The Oregon State football team wrapped up their last scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday and now turn their attention towards Colorado State. OSU has two full weeks of practice left before they head to Fort Collins, but still have several position battles that haven’t been decided.
BeaversEdge.com breaks it down.
* Backup Running Back *
Starter - Junior Ryan Nall
The Candidates
Senior Thomas Tyner
Sophomore Artavis Pierce
Senior Trevorris Johnson
Overview
The Beavers have what you might call “a good problem to have” at the running back position. They have three players who have extensive D-1 experience and are all vying for this backup position behind Ryan Nall. Artavis Pierce was the backup last year and played extremely well. Thomas Tyner was a five star recruit out of high school and has extensive experience playing at the highest level as he played in the 2015 National Championship game and led the Ducks in yards and carries. And then we have Trevorris Johnson who is a graduate transfer from TCU. Johnson came on slow, but has really ramped up his play this past two weeks before suffering an ankle injury in the last scrimmage.
Prediction
All three of these running backs have the potential to be a starter on a D-1 football team, let alone be the backup to Nall. Pierce has the inside track to the backup role based on his experience and knowledge within the Beavers’ system, but I believe that the talent of Tyner will be too great to keep buried on the depth chart. Pierce and Johnson will still get a healthy amount of carries, but Tyner will be the de-facto No. 2 guy if he can stay healthy this season.
* No. 4 Wide Receiver *
Starters - Seth Collins, Jordan Villamin, Isaiah Hodgins
The Candidates
Junior Timmy Hernandez
Sophomore Trevon Bradford
Freshman Arex (Champ) Flemings
Junior Aaron Short
Senior Xavier Hawkins
Overview
With the potential injury to Seth Collins, this 4th receiver spot just got a whole lot more important. While Collins’ injury isn’t expected to be serious, there is a possibility that he could miss some time. We saw what that would look like on Saturday during the scrimmage as Trevon Bradford slid into Collins’ spot. Bradford played very well and looked good enough to claim that spot. Timmy Hernandez has been limited with some sort of nagging issue for the better part of a week, and Aaron Short hasn’t risen up the depth chart very quickly. Xavier Hawkins is more of a specialist in my mind, and probably won’t be able to climb to No. 4 on the depth chart. Champ Flemings is a bit of a wild card here in my opinion as he has played well enough in fall to raise some eyebrows, but I don’t think it will be enough to bring him near the top of the depth chart.
Prediction
Based on the way that I saw Bradford play on Saturday, and the lack of time on the field for Hernandez, I think this is Bradford’s spot all the way. He played very well towards the end of last season, and appears to be prime to be one of OSU’s speedster wide receivers that can handle a lot of the fly sweep duties. He looks bigger, faster, and stronger than last season when he was a true-freshman, and I anticipate him having some big moments when his number is called.
* Offensive Line Spot *
The Candidates
Senior Fred Lauina
Junior Kammy Delp
Overview
It’s hard to say where this “spot” is going to be with Fred Lauina moving to RT for some practices last week, but it’s still safe to assume that regardless of the spot, Kammy Delp is right on the heels of Lauina. While Lauina is the veteran senior presence, Delp has patiently been waiting for his moment as he has played sparingly during his time in Corvallis. While Lauina is the safe option, Delp is a very intriguing player and I could see him stepping in if the lines struggles with consistency early in the season.
Prediction
As of writing this piece, I believe that Lauina has done enough to hold off Delp and keep his spot for his senior season. However, OSU’s offensive line this season is largely made up of new faces, and it’s possible that if one of them struggles, or faces an injury that Delp will play alongside Lauina. Lauina will start over Delp for the Colorado State game, but I anticipate Delp being the first guy off the bench for most any position on the offensive line in case of an injury because of his versatility.
* Nose Tackle *
The Candidates
Junior Kalani Vakameilalo
Sophomore Elu Aydon
Overview
Both Elu Aydon and Kalani Vakameilalo are exactly what you want as a nose tackle in the 3-4 defensive scheme. Both guys are extremely good with their hands, are strong, and have the ability to take on multiple offensive lineman. However, in a 3-4 scheme, the nose tackle is perhaps the most important player for rush defense. You need the nose tackle to take on multiple blockers and do it well in order to free up your linebackers and edge rushers so they can get to the QB.
Prediction
I’ve gone back and forth on this one, but I have to give the nod to Vakameilalo. Aydon started last season at nose tackle and appeared to be the future of the position for the Beavers as Andersen and Co. hyped him up to be the next big thing for the Beavers on the D-line. Long story short, he didn’t meet those lofty expectations. This season, he wasn’t ready to start fall camp with being slightly overweight, and Vakameilalo stepped up in his absence. I still think that Aydon has the higher ceiling as a player and a nose tackle, but right now Vakameilalo is just out there proving he deserves to start.
