Q&A with WR's Coach/Passing Game Coordinator Kefense Hynson

Oregon State wide receivers coach & passing game coordinator Kefense Hynson met with BeaversEdge.com and host of others via zoom to catch us up on the latest with him and the team as they continue to navigate the sports world amidst COVID-19.

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Q: What changes with your added title of passing game coordinator?

Kefense Hynson: "I don't know that much will change. I was always very involved with the passing game with (OC) Brian Lindgren. I had some input on gameday with playcalling and shared my opinion that way. If anything, this verified what I was doing. I'm very thankful and appreciative of Coach Smith to offer it to me because having a coordinator title in a power five conference is a blessing."

Q: Talk about the speed and experience the WR's will bring this season.

KH: "There's a lot of speed and experience.

Trevon is obviously a fifth-year senior who might be the only guy in school history to play in five Civil Wars. Tyjon (Lindsey) is going to have a big year for us as he was relatively young last season and figures to make improvements. Jesiah Irish is explosive and fast, and he's figuring out how to be a college football player consistently and we're really excited to let him loose on the field.

Anthony Gould might be the fastest guy we have on the team after redshirting last season and we're really excited about what he'll bring. Champ (Flemings) has also played a lot of ball for us too and he's as good of a receiver as there is and I'm excited to see his role increased."

Q: How was coaching/recruiting changed for you?

KH: "Not really, it's just different adjusting to everything online. We're still talking to a lot of guys and high school coaches trying to get info. There's nothing other than physically being present that we can't do. We're still able to do our homework and got our info, so if anything, it's made the x's and o's more efficient. I anticipate that there will be a silver lining from this whole thing in terms of things that coaches find they like to do now that it's all accessible online.

Take Isaiah Hodgins for example, he was notorious for calling me at midnight after the game we just finished playing. He's a really cerebral guy so we're able to text through it, but now with zoom, I can coach a guy from my bedroom at any point in time. The possibilities are endless with what the technology aspect has been added to our day-to-day routine."

Q: You put six guys on NFL rosters, how much pride do y'all as a staff take in that?

KH: "It's all about the players. These guys have dreamed about this opportunity forever and if we can help them get to that place, it's one of the real special reasons to coach.

It's a good reflection on our program when it comes to recruiting kids because we can tell them that they can get there from here. There's been a good history of guys going to the NFL from OSU, so being able to get that train rolling again has really punctuated what we've been trying to build since we got here.

I think of the first group of guys that we signed here and they just bought into the vision. There was nothing to show them, but they still bought in. Now, we're getting more guys to buy in and we have former players who have been successful and made the NFL which is a big plus to have in terms of showing recruits what OSU can do for them.

Winning more games is also a plus. If you talk to anyone in our program, we're disappointed because we know we should have been a bowl team. We still have a ways to go, but the progress is there and there's concrete evidence that we're going in the right direction.

But, we're not going to be better in 2020 just because we were better in 2019. Each year is different and it's up to the players and the coaches to continue to build because we still need help to get to the next step."

Q: Talk about Artavis Pierce landing with former teammate Ryan Nall in Chicago

KH: "It's huge. If you can go somewhere where you know somebody who has lived it and done it successfully, that's awesome. Any genre of life, that's extremely important. The trust is already there and there's some value in knowing the guys you're going to be working and competing with.

I love AP. For a guy to come all the way to Florida to Oregon and now to Chicago, he'll be fine. He's a good football player and I'm excited to see what he does. You could make the argument he'll be the guy we miss the most because he was always consistent and explosive. When you have a running back who can do that, it makes everyone around him better."

Q: How important is the lead up to the season going to be this year?

KH: "It'll be crucial like every year, but it could be an advantage to us as we've got a lot of returning guys with a ton of experience. We don't have a ton of brand new people we don't know about, we're not installing a new offense, defense, or special teams package and we have our entire coaching staff back.

Looking at the Pac-12 North, we might be one of the only teams to have all three of those phases back. Whether it be an offensive/defensive change or a coaching change, we don't have that because of our continuity. That first month is going to be crucial, but we have to understand guys have been on their own from a workout standpoint for a while, and keeping them healthy is paramount."