Q and A with Beavers' signee Michael Erhart
BeaversEdge.com senior writer Brenden Slaughter chatted with Oregon State inside linebacker signee Michael Erhart to talk about how excited he is to be a part of Jonathan Smith's team, his relationship with linebackers coach Trent Bray, what he likes to do in his free time and more.
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Q (Brenden Slaughter): How excited are you to be signed and be apart of Jonathan Smith’s squad? What made you want to become a Beaver?
A: (Michael Erhart): "I'm very excited because this is something I've been looking forward to for a long time. It was a celebration and I'm excited to be a part of the building process and be around great coaches like (linebackers coach) Trent Bray and (head coach Jonathan) Smith... I love Corvallis and it's the best college town in the Pac-12 and maybe the best college town in America and that's another reason why I wanted to come here."
Q: You played on both sides of the ball and were versatile this season, with the Beavers wanting to move you to inside linebacker full time, how will that fit your skill set?
A: "Playing inside-linebacker will fit my skill set perfectly. Being able to make plays across the field on both sides will be awesome. Wherever they need me, I'll play, and I'm really excited to get to Corvallis in June."
Q: Coach Smith talked on signing day about your relationship with coach Bray being a big factor in your recruitment... Can you speak to that?
A: "We talked every week. Right away he laid out why he recruited me, what he saw in me, and how I'd fit their schemes. Him having that plan for me is what really made me trust him and want to play for him. He knows what he's doing and I've seen the way he coaches his linebackers and I've talked to Avery Roberts and he's told me a lot of great things about him. Coach Bray told me a lot about his personal life and his relationship with his father and how his father coached. He's coached at different programs like Nebraska and ASU and being able to get to know him on a personal level really made me want to play for him."
Q: What’s one thing about you that maybe Beaver fans don’t know, but should?
A: "I like to fish in my free time. I'm really excited about fishing in Oregon because it's something I've done quite a bit (in southern California). I do a lot of bass fishing in the lakes and ponds around Westlake Village and sometimes go deep-sea fishing with my dad."
Q: Oregon State’s defense struggled mightily this last season, how do you believe you and this recruiting class can help turn the corner in the coming years?
A: "I definitely think being around high-class kids like Roberts, and others in this recruiting class is going to help moving forward because this class can step in and learn from those guys and from some great coaches. We'll definitely be able to get the defense stepped up and hopefully make a big impact... (The 2018 struggles) had a little bit of some say in my selection process because I knew that they needed some help on defense, particularly in the linebacking corps."