* Inside Linebacker *
The Candidates
Senior Wesley Payne
Sophomore Andrzej Hughes-Murray
Freshman Kesi Ah-Hoy
Overview
The Beavers return nearly all of their linebackers this season, but they do have to replace veteran presence Caleb Saulo who led the team in tackles last season. With Saulo’s departure, the Beavers now face the challenge of trying to replace him. Andrzej Hughes-Murray, Wesley Payne, and Kesi Ah-Hoy are battling for the spot next to Manase Hungalu. Hughes-Murray played out of necessity last season, Ah-Hoy is a true freshman, and Payne has been impressive during fall camp.. This spot is quite important for the Beavers given the production they need out of their linebackers in a 3-4 system, and both of these guys will be given a lot of responsibility as young playmakers.
Prediction
These guys are very talented players with very bright futures, but I believe that Hughes-Murray’s experience in the system will be just enough to keep Ah-Hoy and Payne at bay. Ah-Hoy is a very smart and talented young player who we will be hearing about for the next several years, and Payne will certainly receive playing time as well, but for the start of the 2017, I believe that Hughes-Murray will be the guy looking to fill the shoes of Saulo.
* Outside Linebacker *
The Candidates
Sophomore Shemar Smith
Junior Jonathan Willis
Freshman Hamilcar Rashed
Overview
Shemar Smith, Jonathan Willis, and Hamilcar Rashed are fighting like crazy to lock down one of the ever important outside linebacker spots in Kevin Clune’s system. The issue here for OSU is that they have three guys who, in my opinion, could start. Since his arrival last season, I’ve been very high on Rashed as he was on redshirt alert for most of last season and nearly played as injuries decimated the Beavers’ linebacking corps. In the case of Willis, he’s been through it all. When Gary Andersen arrived, Willis was only a redshirt freshman, and the Beavers were so young in the corps that he was called “Old Man Willis." Since then, he’s been a model consistency for the Beavers. Smith has really come along during fall camp and has been mentioned a decent amount in our practice reports.
Prediction
Given how Willis has grown in this system under Andersen and Clune, I believe he is the right choice for the spot. Make no mistake, Rashed and Smith are very talented players and have bright futures at OSU, but I think it will be another year of training and seasoning to be a starter for those guys. However, we’ve all seen how the injury bug has a tendency to bite OSU and in that regard, Rashed and Smith will have to be ready to go. They will see the field in the linebacker rotation, for sure.
* Cornerback *
The Candidates
Freshman Isaiah Dunn
Sophomore Jay Irvine
Overview
This is perhaps the most important position group battle that the Beavers have to address before CSU. Playing cornerback in the Pac-12 is one of the hardest things to do because of the talented number of QB’s in the conference. OSU has an All-American in Xavier Crawford on one side, but need one of these young guys to step up to help OSU lock down the secondary in 2017. Irvine had a very impressive freshman season before being injured, and Dunn is one of the most intriguing young prospects that the Beavers have had in the secondary in some time.
Prediction
Despite Isaiah Dunn going bonkers over the past several weeks in camp and wowing his coaches with fundamentals, I think that Jay Irvine has the nod here because of experience, and D-1 experience. I’ve been saying that a lot for a good amount of the position battles here, but playing even 2-3 games in D-1 compared to high school makes all the difference. Dunn has Xavier Crawford level ability and he will maybe be on the best corners to ever come through OSU, but most freshmen go through growing pains, and I think Dunn can learn a lot while perfecting his craft in select moments while Irvine starts the season at CB. If Irvine struggles, the Beavers will certainly not hesitate to get Dunn involved.
* Safety *
The Candidates
Senior Landry Payne
Sophomore Jalen Moore
Freshman David Morris
Juniort Austin Hudson
Overview
Like many other position battles for OSU, it’s tough for them to go wrong with whoever they pick at this spot. All four of these guys have huge upsides and I think there are many pros to each of them. Andersen said after the scrimmage that these guys could play and rotate throughout the season if one of them does not emerge as the clear cut starter. While I do think that could be a possibility, I think it’s more likely that OSU gives the job to one guy and if he struggles, he will be replaced and so on.
Prediction
As I mentioned above, I don’t think any one of these guys are a bad choice at all. Austin Hudson is a guy with multiple years experience who has been with Andersen before at Wisconsin. Jalen Moore is a guy who played a freshman last season, and played well before an injury ended his season. Landry Payne is definitely a dark horse, but we've heard that he's had a solid fall camp. Then we arrive at David Morris, who was a big time player at Sherwood High School just up the road from OSU. Morris was perhaps the best player to ever come out of Sherwood, and I’ve seen that translate to the D-1 level in fall camp, as he has looked wise beyond his years in playmaking, leadership, and poise. I think Morris wins the spot here, because he is a guy who is a tireless worker and is the type of guy that you want to build your defense around for the future.
