With Oregon State's 2019 spring session about a third of the way finished and the team focused on wrapping up finals and heading home for spring break, BeaversEdge.com gives the latest on what's new with the Beavers.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up now!
Two Week Layoff
After practicing six times over the course of the first two weeks of March, the Oregon State football team now finds themselves in the midst of a two week layoff for finals and spring break.
The change in practice format is an interesting pivot for Jonathan Smith and Co. as last year, the Beavers chose to use all 15 practices in the month of April, during the spring quarter. This year, the Beavers chose to use six of their practices during the first two weeks in March spread the remaining nine out over the course of April.
It's an interesting dynamic choosing to build the spring practice session around finals and spring break, but the Beavers are confident that this course of planning will pay dividends.
"I feel really good about the way we broke it up," Smith said. "We knew what we wanted to get installed and what we wanted to teach in the first six practices. It will be huge for us to continue building in April."
While it's hard to put a gauge on or measure how much the Beavers have improved in the offseason through six practices, we're seeing unique distinctions this spring compared to last.
"We've seen some improvement. There's been a nice back and forth between the offense and the defense," Smith said. "We feel that we're stronger and faster than a year ago, but it's been a small sample size. Guys know how we're going to practice, they're more comfortable in the schemes, and now we're just tightening up the details."
