Jalen Moore expecting big things in senior season
With the Oregon State Football team set to kick off spring practice under second-year head coach Jonathan Smith on March 5, there’s a lot of work to be done for the Beavers to significantly better in 2019.
While the Beaver offense has all the makings of being quite good this season, the defense on the other hand, has to show big-time improvement in order to increase the number of wins.
Armed with high-level transfers, a solid incoming recruiting class, and internal growth and familiarity within the program, the Beavers feel that they’re capable of being able to make significant leaps in 2019.
One of the players stepping into a much bigger leadership role this season is senior safety Jalen Moore. After leading the team in tackles a season ago and showcasing versatility as a strong defender against the pass and a reliable tackler against the run, Moore is ready to step into the leadership shoes.
“It’s one of those things where I’ve got to mature and just keep learning everyday,” Moore said of the leadership responsibilities. “We’ve got a new DB coach (Blue Adams) and I want to get to know him, learn his scheme, and figure out ways to be a better player. (I want) to lead by example on and off the field and being the leader that everybody needs me to be.”
Oregon State defensive-coordinator Tim Tibesar set the bar high for the Beaver defense this season, noting back on signing day that the Beavers were expecting much better results in year two.
“Dramatic improvement,” Tibesar said. “If we can improve in our run defense and takeaways, it will help us immensely. I’d be very disappointed if we didn’t take a big jump in our defense this year.”
Moore echoed his DC’s comments, noting that thanks to an influx of talent in the offseason coupled with the return of key players, the Beavers will be a much different team on defense.
“We’re going to be a lot better this year,” Moore said. “We’ve got a lot of transfers coming in and guys are coming back healthy. Avery Roberts is going to be big add to our defense. Omar (Hicks-Onu) is going to be back, David (Morris) is going to be back. Those guys, with the defensive lineman coming in and guys we brought back, we’re going to be better.”
Hicks-Onu, who missed last season with an undisclosed injury after tallying 38 tackles in 2017, is Moore’s roommate and one of his closest friends on the team.
“He’s one of my really good friends,” Moore said. “We were always talking during the season even though he was hurt, so having him back this year is awesome because we’re so close.
While Moore will have one of of his closest friends on the team back on the field with him in the coming weeks, he recently had to say goodbye to one of his closest friends on the team.
In addition to being roommates with Hicks-Onu, he was also roommates with the now-departed Jay Irvine. Irvine elected to transfer from Oregon State in early February.
“It’s tough because I came here with Jay and he’s my roommate,” Moore said. “Honestly, as a friend and a teammate, you’ve got to help them as much as possible. It sucks because we had big plans here, but it is what it is. People have to make their own decisions and that’s life.”
Following the disappointing results on defense last season, the Oregon State secondary has been hard at work preparing for spring.
With Oregon State returning nearly their entire secondary group outside of Dwayne Williams and Irvine, and getting the added depth of Morris and Hicks-Onu for a full season, the Beavers could look night and day different from a season ago.
“We’ve shown Beaver Nation potential,” Moore said. “We’ve got to live up to that potential and keep working to show them the fight we’ve got…. Having that 2-10 season should leave a chip on everyone's shoulder because that losing feeling should be everybody’s mindset to work harder and try to win games.”