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In the months leading up to the start of fall camp, BeaversEdge.com will be counting down the Top 25 Oregon State football players on the 2023 roster.
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No. 23 John McCartan
Bio
No. 6
6-foot-5, 247-pounds
Rs-Senior
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
Santa Margarita Catholic
2022 Stats: Played in 11 games (10 starts) and tallied 34 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, five quarterback hurries, and three pass breakups...
2022 Recap
After missing the entirety of the 2021 campaign due to injury, McCartan returned to Oregon State's defense in a big way in 2022. He played in 11 of the 13 contests and was a steady and reliable contributor, finishing ninth in total tackles and tied for sixth in tackles for loss.
McCartan also showcased his ability to make disruptive plays in the passing game, tallying one sack and recording three pass breakups, which was good for seventh-most on defense and he was the top outside linebacker in terms of pass breakups.
Per PFF, McCartan scored an overall defensive grade of 68.8, which was good for the 10th-best mark on OSU's defense. He also highly impressed in pass coverage, scoring a grade of 73.8, which was the fifth-best on the squad...
2023 Outlook
Heading into the 2023 campaign, McCartan is expected to play a big-time role in Trent Bray's defense in his redshirt-senior campaign.
McCartan's experience in the position is unmatched as he's played in 41 career games and has tallied career marks of 85 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three interceptions, and seven pass deflections.
He and Drew Chatfield are likely to lock down the two starting outside 'backer spots with Nikko Taylor, Cory Stover, Ryan Franke, and Mathias Malaki-Donaldson providing key depth behind them.
With Riley Sharp moving over to tight end, and the Beavers losing a pair of key leaders at the inside linebacker spot in Omar Speights and Kyrei Fisher-Morris, McCartan has now become the de-facto leader in the linebacker room and there's no question some of the young outside linebackers will look to him for guidance.
McCartan is a guy who has been around the program since the very beginning of the Jonathan Smith era and therefore can be counted on as one of the elite culture keepers of Oregon State's program.
I look for McCartan to have a big-time senior season where he's a go-to playmaker off the edge and a reliable upperclassman who's ready to help mold the next wave of outside linebackers...
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