OREGON STATE OFFENSE

More than anything else the offense will be different with Gary Andersen at the helm. It is going to shift to a spread attack with multiple tempos and a mobile quarterback. It should reengage the run game as there is a strong 1-2 pairing with Storm Woods and Chris Brown.

The offensive line looked to be one of the strong suits throughout the spring as they coordinated well in pass blocking and were opening holes in the run game.

Meanwhile the passing attack will be a little more messy with mobile freshman Seth Collins as the new quarterback. The pass-catchers were not very consistent throughout the spring as they struggled to get separation and QB Collins is not very accurate yet.

The potential is there to be good, but it will likely even out at average.

 

OREGON STATE DEFENSE

The defense, while a bit more green this year, will likely be improved. Defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake will switch to the 3-4 this year, which they have attributed to a rangy group of linebackers.

They are all first time starters as the previous group all graduated last year, but they have the potential to be pretty darn good. The 3-4 has allowed them to run and make plays so far this spring while the front 3 hold off the blockers and keep gap contain. It should shore up the run defense and help more against mobile qbs, which was an issue with previous defensive coordinator Mark Banker’s pressure 4-3 scheme.

The secondary lost the most amount of talent with two players getting drafted (CB Steven Nelson to KC in the 3rd round & FS Ryan Murphy to SEA in the 7th round) and three-year starting safety Ty Zimmerman signing as a free agent with the Chiefs.

Justin Strong and Cyril Noland-Lewis have done well in their respective safety roles so far though and incumbent Larry Scott was a standout member during spring. The other position is open but competition has been fierce and there is still a JC transfer coming in. This group, just by virtue of a scheme change, should be improved. They lost a lot of talent but a fresh approach and young blood should buoy this unit.

 

BUYING OR SELLING?

As far as buying or selling, I’m currently treading water. This is a team in transition. Mike Riley was so entrenched at the school that it has been a dramatic shift to Gary Andersen, whom the players seem to have bought into.

It is a work in progress though as the roster was built for Riley’s system and while the players are versatile enough to adjust it might take a couple recruiting classes to get the team that Andersen truly desires.

In the meantime it looks like this team will play hard every game and should be a tough out for any team in the Pac-12. In the end that comes out to about .500 football although the door should be open for future growth as the Andersen era begins.

I predict a 7-6 season with a win in a bowl game.

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Chris Knotts of Building The Dam provided the information for our Oregon State Football 2015 Spring recap. For more Beaver football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Chris on Twitter @YoWhadUp0.

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