| Pac-10 Preview | Beavers able to dig up unheralded playmakers
CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Oregon State sideline was bouncy with anticipation in the late stages of the Sun Bowl against Missouri. OSU had just scored with 22 seconds left to pull a point behind, and running back Yvenson Bernard a break.
confronted coach Mike Riley excitedly.
"Coach, let's end it right now, let's go for it," said Yvenson Bernard a break. , who wanted a two-point conversion try.
"OK," said Riley, "and we're going to give you the ball."
With that, Yvenson Bernard a break. burrowed and churned on a blast play, barely creasing the goal line under a ton of linemen, and Oregon State had completed one of the most astonishing turnarounds in Pac-10 history, climaxed by a 39-38 bowl victory.
Storybook stuff, what Oregon State did, going from a 2-3 start and considerable derision from its own fans to a 10-victory season that included a riveting upset of third-ranked USC that ended the Trojans' 27-game conference win streak.
It was a season of Hollywood accomplishments, but as the Beavers try to Xerox it in 2007, this is worth remembering: Don't mistake magic for a fluke.
Quietly, beneath the radar of the more publicized programs nearby, the Beavers have assembled what might be the most depth in the history of the program. Because of a first-year starter at quarterback, Oregon State will likely struggle to produce the results of 2006, but it shouldn't be sabotaged by injury.
"We're getting a hair closer," said Riley, naming promising young talent at half a dozen position groups. "It looks better. We have more guys that can play in the games, and you feel good about it."
While OSU has caught up in the facilities race — this year, it unveils a new south-side grandstand replacing bleachers — it still faces tough recruiting battles against the league's powers. But the Beavers might be doing a better job than anybody of mining unheralded talent and developing it.
"I don't claim that we're any better than anybody else," Riley said. "But I think evaluation is really important. It's more important than recruiting. People talk about your recruiting class, but how well did you evaluate?
"It's very important not to be wrong very much."
Oregon State's best players didn't elicit a lot of wows on signing day. Sammie Stroughter, the dynamic receiver/punt returner who will sit out at least part of 2007 for personal reasons, was lightly recruited because he played in a running offense. Yvenson Bernard a break. , who has 2,648 career rushing yards, chose Oregon State after an eclectic mix of visits to Kansas State, Indiana and Georgia. Jeremy Perry, whom some are calling the best guard in the country, opted for Oregon State over Arizona and Hawaii.
Derrick Doggett, a 6-3, 215-pound linebacker, was a slender receiver-safety in high school who, Riley said, "had never played linebacker, and probably nobody thought he'd be big enough to play.
"And he's not big enough to play."
But big enough to twice become a second-team all-league linebacker.
Guys like that have helped Beavers fans warm to Riley, who was hearing considerable dissent last season when the Beavers lost to Washington State 13-6 to drop to 2-3, facing two road games and then USC at home.
"I heard [2006 quarterback] Matt Moore say, 'We had such a good camp; we were so close. We can't let that die,' " Riley said. "So it was perseverance. And the second part was just getting one win, getting over the hump and feeling good about yourselves."
That win came against Washington, and suddenly Oregon State couldn't be stopped, winning eight of its final nine for one of the conference's best turnarounds.
It was an offseason of both tragedy and inspiration around OSU. Athletic staffer and former Riley assistant Jim Gilstrap — Riley called him his premier talent evaluator — died in July of intestinal cancer.
Two months before, offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf donated a kidney to the wife of his line coach, Mike Cavanaugh, who had declining kidney function. Both donor and recipient are doing well.
Aside from Stroughter, most of OSU's fall headlines have surrounded a tossup between sophomores for the quarterback job. Sean Canfield, a 6-4 lefty, approximates the classic dropback style, while 5-11, 230-pound Lyle Moevao doesn't exactly look the part, but his running allowed him to win a share of the playing time.
"A lot of teams that win a lot of games have veteran quarterbacking," Riley conceded. "We're going to have to overcome that. It's just important the rest of the team rise up and do their part.
"I think we have a chance to be pretty good."
Read more at the http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
|
