9/25/2020 football Edit

Quick Hits from Jonathan Smith & Scott Barnes

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

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With the Pac-12 announcing the return of the 2020 football season, Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes and head coach Jonathan Smith hosted a zoom-conference with the local media to give us the latest on what's next for the Beavs.

MORE: THE EDGE Podcast: FIRED UP ABOUT THE PAC 12 | Recruits react to Pac-12 news

Quick Hits

- With one of the biggest concerns ramping up to the season being the physical-fitness and game-readiness of the players, head coach Jonathan Smith says that he expects the team to be in a really good place physically thanks to the six-week ramp up time. He feels really great about where the team is at in terms of strength.

- Smith also said its a big plus that the team has been together for roughly the last month doing individual workouts. He said that outside of the couple of weeks where the air-quality didn't permit workouts, the team has been able to stay fresh.

- Oregon State's Quidel COVID-19 rapid-testing machine has arrived and will be ready for use upon the training staff's training next week per Barnes.

- Barnes said that with the seven-game schedule, Oregon State and the Pac-12 schools will be able to receive nearly all of the tv revenue that was expected from ESPN and Fox. He added that he hasn't yet determined how it'll all shake out with the losses of revenue from fans and home games, but that this will be a huge help.

- Oregon State's football schedule is expected to be released early next week per Barnes. While the notion of the 9 a.m. kickoffs has been tossed out there, the Beavers haven't thrown their ring into the hat so to speak, and wouldn't openly volunteer. However, he added that the schedule is still being finalized, so nothing is certain as far as kickoff times.

- Smith confirmed that Tristan Gebbia is the leader in the quarterback room right now. Had four-star JUCO QB Chance Nolan had the opportunity to develop rapport in spring practices, he might have been able to push Gebbia, but with the shortened and compressed season, Gebbia has the clear edge with his experience in the system.

- Smith confirmed that redshirt-senior outside linebacker Hamilcar Rashed is planning on playing this season.

- Junior cornerback Nahshon Wright might be limited to start the season as Smith said his expected recovery timeline from an offseason surgery was October. It's unclear what this surgery was, but Smith said he's likely the only player he can think of that will be on a limitation to start practices.

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- Smith is optimistic that RB Trey Lowe (UW transfer) and WR Tre'Shaun Harrison (FSU transfer) will be eligible to start the season, but the NCAA is still requesting more information from OSU. Harrison tweeted out not too long ago that he was eligible, but that was when the season was expected to start in Jan. With the expedited timeline, the Beavers are hoping the NCAA gives the go-ahead soon.

- The next six weeks will be divided into two parts. The next two weeks will be a ramp-up and acclimation period while the final four will be closer to a fall camp format. Smith noted that there's been a lot of discussions about the importance of the ramp-up in the wake of the massive injuries that plagued the NFL in week two. Smith said the Beavers want to be very cautious when it comes to working back into a normal practice schedule.

- In terms of the practice formats, Smith said the team will likely spend the early parts of the training camp session in the red zone, as opposed to using the entire field. He feels that the reduction in total yards ran will help curb some of the potential hiccups in the acclimation period.

- With the blanket waiver in place for the upcoming season, both Barnes and Smith were asked about the potential future hiccups that could come about as far as the scholarship limit. There hasn't been a ton of clarity from the NCAA on how they'll handle those situations in the coming months, but both Smith and Barnes are optimistic they'll be able to make it work.

- Approximately 95 percent of Oregon State's football players are on campus currently. Both Smith and athletic director Scott Barnes said the remaining will be returning soon.

- Smith didn't have much of an update on defensive tackle Jordan Whittley. The redshirt-senior announced in August that he was diagnosed with a heart tumor. Smith said Whittley has been doing well, but that he hasn't been participating in team workouts and that he was unsure of his playing status going forward.

- On the basketball side, a schedule is expected to be released very soon for both Oregon State teams. Barnes was adamant that several nonconference games are likely to happen, but that he wanted his teams "to travel as little as possible" in the upcoming season. It's still to be determined exactly how many games will be played, but that information will be released soon.