Oregon State Football Fall Preview: Secondary & Linebackers

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With the Oregon State football team preparing for fall camp and readying for the sixth season under head coach Jonathan Smith, BeaversEdge.com begins the first of a three-part series previewing the team.

Today, we continue with part two of the series, looking at the secondary and linebackers...

Only scholarship players are included...

MORE: Jam Griffin Enters Transfer Portal | Analysis: OL Rakeem Johnson | Fall Preview OL/DL | Beavers Land Central Catholic LB Dexter Foster Fall Camp Preview: Which 2023 Signees Will Emerge? | EDGE POD: Talkin' CU, Fall Camp, EDGE 1-9

INSIDE LINEBACKERS

Calvin Hart Jr.

Easton Mascarenas-Arnold - 5' 11'' 234 Jr. Mission Viejo, Calif. / Mission Viejo

Michael Erhart - 6' 0'' 235 R-Jr. Westlake Village, Calif. / Chaminade College Prep

John Miller - 6' 1'' 232 Jr. Tualatin, Ore. / Tualatin

Makiya Tongue - 6' 2'' 221 R-Jr. Baton Rouge, La. / University Lab / Georgia

Mason Tufaga - 6' 1''240 R-So. Honolulu, Hawai'i / St. Louis / Utah

Melvin Jordan - 5' 11'' 225 R-Fr. St. Petersburg, Fla. / Clearwater Central Catholic

Kord Shaw - 6' 3'' 224 R-Fr. Ogden, Utah / Bonneville

Isaiah Chisom

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS

Drew Chatfield - 6' 2'' 252 R-Sr. Plantation, Fla. / American Heritage

John McCartan - 6' 5'' 247 R-Sr. Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. / Santa Margarita Catholic

Cory Stover - 6' 6'' 248 R-Jr. Coos Bay, Ore. / Marshfield

Nikko Taylor - 6' 5'' 242 Jr. Oceanside, Calif. / Blue Valley North

Mathias Malaki-Donaldson - 6' 5'' 233 R-Fr. Baldwin Village, Calif. / Oaks Christian

Ryan Franke - 6' 3'' 248 R-Jr. Camarillo, Calif. / Oaks Christian

Zakaih Saez

Spin-> The heart and soul of Oregon State's defense, the inside, and outside linebackers play a vital role in defensive coordinator Trent Bray's scheme.

Beginning with the inside linebackers, there's no question there are two massive holes to fill... Multi-season team-leading tackler Omar Speights took his talents down to Baton Rouge and LSU while fellow inside linebacker Kyrei Fisher-Morris exhausted his eligibility.

The loss of the duo is significant as the two combined for 160 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks this past season. Fortunately, the Beavers have Easton Mascarenas-Arnold waiting in the wings after he played a defined backup role last season, tallying 37 tackles, 5.5 TFL's, two sacks, and one interception.

Getting Mascarenas that extensive experience last season is huge for the upcoming campaign as he should be prime to take one of the starting spots and run with it. He's got all the talent to be a really good player for the Beavers, and he'll offer a bit more as a pass defender than his predecessors.

After Mascarenas-Arnold is where things get interesting... John Miller, the pride of Tualatin (OR) has been patiently awaiting a moment such as this and played quite well during the spring sessions. It's my opinion that he'll get the first run to grab one of the starting spots.

However, the Beavers added some depth and competition via the transfer portal that could very much factor in as well. Mason Tufaga comes over from Utah after not seeing action with the Utes early in his career, but with a good amount of potential, while Illinois' Calvin Hart Jr. comes over for one season after tallying 22 tackles and half a tackle for loss for the Illini this past season.

Miller likely has the edge on those two based on experience in the system, but I could see Tufaga and Hart Jr. getting into the mix at ILB.

The real wildcard is Makiya Tongue... after moving over from receiver, he had some really impressive moments in spring, moves really well at the position, and is very physical. Michael Erhart is also an experienced option for depth having played in 12 career games across three seasons...

Also curious to see if we see more of freshmen Melvin Jordan, Kord Shaw, or potentially incoming true freshman Isaiah Chisom, who was a prized recruit this offseason.

While there are some new faces, the depth and talent at inside linebacker is still in good shape. Having Mascarenas-Arnold back will help provide consistency, while I expect there to be a great battle for that other spot...

Switching gears to the outside linebackers, the unit figures to be better at getting after the quarterback this season. The Beavers have two good starters in John McCartan and Drew Chatfield, as both could put up really numbers in their final season. We know what McCartan brings to the table, but Chatfield has another gear that we saw flashes of last season and I'm curious to see if he's the dynamite edge rusher we think he can be.

Behind those two guys, I expect Cory Stover and Nikko Taylor to definitely also be in the regular rotation. Stover has steadily become a reliable playmaker and is very experienced, while Taylor was one of the top JUCO EDGE's in the country last season, so he'll be ready to hit the ground running.

I also really liked what I saw from Mathias Malaki-Donaldson in the spring too, we could also see him and Ryan Franke, who missed all of 2022 due to injury) also enter the fray.

Additionally, I'm very intrigued to see how quickly Zakiah Saez picks up the collegiate game. He came from a powerhouse program in Florida and has terrific size at 6-foot-4 230-pounds. He likely needs to put on a little weight, but his potential as an edge rusher is quite high...

All told Oregon State's outside linebackers should be in a prime position to have their best season getting after the passer. Generating a pass rush is one of the top priorities for the OSU defense and the OLBs play a huge role in that aspect. Look for the group to tally OSU's best sack season in over a decade...

PROJECTED DEPTH CHART

OLB - Drew Chatfield

ILB - Easton Mascarenas-Arnold

ILB - John Miller

OLB - Drew Chatfield

Depth: Cory Stover, Nikko Taylor, Calvin Hart Jr., Makiya Tongue, Mason Tufaga, Melvin Jordan