A6 — BAKER CITY HERALD
SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2021
SPORTS
Oregon State quarterback Tristan Gebbia loose, mobile and
philosophical as he bounces back from serious hamstring injury
Eighth months
removed from
injury, Gebbia looks
to make comeback
By NICK DASCHEL
The Oregonian
CORVALLIS — Eight
months after hamstring
surgery, there was reason
to wonder how loose and
mobile Tristan Gebbia might
be during Oregon State‘s
preseason football camp.
The fi fth-year junior
showed his mobility Friday,
Aug. 6, smoothly running
through scramble and roll-
out drills during the Bea-
vers’ opening practice.
There’s no one looser in
camp. While the media was
interviewing linebacker Jack
Colletto on Saturday, Gebbia
stood within eyesight trying
to distract his teammate
with a variety of unartful
dance moves.
“Tristan, could you stop?”
Colletto said to his playful
teammate.
Gebbia has worked his
way back from the gruesome
hamstring injury, sustained
during the fi nal minutes
of a 41-38 win over Oregon
on Nov. 27, to arguably
the quarterback to beat
for Oregon State’s starting
job. It’s been a painstak-
ing process for Gebbia, who
said it wasn’t until mid-July
that he was able to throw
and run normally during
workouts.
“I don’t feel like I missed
a step out here. It might as
well be Nov. 30 and I didn’t
get injured, in my book,”
Gebbia said.
The proof comes this
week, as the Beavers put
on pads for practice and
competition intensifi es. But
at a minimum, Gebbia —
who started OSU’s fi rst four
games last season — is in
the hunt to start the season
opener Sept. 4 at Purdue.
Offensive coordinator
Brian Lindgren believes
Gebbia is close to his old
form, saying “you can tell
he’s put in the work as far as
the rehab goes. I anticipate
by (Purdue) that he’ll be
ready to go.”
In late November, Gebbia
had a fi rm grasp on Oregon
State’s quarterback job. He
Pac-12 says COVID-19 issues can result in forfeits in 2021
no contest. This season,
COVID-19 will not be au-
SAN FRANCISCO
(AP) — Pac-12 teams that tomatically considered an
cannot play because of CO- excused absence.
“If an institution is
VID-19 issues will likely be
forced to forfeit games this unable to play a contest
through its own fault, it
season.
shall forfeit such contest to
The conference an-
nounced Thursday, Aug. 12, its opponent,” the confer-
it is reinstituting its forfei- ence said.
A forfeit will count as
ture policy after it modi-
a conference victory for a
fi ed its rules last season
forfeiting team’s opponent.
because of the pandemic.
“The Pac-12 rule pro-
Last season, a game
vides the Commissioner
that could not be played
with discretion to deter-
because of COVID-19
problems with either team mine whether an institu-
tion is at fault or primarily
was canceled and deemed
Associated Press
as he transferred to OSU in
June after an injury to Ben
Gulbranson ignited interest
from the Beavers.
Gebbia wasn’t surprised
the Beavers were interested
in Noyer, the Pac-12’s second-
team all-conference quarter-
back in 2020.
“At that point in time, I
was pretty confi dent I was
coming back, but there’s
some question marks,”
Gebbia said. “It’s only going
to make us better. All that
matters is winning games on
Saturdays and whoever can
do that best.”
Gebbia sounds very much
like a veteran who heads
into his fi fth college training
camp, and third at Oregon
State.
“Football is a privilege
that can get taken away at
any time, for a lot of reasons,”
Gebbia said. “Most important
thing is to be a good team-
mate. … really support the
guys that we have around
here and being the best guy
that I can be in the facility.
That’s really all there is to
it. Football can end someday.
Sometimes you don’t get to
choose when, right?”
“It’s a painful thing to
hear that your season’s
done,” Gebbia said. “But
it’s part of life. Sometimes
you’ve gotta roll with the
punches and try to come
back stronger than ever.”
Gebbia rehabbed
through the remainder of
the school year, and began
throwing in June. All the
while, Gebbia watched vid-
eo as though he was com-
pletely healthy, as well as
helping OSU quarterbacks
during spring practice.
Smith said they would be
Leon Neuschwander/The Oregonian, File “smart” in handling Gebbia’s
Oregon State quarterback Tristan Gebbia (3) has
duties during the early days
worked his way back from a gruesome hamstring
of practice.
injury to become arguably the quarterback to beat for
Lindgren said he’ll care-
Oregon State’s starting job.
fully watch Gebbia during
11-on-11 team drills and
scrimmages, when the “sud-
need to rush off the fi eld to
was improving with each
denness” of moves out of the
save time (no, as he soon
start during the 2020 sea-
son. The apex came against found out when coach Jona- pocket or escaping a pass
rusher will test his ham-
Oregon, when Gebbia threw than Smith told him to go
down because of the injury)? string.
for 263 yards and a touch-
Gebbia fi nds himself in
Also, “It hurts,” Gebbia
down. But in trying to give
a competition for the start-
OSU the lead on a quarter- said of his suddenly throb-
ing quarterback job with
back sneak during the fi nal bing hamstring. “I was just
minute, Gebbia sustained a praying that Chance (Nolan) Colorado transfer Sam
Noyer, third-year sophomore
got in, and he did.”
hamstring injury.
Chance Nolan and true
The pain didn’t sub-
Gebbia recalls a few
freshman Sam Vidlak. Noyer
side for a while, and not
things going through his
was a late entry to the party,
head at the time. Did Gebbia just physically.
at fault for an inability to
play a contest based on the
facts of the situation,” the
conference said.
The Pac-12 announced
earlier this month that
regular COVID-19 testing
will no longer be required
for vaccinated individuals.
Vaccinated individuals will
also no longer be immedi-
ately subjected to quaran-
tine after exposure to an
infected individual.
Regular testing will
still be required for unvac-
cinated players, coaches
and staff.
Doncic signs $207 million dollar
as Mavs turn focus to titles
vanced in the playoffs since
winning its only champion-
DALLAS — Luka Doncic ship 10 years ago.
“I’m proud of Luka,”
welcomed all his bosses
with the Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said
Tuesday, Aug. 10, as he
to his home country of
Slovenia to watch the young sat next to his point guard
during a news conference in
superstar sign the richest
Doncic’s hometown, the Slo-
contract in club history.
venian capital of Ljubljana.
Now that the record
“I’ve seen when he fi rst
rookie supermax exten-
came in, the pressure that
sion of $207 million is in
was on him and the way
the books, it’s back to the
business of trying to win for he dealt with it, how hard
he worked,” Cuban said.
a franchise that hasn’t ad-
By SCHUYLER DIXON
Associated Press
“How he recognized that it
was always about the team
winning and that was what
was most important to
him. That was always most
important to me, whatever
we could do to win.”
The Mavericks have
the most important piece
of their next title pursuit
under contract through
2026-27, although that fi nal
season in a fi ve-year deal
that starts in 2022-23 is a
player option.
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