
she is going to be excellent
at Blue Mountain,” Wright
said.
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