The 3-2-1: Smith says it's a big week for the Beavers

With Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith offering several newsworthy bits of information in his day 10 post-practice interview session, BeaversEdge.com takes a look at three things we learned, addresses two questions, and gives one prediction for the upcoming scrimmage on August 17th.

3 Things We Learned

1. Oregon State's offense is humming: Regardless of who the Beavers go with at quarterback to start the 2019 campaign, they'll have a bevy of weapons to surround him with. In recapping Saturday's closed scrimmage, Smith noted that the first-team offense was very crisp, scoring touchdowns on two of its first three offensive possessions. While there's still some question marks up front, the Beavers have shown improvement since the start of camp, and I expect Jim Michalczik to have the group ready to go by the start of the season.

2. The depth chart is nearing completion: While Smith didn't put a timetable on establishing specific spots, he noted that this upcoming week was big for the team as they're getting closer to establishing a depth chart. He noted that a lot of position races are close, but that he's been telling the team that regardless of whether or not you start, you're going to be counted on. With the Beavers having much more talent and depth in all areas this season, it's not a surprise that the team is still weighing its options in terms of a two-deep as there's a lot of new faces and names added to the mix. Look for the rotations to begin to tighten up this week.

3. The defense had an impressive scrimmage: While the Saturday scrimmage was closed to the media, we were able to a get a general recap of how the day went as Smith talked about some of the finer details. Perhaps the most impressive thing that stood out to me was that Smith noted at one time the defense had five three and outs in a row. Given that we've seen the defense start to ramp up its play in recent practices (Day 8 Nuggets; Day 10 Nuggets), it's a welcome sign to see that the Beavers are translating that solid practice play to consistent, game-like situations. Defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar has liked the improvement of the defense in fall camp but was wanting more consistency moving forward. Given that the Beavers struggled to get anyone off the field last season, sporting five straight three and outs is a big step in the right direction.