Oregon State Football; Defensive Coordinator; Trent Bray

LOS ANGELES – Oregon State football head coach Jonathan Smith announced Tuesday that he has officially promoted Trent Bray to defensive coordinator, removing the interim tag from his title.

“Coach Bray has proven himself to be the coach I want to lead our defense moving forward,” Smith said. “He has the confidence, leadership qualities and passion to make Oregon State better on the field and off.

Bray was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator Nov. 7. The Beavers’ defense held Stanford and Arizona State to a combined 496 yards in his first two games. The 230 given up by OSU versus Stanford marks the lowest offensive total by a Pac-12 opponent in Smith’s tenure as head coach.

“I am humbled and honored to be named Defensive Coordinator at Oregon State,” Bray said. “I love this place, and I love the student-athletes that I am privileged to work with every day. I am excited to work with our great coaching staff to help us get better every day. I want to thank Scott Barnes and Coach Smith for believing in me for this opportunity.”

Bray is in his seventh year overall on the sideline at Oregon State, and fourth season as an assistant coach under Smith. OSU’s linebackers have made their mark in the Pac-12 since; Hamilcar Rashed Jr. was named an All-American in 2019 while Avery Roberts, who has 128 tackles this season, is aiming to lead the Pac-12 in back-to-back seasons. He led the conference with 69 during the shortened 2020 season.

The trip to Los Angeles marks his ninth bowl appearance. He made three as a player – and was the 2004 Insight Bowl MVP - with the Beavers, and the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl is his third on the OSU staff, following the 2012 Alamo Bowl and 2013 Hawai’i Bowl.

Bray made 34 career starts at OSU, all consecutively, from 2002-05, and remains as the program’s No. 6 all-time tackler with 337 in his career.

Oregon State takes on Utah State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel Saturday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. PT and will air on ABC.