Oregon State Practice Report: Defense challenged by Clune
With their matchup against Portland State just two days away, the Beavers are putting their finishing touches on their game plan for the Vikings. After OSU’s season opening loss to Colorado State, the Beavers will now be looking to hone in on their craft against PSU.
Today was the last full practice of the week for the Beavers as Gary Andersen met with the media today. Andersen noted that he is excited to see how his squad rebounds from the lost to CSU against Portland State.
“I’m excited to see these kids play a football game again,” Andersen said. “It’s been a very good week of practice and I just don’t worry about these kids bouncing back. I never do and never will. They’re in a position to be able to face adversity and are in a position to handle the good things too. We’re far from perfect, but it was a good, solid week.”
When previewing the Vikings, Andersen had nothing but respect for the program that Bruce Barnum has built in Portland.
“I’ve gained a lot of respect for that program,” Andersen said. “Defensively the scheme that they showed against BYU was extremely aggressive and I don’t expect it to change a bit against us.
Practice Nuggets
-If it wasn’t official that the Beavers were wearing all-orange yesterday, it certainly was today almost every Beaver was decked out in all orange.
-Calvin Tyler was getting a healthy amount of reps with the second team offense ran by quarterback Darell Garretson. Tyler didn’t have the best debut against the Rams, but will be getting more comfortable within the offense in the coming weeks. He is already established as one of OSU’s kick returners, but needs to be more selective at when he should take kicks out of the endzone.
-Tight end Quinn Smith got some reps with the second unit today. We haven’t talked much about Smith this season, but his size and quick feet make him an intriguing second option behind Noah Togiai at the position. He made several nice catches via Garretson today.
-The secondary was showing more aggressiveness as a whole today. Two guys that really jumped off at me where Omar Hicks-Onu and Jay Irvine. Both guys were extremely physical and vocal while making plays in the back-end today.
-Defensive Coordinator Kevin Clune was extremely vocal in coaching the defense as a whole today. Today was the first day that I’ve ever seen him calling out specific formations and player assignments. If a player made a mistake he pulled them over and told them how to correct it. His coaching prowess was on display today and given how OSU’s defense played against CSU, I’m not surprised that Clune is taking things personally moving forward.
-Aidan Willard was doing his best Jalani Eason impersonation today as he was running the scout team offense. Willard has done very well imitating the opposing quarterbacks in the first two weeks of the season so far. As I mentioned earlier this season in my quarterback story, being a backup QB is never easy and often comes with his challenges. I really think Willard has done a good impressing coaches and players alike with his mentality.
-Wesley Payne was a playmaker on the defense today. He was all over the field and was in the backfield on nearly every play. Granted, this is the scout team offense and expectations should be tampered, but he was impressive pseudo-tackling in space today in addition to his footwork. Payne hasn’t made a ton of plays on the field yet, but could be one of OSU’s best linebackers once he gets the opportunity.
Want more insight from practice? Read Mike Singer's nuggets from the offensive side of the ball here