Notebook: Oregon State Spring Practice - Day 5

With the exception of a closed practice to the media on Friday, the Beavers are set to head north to Oregon’s newest and biggest high school for their first scrimmage under Jonathan Smith. OSU’s scrimmage at Mountainside High School will begin at 11:00 a.m. and will give OSU fans the first taste of the Smith regime.

Defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar noted that the Beavers want to come to Beaverton and work their tails off to continue to build what they’ve established in the two weeks in Corvallis.

“Play hard,” Tibesar said about what he wants to see from his group during the scrimmage. “There’s gonna be mistakes, but we want to play hard and have great effort out there.”

Coming into this season, Smith, defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa and Tibesar all knew that the defensive line depth was going to be a concern. OSU only has three defensive tackles listed on the roster with one of them being a true-freshman and only have eight total defensive lineman.

Despite the lack of depth, senior Kalani Vakameilalo and junior Elu Aydon don’t want you to get it twisted. They may lack depth, but they are going to still cause problems as long as they are healthy.

Aydon, who has struggled with staying in playing shape for the past year or so, has been very determined to be more physically fit so he can be on the field more.

“Technique, fundamentals, and getting in shape,” Aydon said about the most important things he’s worked on in the offseason and spring ball. “Taking care of our fundamentals is very important at this point.

Being one of the upperclassmen leaders in a position group that lacks depth, Aydon knows just how crucial it is to stay healthy and be on the field as much as possible given that the Beavers will need him to play a lot of snaps.

“It’s all about being smart on the field,” Aydon said. “Knowing the tempo and making sure we take care of each other and are ready for the season.”

Vakameilalo, who enters his redshirt-senior season says that in order for the defensive line to be successful, the Beavers can’t dread on last year's’ lack of success. It’s in the past and the Beavers including Vakameilalo want to leave it there.

“We don’t bring up the past,” Vakameilalo said. “We’re just trying to work on the future and get better as a team.”