12/22/2020 football Edit

15 Beavers Recognized With Pac-12 Honors

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SAN FRANCISCO – Nathan Eldridge, Jermar Jefferson, and Avery Roberts have each been named All-Pac-12 First Team selections to highlight a list of 15 Oregon State players who were recognized by the conference’s coaches on Tuesday.

Joshua Gray was named to the second team while Champ Flemings, Jaydon Grant, Isaac Hodgins, Jesiah Irish, Nous Keobounnam, Teagan Quitoriano, Hamilcar Rashed Jr., Simon Sandberg, Omar Speights and Nahshon Wright were all selected as an honorable mention.

Eldridge, Jefferson, and Roberts are the first Beavers to be named first-team since Brandin Cooks in 2013. The 14 overall all-conference selections, meanwhile, are the most for Oregon State since the 2008 team totaled 17.

Additionally, defensive back Alex Austin has been named honorable mention for freshman player of the year honors.

Eldridge helped anchor an offensive line that saw the Beavers rush for an average of nearly 200 yards per game. He was also recognized as the Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week on Nov. 30 after Oregon State’s win over Oregon. Eldridge is the first OSU offensive lineman to recognized as a first-team selection since Gregg Peat in 2009.

Jefferson, who is also a Doak Walker semifinalist as one of the nation’s top running backs, led the Pac-12 through the regular season with 858 rushing yards. He totaled five 100-yard rushing efforts and scored seven touchdowns. He was also a two-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week selection. He is the first OSU running back named first-team since Jacquizz Rodgers in 2010.

Roberts, an inside linebacker, led the Pac-12 through the regular season with 69 tackles, including 39 solo. He finished with three tackles for loss and half a sack. He posted four consecutive games of 10 or more tackles, including a 21-tackle performance at Utah that is tied for the most by an FBS player this season. He is the first OSU linebacker to be named first-team since Keaton Kristick in 2009.

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Gray played in and started all seven games at left tackle for the Beavers in 2020. He, along with Eldridge and Keobounnam, helped pave the way for Jefferson’s five 100-yard efforts.

Flemings, who was recognized as a return specialist, totaled 19 kickoff returns in 2020. He finished with 447 yards on those returns, averaging 23.5 yards per. He was named the Pac-12’s Special Teams Player of the Week after game two versus Washington.

Grant was fifth on the team with 29 tackles, and the defensive back intercepted two passes in 2020, along with two pass breakups. He scored a touchdown off a punt block in the second game of the season at Washington.

Hodgins led all Oregon State defensive linemen with 28 tackles, and the junior added 1.5 sacks to his season tally. He finished with a season-high six tackles in the 2020 finale versus Arizona State.

Irish was recognized as an all-purpose/special teams selection. He blocked a punt versus California in the fourth quarter that set up Oregon State’s game-winning touchdown. He also returned seven kickoffs for 165 yards and one punt for 26 yards.

Keobounnam started in five of the Beavers’ seven games at right guard, teaming with Eldridge and Gray. Keobounnam has now played in 40 career games, making 16 starts.

Quitoriano recorded 14 receptions for the Beavers, having played in all seven games, finishing with 185 yards and a touchdown. His season-best of 68 receiving yards came in the season finale.

Rashed Jr., an outside linebacker for OSU, tallied 23 tackles with two tackles for loss. He added one pass breakup, a forced fumble, and a punt block against Washington.

Sandberg was in on five tackles for OSU in 2020. The defensive lineman added one tackle for loss and three pass breakups. Two of those breakups came in week two versus Washington.

Speights finished second in the Pac-12’s regular season with 63 tackles. The inside linebacker added 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack. A sophomore, he recorded 10 or more tackles three times, including a season-best 13 at Utah.

Wright matched Grant with a team-best two interceptions in 2020. The defensive back added 30 tackles – good for a third-place tie on Oregon State – with one sack. He also had four pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Austin, a redshirt freshman, totaled 29 tackles in 2020, adding half a tackle for loss with two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.