Notes & Quotes From Jonathan Smith's Press Conference

With Oregon State (2-3) head coach Jonathan Smith meeting the media on Monday afternoon to give a bevy of updates, recap Utah, and look ahead to Saturday's matchup with Stanford (2-2), BeaversEdge.com gives you the complete breakdown in another edition of notes & quotes...

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Notes

- Jermar Jefferson, John McCartan, and Rweha Munyagi Jr., who all missed the Utah game due to COVID-19 contact-tracing protocols, don't yet know their status' for Saturday per head coach Jonathan Smith. They'll find out in the middle of the week if they're available. It's worth noting that Smith also specified that those three guys have been in quarantine, not isolation, meaning they've been able to visit the facility separate from everyone else to remain in shape.

- Running back BJ Baylor & wide receiver Champ Flemings, who both exited the game against Utah with shoulder injuries, are listed as questionable going into Stanford as Smith said neither is considered long term. It'll all depend on how they respond in rehab this week.

- Nous Keobounnam traveled with the team to Utah and was available to play, but given that he didn't get any practice time in, the Beavers felt confident with Keli'i Montibon. With that being said, Smith expects Keobounnam will reclaim his starting spot this weekend.

- Defensive back David Morris hasn't fully gotten back injury/health wise per Smith and isn't expected against the Cardinal. He's been limited for the team as of late after missing some time due to health reasons.

- Wide receiver Tre'Shaun Harrison & running back Trey Lowe are both eligible to play against Stanford. The transfer-tandem was denied immediate eligibility by the NCAA, but now that they've been with the program for one academic year, they're fully cleared and ready to go. It remains to be seen exactly what sort of capacity they'll be in, but Smith said they'll see how they look in practice this week and go from there...

- The Beavers will continue to use a mix of Caleb Lightbourn and Luke Loecher at punter as they like the variety that each guy brings. It'll depend on the situation, but they like both guys as they both have wide skill sets.

Quotes

Jonathan Smith on being within close proximity with Stanford

"It's definitely different, but we're excited to be able to play a game. For different reasons, they're here in Corvallis, but I don't think it'll be weird because they're here in the afternoons and we're here in the mornings. Don't think we'll see them much.

Smith on why the run defense has been less than ideal to start games

"If I could pinpoint why we can't start faster on defense we'd get it fixed. We've tried some different things. We want to play well on defense to start the game and be able to get ballcarriers on the ground. We're going to continue to work at it this week and hopefully be better against Stanford."

Smith on the emotions of losing a winnable game against Utah

"Losing bothers me, and in general, we could have played a lot better. I appreciate our effort, these guys are going to compete and fight until the very end and find ways to win. But ultimately, our execution wasn't at the level I thought we could have played at. I put that on myself, down to the coaches, and then to the players, we all have to be executing at a higher level to win games."