After giving up big plays in earlier scrimmages, the defense plays well in spring game

By Cliff Kirkpatrick

Corvallis Gazette-Times

CORVALLIS - Rebuilding the offensive line and finding shutdown cornerbacks are the two biggest concerns for the Oregon State football team heading into the fall season.

The Beavers tried to address those issues during spring practice with mixed results.

They made progress at cornerback, but the offensive line still needs to find a tackle.

Timi Oshinowo was a candidate but hurt his right knee midway through Saturday's spring game before a crowd of 5,086. The idea of true freshman Michael Philipp playing in the fall draws closer to reality.

It was hard to gauge pass protection with hitting the quarterback outlawed. The officials called eight sacks, but there could have been more.

The running game never got on track during any of the spring scrimmages. Jovan Stevenson, Jordan Jenkins, Damola Adeniji and Clayton York combined to rush for 49 yards on 18 carries in the spring game.

Starting tailback Jacquizz Rodgers was held out of contact to keep him healthy, and backup Ryan McCants missed the last week with a knee injury.

"I don't know how to look at this totally," coach Mike Riley said. "I want to run better than we did today, and I don't care who the running backs are. We should run because these guys are good. The one good thing to get out of it is our defense is going to be stout against the run again, and that's one of the premises we start with."

Beyond no running game, the passing offense was inconsistent. Quarterback Sean Canfield threw three interceptions, which is more than he had all of spring practice.

"It was shaky," Canfield said. "I'll watch the film and see what happened, but all in all it was a good spring. I'm on the right track. I'm working hard off the field. But it's not the way I wanted to end the spring."

In the 21 drives there were five interceptions, two fumbles lost, five punts and four stops on downs.

Justin Kahut hit a 31-yard field goal and missed a 49-yarder to the left. Touchdown passes were from Canfield to tight end Brady Camp on a 2-yarder, and Peter Lalich to Jordan Bishop for 35 yards and Kevan Walker for 20.

"It doesn't take away from spring practice in total," Riley said of the lackluster offensive performance. "It's always a good reminder if you are late (throwing) the ball or you don't put it away when you are tackled. I'd rather have it now than in September."

The defense looks at the spring game as a turning point. The pass rush and run defense have been steady all spring, but the pass coverage was burned in the first two scrimmages.

Linebacker Dwight Roberson led the way with an interception and a forced fumble. Safety Lance Mitchell, cornerback James Dockery, defensive end Taylor Henry and safety Anthony Watkins had the other picks.

"We had a lot of fun out there," linebacker Keaton Kristick said. "We are definitely comfortable out there. We were ready to make some plays."

The cornerbacks came through Saturday, which was a relief. They didn't allow the big play, only mid-range passes. They also broke up several passes and kept primary receiver Darrell Catchings contained to three catches for 47 yards.

Tim Clark and Dockery established themselves as the starters to begin the fall, while Patrick Henderson and Brandon Hardin give the Beavers quality depth at the position.

"Everything is a learning experience," Dockery said. "We took a few lumps and went back to the film room. There are a lot of things we have to improve on. If we want to be a great defense we know we have to cover it up on top."

Cliff Kirkpatrick covers the Oregon State football team for the Corvallis Gazette-Times. He can be reached at cliff.kirkpatrick@lee.net.