Slaughter: Beavers hit home run hire with Smith

That is the best record in the history of Oregon State football. It was 17 years ago in the year 2000 when the Beavers were led by a national championship winning coach in Dennis Erickson and a former walk-on quarterback Jonathan Smith.

The latter is returning home to his alma mater in a time when the Beavers desperately need a man with a plan and a vision for success at a university that is craving it.

One of the earliest memories of Oregon State football that I have in my mind is the 2000 season where the Beavers made history going 11-1 and thrashing Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Smith was sensational for the Beavers in his junior campaign throwing for 2773 yards and 20 touchdowns while leading a dynamic offense that was one of the nation's best.

As far as fond memories go, Beaver fans have been holding onto the euphoria of that Fiesta Bowl win for the past 17 years.

Sure, there have been good times for the Beavers in the post-Smith era such as the 2006 season when the Beavers went 10-4 and again in 2008, and 2009 when the Beavers were one victory away from a Rose Bowl berth, but 2000 was the last time the Beavers went to a New Year's six bowl game and due to recent success in Eugene, it’s been harder to hold onto something that was 17 seasons ago.

OFFICIAL! Smith to Oregon State: Press Release | 5 thoughts about Smith | UW writer Q&A about Smith | Column on the hire | Twitter reaction

No longer do the Beavers have to hold on to those fond memories of the past as they now have the head coach in place to bring them back to prominence.

So what has Smith been doing since he graduated OSU in 2001?

Well, he’s been out becoming one of the most experienced young coaches on the market. Since his departure from Corvallis, he spent time at Idaho (2004-09), Montana (2010-11), Boise State (2012-13), and Washington (2013-2017).

Perhaps the most important of those stops were Boise State and Washington, where he was with Chris Petersen.

During his time at Boise State and Washington, Smith is credited with being known as a quarterback guru as he mentored Joe Southwick and Grant Hedrick at Boise State as quarterbacks coach before moving into OC/QB role at UW where he helped develop Jake Browning into the quarterback he is today.

In addition to being known as a quarterback whisperer, Smith also engineered one of the most impressive single seasons of offense in recent memory for Washington in 2016. The Huskies went 12-2 and made the College Football Playoff before eventually falling to Alabama.

In that magical season for the Huskies, Browning threw for over 3400 yards, Myles Gaskin ran for over 1300, and John Ross racked up 1150 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns. UW was one of the most balanced teams in the country and their offensive explosiveness was on display all season long.

Now let’s take a quick step back. Am I saying that Smith is going to be able to replicate what UW is doing in Corvallis? No. Will he get the same recruits here? No. Will he take the Beavers to the CFP? No.

What I am saying is that given the negativity and gloom around OSU’s football program, it made sense to hire someone with deep ties to the university that cares about bringing back his alma mater.

No disrespect to Gary Andersen, who always used the word “care factor,” but he didn’t understand what care factor means when referring to Oregon State. The Beavers are never going to be a big-time football school consistently due to location, resources, and several other factors. That’s why you need someone who deeply cares about the university because it’s his school.

Look at Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State. He was a former Cowboys' quarterback and just got offered nearly double his salary to move to Tennessee. However, because Oklahoma State was his alma mater, he declined and decided to stay with the Cowboys.

Very few college football programs in the country have the ability to hire a former player who would also make a good coach and OSU did the right thing by hiring Smith who was known as a hometown hero during his time as a Beaver.

Athletic Director Scott Barnes kept his cards very close to the vest during the whole coaching search as nobody really knew who the Beavers were after and I believe that Barnes wanted it that way. From day one, Barnes assured Beaver Nation that he would go out and find the best leader for the program and even though the process perhaps went a bit longer than people would have liked given OSU’s six week head start, Barnes got his guy and the Beavers will be bringing one of their own home.

Time will tell on whether or not Jonathan Smith will be able to build a winner at Oregon State, but one thing is for sure, he will rally and inspire a fan base that has been longing for the days of the past when we was wearing No. 9 for the Beavers and leading them to a 11-1 season.

Buckle up Beaver Nation, OSU’s bringing home it’s winningest quarterback ever and he’s now in the driver's seat of his alma mater.