New high school scholarship players:
| Offense |
Defense |
- RB Ryan Katz - graduated early from high school, five to play four
- TE Colby Prince - grayshirt who could be a future star
- OT Rory Ross - grayshirt who will benefit greatly from a college weight
program
|
- DT Jesse Fifita - grayshirt who hasn't played organized football since
suffering a season ending injury his senior year in 2006
- DE Taylor Henry - grayshirt who grabbed 37 sacks during his upperclassman
years.
- S Josh LaGrone - grayshirt who was the High Desert League Player fo
the Year in 2006
- DT Castro Masaniai - grayshirt who is the cousin of defensive tackle
Tonu Tuimalealiifano
- LB Anthony Watkins - grayshirt who is an all-around good athlete earning
all league honors as a quarterback and safety
|
Walk ons:
..Transfers:..
| ..Offense.. |
..Defense.. |
- PK Tyler Cope - must sit out a year after transferring from the University
of Colorado
- RB Jeremy Francis - all-around running back who will compete for starting
spot
- OT Viliamu Nau - JUCO transfer who will round out the two deeps
|
- DT Stephen Paea - junior college transfer with natural strength, will
compete for starting tackle spot
- P Sean Sehnem - transfer from Division II Western New Mexico State
who will compete for starting punting duties
|
Position changes:
| Offense |
Defense |
- Ryan Pohl from offensive tackle to center
- Alex Linnenkohl from center to offensive guard
|
|
Graduated (starts):
Offense:
RB – Ryan McCants vs. Jeremy Francis
McCants has been in the system for a year while Francis has experience in the
junior college ranks.
RT – Mike Remmers vs. Viliamu Nau
Remmers is a redshirt freshman who walked on a year ago. Nau is a junior college
transfer. It sure would be nice to have Tavita Thompson around!
OG – Gregg Peat vs. Alex Linnenkohl
Peat has more experience than Linnenkohl although Linnenkohl was prepping
nicely for the center position until being switched to guard.
WR - Chris Johnson vs. Casey Kjos vs. Kyle Brown
There's a finite amount of playing time for receivers, who will compliment Sammie
Stroghter, James Rodgers, Darrell Catchings and Shane Morales?
Defense:
LC– Keenan Lewis vs. Tim Clark
Lewis is always hampered by cramps, but is solid when healthy while Clark was one of the
biggest surprises of 2007.
WLB – Keith Pankey vs. Dwight Roberson
Pankey is a special teams standout while Roberson has been slowed down
by injuries.
DT – Stephen Paea vs. Sioeli Nau vs. Mitchel Hunt
Paea and Nau are junior college transfers with Nau having already spent a year
in the OSU system. Hunt is young, but has been in Corvallis for quite some time.
FS – Bryan Payton vs. Greg Laybourn
Both are experienced players who are game proven.
The 2007 Wrap: Oregon State finished the
season as one of the hottest teams in the
country for the second consecutive season,
winning seven of its final eight games to end
the year 9-4. The program won its fourth
straight bowl game, all with Mike Riley as
head coach. The 6-3 Pac-10 record was
good enough for third place, one game behind
USC and Arizona State.
2008 Schedule: Oregon State will have one
of its most difficult schedules in the nation in
2008 facing eight teams that played in 2007
(‘08) bowl games. The season opens with a
Pac-10 Conference game Aug. 28 at Stanford.
The remainder of the schedule is Sept.
6 at Penn State; Sept. 13 vs. Hawa’i; Sept.
25 (Thurs) vs. USC; Oct. 2 (Thurs.) at Utah;
Oct. 11 vs. Washington State; Oct. 18 at
Washington; Nov. 1 vs. Arizona State; Nov.
8 at UCLA; Nov. 15 vs. California; Nov. 22 at
Arizona; and Nov. 29 vs. Oregon.
Final Ranking: Oregon State concluded
the year in Associated Press Top-25 for
the second consecutive season, ending the
campaign No. 25 (No. 21 in ‘06). The team
finished one position out of the USA Today/Coaches Poll. It’s the first time Oregon State
has finished in the Top-25 in back-to-back
seasons since 1967-68.
