With Oregon State's very brief 2020 spring practice session now in the books in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, BeaversEdge.com is diving into each of the position groups and priming you for the eventual return of Beaver Football.
Today, we continue on the defensive side of the ball with the outside linebackers...
PREVIOUSLY: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Receivers | TE's | OL | DL | Inside LB's
Spring Analysis
Arguably the deepest and most talented position group on either side of the ball, the Oregon State outside linebackers figure to be one of the most complete units in the conference this season.
The Beavers lost return First-Team All-American Hamilcar Rashed and a bevy of talented and experienced depth behind him. Andrzej Hughes-Murray and Addison Gumbs both figure to be back from injuries that kept them out of the 2019 campaign while John McCartan, Matthew Tago, Riley Sharp, and Isaac Garcia will be very experienced and productive options off the bench.
The Beavers' limited three practices this spring showed that the group is capable of making big plays quickly as the speed off the edge was evident. The group as a whole looked leaner and faster compared to when we saw them at the end of the season and that's going to pay dividends coming after the QB.
Defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar said prior to the start of spring that this was the most talented group of outside linebackers that he's had since his time at Wisconsin with T.J. Watt and others, and that speaks volumes to the internal expectations the Beavers have with this unit.
The real question when it comes to the outside linebackers is will the Beavers elect to redshirt one or two guys that are capable of doing so?
Jonathan Smith hinted at the notion prior to the start of spring as both John McCartan and Matthew Tago (Junior Eligibility) have available redshirt years. There's a lot left to be determined as far as rotations go once fall camp is up and running, but I'd say there's a good chance the Beavers look really hard at limiting one or both guys to four games depending on how injuries go to balance out the pool of talent.
