BeaversEdge.com senior writer Brenden Slaughter sat down with Oregon State offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven to discuss spring ball, quarterbacks, and much more.
Read Slaughter's interview with OSU defensive coordinator Kevin Clune by clicking here.
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How do you feel that the offense progressed over spring football?
McGiven: "I liked the progress we made in a lot of spots. The way I’m going to look at offensive production is the guys up front. They are huge in terms of what we are doing. They have to be able to protect the passer and block for the running game. When you have a couple special running backs like we have, they have to carry a portion of the load and win the one-on-one matchups. We created stability on the offensive line through spring and that was good to see. We had to also do that with several guys on the perimeter, breaking in some new faces like Isaiah Hodgins. It’s important to get reps for those guys that will impact our season next year."
How has Jason Phillips been fitting in with your offensive staff, and have you seen the benefits in the passing game?
McGiven: "He has helped immensely. He is a guy who knows what it takes. He was very successful in college and played in the NFL. Sometimes changes can be a really good thing. He comes in, and there are some veteran guys who have been in the program who get a different set of eyes, to help them break down things in different ways. Philosophically, he has some ideas as far as schemes that we are interested in. So it’s been really healthy for us, and eye opening on occasion to have a guy in that room who has been around a different philosophy than a lot of us have."
One of the biggest storylines heading into the season is the battle for QB. What is the status of those three guys heading into fall camp and do you have a timeline for naming a starter?
McGiven: "With the quarterback race, that is going to be a continued thing. We want those guys to take some leadership over the course of the offseason, and let their teammates respond to them. I like the way the quarterbacks competed during spring. All of them went out there and did some really good things at times and showed they can manage the offense, and situations. Obviously, there wasn’t enough separation to be able to come out of spring with a starter, which sometimes you like, but we didn’t feel like it was critical for us at this point because we were still able to get the reps allocated the way we wanted to between those guys. The way the team was responding to those guys, was really really good."
Are there any new position changes post-spring ball that you can comment on?
McGiven: "Not right now. Nothing different from the way we came out of spring."
Which guys had a quarterback-wide receiver chemistry that were you impressed with this spring?
McGiven: "I don’t think there are two guys I could pinpoint as far as quarterback-wide receiver connection. Over the course of spring, it’s a little tough to ask for that chemistry. But as guys make more and more plays for a quarterback then the quarterback develops a comfort level throwing to him. To me, that chemistry has to do with the consistency of guys being where they are supposed to be. Hitting our route depths, breaking off on angles they are supposed to be breaking off, etc. When we are attacking zones, we are attacking them with progression reads and so it isn’t really a chemistry based offense, it’s where the defense takes you. If a quarterback is going to anticipate a throw in the zone, he has to count on the guy being where he is supposed to be. The chemistry aspect comes against man coverage, and you go to certain spots in man coverage because your guy is going to win and you have belief in that."
How is Seth Collins progressing?
McGiven: "To be honest with you, I don’t know where that is at. I’ve kinda tried to stay out of that. I don’t really know exactly, other than going into spring the decision was made to let him take care of himself and make sure we are being careful with his situation as far as how we approach it. As far as what that looks like going forward, I’ll let Coach Andersen comment on that."
