Five Things We Learned From Practice No. 11
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1. Jake Luton keeping the ball on the zone read
Today was the first day that I saw Luton keep the ball on the zone-read plays. He isn’t your prototypical running quarterback as he stands at 6’6 but he was surprisingly fleet of foot at Ventura CC. Given his frame and size, he reminds me a lot of former Utah quarterback Travis Wilson who was also extremely tall, and was a really good runner as well. One of the more unique aspects of the zone-read is that the quarterback can change the landscape of the game if he can properly read the end’s and decide when to pull the ball and take off. Time will tell whether or not the coaches will give Luton the green light to run and be susceptible to hits which is a big time worry. However, the Beavers do have a nice insurance policy with Darell Garretson as the backup if Luton gets hurt.
2. Titus Failauga is stepping up
Defensive coordinator Kevin Clune echoed the hard work and tenacity of Failauga over the past several weeks today. He mentioned that his work ethic on the d-line is impressive. Failauga is the classic case of a guy being able to accept his role during his four years and make lemonade out of lemons. He has now switched positions three times during his career at OSU and has kept a positive, upbeat attitude throughout the whole process. Now that he is in his 5th year, he is looking to be a veteran presence that is a leader for the young guys on the defensive line. He told me today that he hopes to be a big time playmaker and set the tone for the defensive line in his senior season. He possesses a unique blend of size and strength and could be in line for a big season in his last year.
3. OSU is solid but not deep on the D-Line
The Beavers have solid starters on the defensive line, but outside of those starting guys, Clune is very concerned. He mentioned today that the first unit is playing very very well, but the rest of the guys are not where they need to be. He noted that the second unit has been okay, while the third unit was not playing well. Given how OSU doesn’t have very much depth on the D-line, this is a concern right now because of how much Clune said the Beavers want to rotate guys in and out to stay fresh. The Beavers are just a couple injuries away from being very young and thin on the d-line and those 2nd and 3rd string guys need to come up to speed if OSU is going to improve defensively in 2017 and create the kind of turnovers that Andersen is looking for in year three.
4. Depth at cornerback is an issue for now
With Isaiah Dunn, Jay Irvine, and Shawn Wilson all sidelined with injuries, the depth at cornerback is concerning as of right now. None of those injuries are serious from what I’ve seen, but it does create a hole at the cornerback position. Former running back Kyle White was taking first team reps today as the Beavers are trying to find guys to play corner in practice. Kudos to White who has handled the transition from running back to corner well and has worked hard enough to earn reps with the 1st unit. However, ss of right now the Beavers are thin at corner with the injuries to Wilson, Dunn, and Irvine. Time will tell whether those injuries linger into the next several practices and how long those guys will take to recover. OSU can’t afford to start the season thin at any position and they need their corners to be healthy if they are going to handle the high-volume passing that the Pac-12 has.
5. Calvin Tyler becoming a contender for playing time
The true freshman from Texas has been making some serious noise in the backfield for OSU in the first several weeks of camp. The problem for Tyler is that there isn’t enough carries to go around. Right now there is a logjam at the position with Thomas Tyner, Artavis Pierce, and Trevorris Johnson all fighting to be the backup running back behind Ryan Nall. If I had to speculate, I’d probably say that OSU finds a spot for him as a kick returner or on special teams right away because of the way he is playing. However, it may be hard for him to crack the rotation as a running back his first year. But, OSU at times last year was on to their third string running back and once he got his opportunities, Tim Cook really showed what he could do. OSU is in a good position having so many talented players that are really solid running backs.