Bowl Win Streak: Oregon State will enter
the 2008 season tied for third (Texas) for the
longest active bowl win streak at four. Boston College has won eight straight and Utah has
won seven in a row. The Beavers and Utes
will play in 2008 in Salt Lake City.
Overall Win Streak: The Beavers will enter
the 2008 season with the fourth-longest win
streak in the nation at four games. BYU leads
the FBS with a 10-game streak, followed by
Georgia (7) and USC (5.
Back-to-Back Pac-10 Marks: For the first
time since 1966-69, Oregon State finished
the season with back-to-back winning marks
in Pac-10 play. The Beavers placed third in
2006 and 2007 at 6-3. Head coach Mike Riley
has guided the program to three winning
marks in conference action.
“Fight On:” Only USC has a better overall
and conference record than Oregon State
over the last two seasons. Here is a closer
look: USC 22-4 (14-4 in Pac-10), Oregon
State 19-8 (12-6), Arizona State 17-9 (11-
7), California 17-9 (10-8), Oregon 16-10
(9-9), UCLA 13-13 (10-8), Arizona 11-13
(8-10), Washington State 11-13 (7-11),
Washington 9-16 (5-13) and Stanford 5-19
(4-14).
Riley’s Bowl Games: Undefeated. Mike Riley
has never lost a bowl game that he has
been a coach in (7-0). The record includes
victories in the 2007 Emerald Bowl over Maryland
(21-14), 2006 Sun Bowl over Missouri
(39-38), 2004 Insight Bowl over Notre Dame
(38-21) and 2003 Las Vegas Bowl over New Mexico (55-14). Riley was also victorious as
the offensive coordinator at USC in the Rose
(vs. Northwestern), Freedom (vs. Utah) and
Cotton (vs. Texas Tech).
Riley Matches Record: Head coach Mike
Riley and former head coaches the late Tommy
Prothro (1955-64) and the late Dee Andros
(1965-75) are the only mentors in Oregon
State history to post victories over top
25 teams in three consecutive years (nobody
has done it four straight). Riley has wins in
2005 over No. 18 Cal, 2006 over No. 3 USC
and No. 24 Hawai’i, and 2007 over No. 2 Cal
and No. 18 Oregon. Prothro won games in
1962 over No. 12 Stanford and No. 19 West Virginia, in 1963 over No. 14 Baylor and in
1964 over No. 17 Oregon. Andros beat No.
18 Arizona State in 1969, No. 14 Oklahoma
in 1970 and No. 11 Arizona State in 1971.Riley has won five of his last nine games vs.
top 25 foes.
Stretch Drive: Oregon State put together
another 2006-like stretch drive. The Beavers
are a Pac-10 best 15-3 combined in the
months of October, November and December
over the last two seasons.
We’re Number One ... Against the Run:
Oregon State ended the year with the nation’s
top rush defense, allowing 70.6 yards
per game — one of only nine teams to end
the year allowing less than 100 yards on the
ground on average. Overall, OSU was eighth
for total defense, surrendering 306.2 yards
per outing. Here is a closer look at the opponents’
rushing statistics vs. OSU as comparedto the season average:
Sack Guys: The Beavers had two players
(neither were starters) who ranked in the
top-10 in the Pac-10 Conference for quarterback
sacks — defensive ends Victor Butler
(3rd/10.5) and Slade Norris (6th/9.0). Butler
tied for first in the Pac-10 for accumulated
yardage lost with 101 — tied for fourth nationally.
Overall, OSU ranked third for sacks
with 44 accumulating a national leading 367
yards lost.
1,065 Yards — TFLs: Oregon State averaged
8.6 tackles for loss per game, sixth in
the nation. The Beavers accumulated yardage
via TFLs was a national leading 537. OSU’s
defense accounted for the nation’s top mark
in 2006 with 528 yards lost -- the two years
combined add to 1,065 yards.