4/17/2021 football Edit

Notes & Quotes From Oregon State HC Jonathan Smith

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

Publisher

PROMO: Join BeaversEdge.com and get 30 DAYS FREE!

With Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith meeting the media on Saturday afternoon to talk about today's scrimmage, BeaversEdge.com recaps the zoom call in this edition of Notes & Quotes...

MORE: MBB: Dearon Tucker Enters Transfer Portal | Mailbag: Spring Football; Baseball; Recruiting

NOTES

- In its first scrimmage of the spring session, Oregon State ran just about 100 plays.

- In terms of the quarterback play today, head coach Jonathan Smith said that each quarterback (Chance Nolan, Ben Gulbranson, & Sam Vidlak) each received about 30 or so snaps apiece. Nolan & Gulbranson split time with the first unit while Vidlak worked with the two's and three's.

- On the defensive side of the ball, Smith said that Rejzohn Wright & Michael Erhart both had interceptions today. Continuing with the defense, Smith added that the defense really made the offense work for everything today. Given that the defense taking that next step is the next piece to the puzzle, it's encouraging to hear.

- In terms of the running backs, Smith said that there are a fair amount of guys that are vying for time. While there's an early pecking order of B.J. Baylor, Deshaun Fenwick, & Trey Lowe, Ta'ron Madison & Isaiah Newell both had decent runs today. My early thought here is that it's going to be tough to narrow down the rotation...

- Smith also gave props to quarterback Sam Vidlak for making some plays during today's session. We've seen Vidlak showcase some really fine skills for a player his age in the few practices we've been able to attend in person, so seeing him continue to grow in a more heightened environment is great to see.

- Center Nathan Eldridge will be limited for the remainder of spring after having to have a cast put on recently. Smith said it's on his snapping hand and it's due to a minor wrist issue. He mentioned he likely won't be snapping again this spring, but that he could return to play by the end of spring.

QUOTES

Jonathan Smith on the scrimmage

"It was a lot of fun out there today. Guys were flying around out there and it was a physical scrimmage. Obviously, there are things we need to get cleaned up as we've got some good tape to evaluate on both sides of the ball. I was really pleased with the energy and now we got to continue to progress these next few weeks."

Smith on Chance Nolan & Ben Gulbranson

"Chance does create with his legs more than Ben does, extending the play and whatnot, but Ben has made some really nice throws within the pocket. They've got different games, but there hasn't been a bunch of separation between the two."

Smith on the defense

"We're definitely more physical, just watching them tackle live today. There were a lot of physical tackles out there today. We had a couple of takeaways today as well, so we feel that we're progressing on that side of the ball."