Oregon State Beavers Football: Dam City Showcase Notebook

BeaversEdge.com senior writer Brenden Slaughter dives into the top storylines of the Dam City Showcase as the Oregon State football team will be looking to fine tune the final details in the coming week in advance of their spring game on Saturday.

Dam City Showcase Coverage

Oregon State Beavers Football: Day 11 Spring Practice Nuggets

WATCH: Oregon State Spring Practice Interviews: Day 11

While the weather conditions made for a cold and rainy day on the field, Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith and the Beavers embraced the weather en-route to an exciting Dam City Showcase.

"It was a great day," Smith said. "Being able to come up to Beaverton and have the experience for the guys in a different environment was good for us. A lot of guys got reps and there was some really good exchange out there. We're pleased with where we are heading into the last week."

While the conditions were certainly sub-optimal for fans wanting to attend, especially given that the Mountainside stadium doesn't have a roof, Smith was proud of the group came up to show out for the Beavers.

"'We've got a ton of Beavers up here," Smith said. "The benefit of getting around our fanbase as much as we can is good for our players and its a relationship we want to continue."

Added Tristan Gebbia: "We own the weather."

Just as it seemed that the quarterback derby between Jake Luton and Gebbia was tightening up as Gebbia had a solid week and gained ground on Luton, the sixth year senior rose to the occasion in Beaverton, taking the majority of the first team reps and looking significantly sharper and more comfortable in the flow than Gebbia.

"Jake was really crisp, and that's been his thing all spring," Smith said. "He's really improved from last fall in his comfort level and it really showed today."

Luton started the day in a groove and never really lost it as during the opening two-minute drill, he perfectly-placed a 32 yard touchdown pass to Jesiah Irish, who was able to create just enough space between the Beaver defenders to haul in the catch.

"He had a great release and he's as fast as it gets, so once he makes a move like that, I have to get it out there so he can make a play," Luton said.

"Jake and I's chemistry has really improved this spring with more reps," Irish said. "I'm feeling comfortable with him and he's comfortable with me, and it's been really cool to get on that level."

The quarterback race has been one of the most important storylines of spring practice thus far, and there's a reason that Luton has had the edge on Gebbia.

Experience.

"In terms of where I've ever been and in terms of comfortability within an offense, I'm far ahead of where I've ever been before," Luton said.

While Gebbia didn't have his best day on the field after he started practice with a four and out two-minute drill, he's still getting familiar in the nuances of offensive-coordinator Brian Lindgren's offense and has plenty of time to make up ground on Luton and continue to vie to be the Beavers' starter come Oklahoma State.

With a more "game like" atmosphere expected for the spring game on Saturday, I'd bet there's a good chance we see a lot of auditioning from Luton and Gebbia in Reser Stadium on Saturday. It'll be the last chance for impressions until fall camp in terms of on the field work and it should make for an exciting spring game.

"Getting some snaps in Reser Stadium and having a real game situation on Saturday is going to be really exciting," Gebbia said.

After having one of the worst seasons in recent memory a season ago, it's safe to say that there's a chip on the shoulder of the Oregon State defense this season. After finishing second-to-last in yards per game and not doing a lot of anything right, the Beavers have returned to the practice fields focused, hungry, and much-improved from a season ago.

"There's always a chip on my shoulder," Jalen Moore said. "We have to come out, stop the run, and make plays. We have to win games and it starts with the defense. We're only going to be good if we keeping working towards our potential and it starts with getting better everyday."

"It all starts with energy and they brought it today," Smith said. "You can't just count on one guy to make a bunch of solo tackles, it's a group effort and that's really showed up today and throughout spring. We're flying around and making some plays."

That improvement showed at Mountainside on Saturday as the defensive line and linebackers mixed blitzing schemes and shed blockers quickly to make life tough on all of OSU's QB's that were taking reps.

"We're pleased," Smith said with a smile. "We count on guys improving, we've tweaked some things in the scheme, and we've got a lot of things in defensively right now. We're not a finished product, but we've really improved."

Given that the Beavers lack of defensive success over the past few seasons is directly correlated with being near the bottom of the Pac-12 and country in sacks during that stretch, seeing the defense make noise in spring has been a breath of fresh air for the Beavers.

"The defensive line is doing a great job of getting to the quarterback," Gebbia said. "The defense has been getting after us a little bit and that's good for us because competition breeds excellence. The better we get, the better they get."