Jonathan Smith is the leader of the Oregon State football program and deserves to have the seat he sits in. Smith is a brilliant football mind, and he certainly knows a lot more about the game than I do. But I still can have an opinion every now and then, and I think the following couple of players deserve to be on scholarship at OSU.

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Grant's first two years at Oregon State were plagued with injury. He showed plenty of promise in practice in his first year in 2016 but suffered a shoulder injury. He was a regular in the defensive back rotation in 2017 but only played in three games before he was sidelined due to another injury.

He was healthy in 2018 and played well when given opportunity. He saw action in ten games, and he saw 10+ snaps in six of those. In each of OSU's last three games of the season, he played 25+ snaps. Grant recorded 16 tackles and two pass break ups on the season. Grant recorded a season-high five unassisted tackles against Stanford.

Grant's increased play in 2018 probably came largely due to injuries in the secondary to other key players, but Grant may be better than some of the other scholarship DB's on the team.

I've always been a big fan of Bodden, who is one of the unsung heroes on this OSU football team. Bodden has been a staple on special teams for the past three seasons and has recorded 14 tackles.

In 2018, Bodden started to see more of the field on offense. He played 64 snaps and was targeted four times, catching two of those passes for 37 yards. His biggest blunder on the season was a dropped pass that resulted in an interception by Colorado, but who really remembers that? It only set up for one of the greatest comebacks in Pac-12 history, so actually, thank you Bodden for contributing to that!

In all seriousness, Bodden's special teams efforts may go unnoticed but he's a rock solid performer in that area and he's a better receiver than people give him credit for.

I wouldn't go to bat for these players like I did for Grant and Bodden, but here are some other notable walk-on Oregon State football players:

QB Nick Moore

If he develops into something, who knows? Plenty of walk-on quarterbacks end up being something special.

DE Jaelan Bush

Can't teach 6-foot-7. Bush saw 15 snaps in 2018 and recorded a tackle against Arizona. He'll be a redshirt sophomore next season.

OL Nous Keobounnam

He was mainly Sumner Houston's backup at center in 2018 and played 46 snaps in nine games.

RB/WR Michael Alfieri

Plays special teams and just happened to get four carries for 22 yards against Stanford.