Jonathan Smith Excited To Get Underway

With the Oregon State football team set to kick off fall camp on Friday in advance of the upcoming seven-game 2020 slate, head coach Jonathan Smith was all smiles when talking about just how amped up he is to get the season underway.

"We're really excited. We're full of optimism with a schedule and plan in place and we're really anxious to get this thing going," Smith said. "Our guys are totally ready to go."

After going 5-7 a year ago and being oh so close in numerous contests, Smith feels that this will be the year the team will be able to cross the threshold and move into the next echelon of success.

"We have to be able to finish and recognize throughout the game that often times, games come down to just a few plays. We have to continue to strive to improve from quarter one to quarter four and game one to game seven. If we focus on improving and seizing the moment, we will get over the hump."

Looking ahead to Oregon State's quarterback situation, there's little doubt that incumbent redshirt-junior Tristan Gebbia will likely be the guy, but Smith said that having a strong contingent of guys in that room will help breed success.

"Tristan definitely took advantage of last season, preparing as if he was going to start each and every week. He feels comfortable with the offense because of that experience, but we brought in Chance Nolan & Ben Gulbranson to really drive competition in that room."

Beyond the quarterbacks, Smith is also very excited about what running back Jermar Jefferson will bring to the table in year three. After a freshman All-American campaign in 2018, Jefferson dealt with several nagging injuries last year that kept him from being at the top of his game.

To counteract those injury-woes of last season, Jefferson added several pounds of muscle and strength and now looks to be in the best shape of his life.

"He looks good and he's worked really hard at getting his body in terrific shape. He had a monster freshman year and then dealt with some injuries last season that definitely motivated him to be in the best shape of his life. He's a special player."

Defensively, the Beavers figure to have a sneaky-good group depending on how a couple of position groups shake out. The Beavers are a little thin up front with the loss of Jordan Whittley but boast a nationally-relevant linebacking corps and a secondary that finally has the depth and talent to compete.

"We made a lot of strides on the defensive side of the ball last year. If there's a group that I'm really confident in heading into the year, it's definitely the linebackers. We've got a lot of talent and experience there. We're counting on our defense to take another big step forward this year."

One of Oregon State's biggest coups of the offseason was getting star outside-linebacker Hamilcar Rashed to put off the NFL for another year and getting him back to Corvallis.

Smith said that Rashed went through the process like a seasoned veteran, but came to the conclusion that he still has more to accomplish at this level and that he wanted to be back with his team.

"He thinks he can play better. He's added a little bit of weight and wants to prove that he can effectively play with those extra pounds. He really enjoys it here and loves his teammates, so he was all-in on coming back. He took his time throughout the process and made the decision that it was best for him to play this year."

As far as new faces who could make an impact this season, Smith singled out freshman wide receiver Zeriah Beason and JUCO cornerback Alton Julian and guys who are primed to have an impact right away.

"We're really excited about our newcomers. Zeriah had some good moments for us at the beginning of spring and I wouldn't be shocked to see him play as a true freshman. We're excited about what Alton too and what he can do in the secondary. Those are a couple of guys that come to mind right off the bat."

As the Beavers prepare to kick off their training camp on Friday, there's no question that year three of the Smith rebuild is right on schedule and primed to make some noise.

"We feel that we're in a great place as a program. We're deeper, more physical, stronger, and have more speed than where we were just a couple years ago. We've also been blessed to have coaching continuity as well, and that all puts us in a great position to win a bunch of games."