Collins Shines in Spring Game

Saturday, April 18

Corvallis, OR

1:00 PM

Oregon State

Spring Game

Photo by: Karl Maasdam/Oregon State Athletics

April 18, 2015 | Football

By: Athletic Communications

Offense ruled the day on Saturday as the White team defeated the Orange team 38-7 in the inaugural Spring Game of the Gary Andersen coaching era.

Freshman quarterback Seth Collins directed the White club to four consecutive first-quarter touchdowns, delighting a crowd of 12,316 on a sun-splashed afternoon at Reser Stadium. Saturday's action concluded OSU's spring drills.

"I'd like to thank the fans, that was a tremendous environment for our kids," Andersen said. "It was as game-like as we can possibly make it at this time of the year. It was a positive day."

A native of El Cajon, Calif., who skipped the second half of his senior year at Granite Hills High School to enroll early, Collins completed 9 of 15 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. He combined with Victor Bolden and Richard Mullaney on scoring plays covering 70 and 20 yards, respectively.

Collins also showed his elusiveness as a runner and in one instance even hurdled a prospective tackler. Mixing designed plays and scrambles, he gained 74 yards on seven carries, with a long run of 27 yards, with the White team. He also played briefly for the Orange team and was 3-for-7 passing for 33 yards.

"Seth played the best he's played" all spring on a consistent basis, Andersen said. "That was great to see. He's very happy to be part of Oregon State football and part of Oregon State University.

"Thank goodness he came out early. Now we have to learn to control that youthful excitement. We can't be diving and hurdling people for two yards in the Pac-12 on a consistent basis, but I sure like his want-to to make thse plays,"

Junior running back Chris Brown, playing primarily in the first half, gained 89 yards on nine carries and scored on runs of seven and three yards for the White team to ably complement Collins. Brown had a long run of 31 yards, and added a 25-yard reception.

Junior Victor Bolden of the White team led all receivers with five catches for 99 yards. His 70-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 10:13 remaining in the first quarter broke a 7-7 tie and put the White team ahead for good.

Bolden's TD was one of a number of explosive offensive plays as the teams combined for 788 yards on 105 plays.

"We played base defense, and that being the case [there will be] opportunities for big plays on the offensive side," Andersen said. "That showed up, we made some big plays.

"It's one thing to have opportunities; it's another thing to take advantage of them and we did, many many times. It was a good day overall.

"It looks as if we got out of there healthy and that's a big part of spring football. It was great to have the students on the field with us for some activities. Overall, it was a very positive day."

Sophomore receiver Xavier Hawkins and redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Mitchell combined for a 70-yard catch-and-run for the Orange's lone TD. Bolden (70), Hawkins (70), Brown (25), redshirt freshman Ryan Nall (25), junior Rahmel Dockery (22), Mullaney (20) and redshirt freshman Datrin Guyton (20) all had receptions of 20 or more yards.

Redshirt freshman safety Adam Soesman had an interception to lead the Orange defense. Junior safety Cyril Noland-Lewis had an interception and 34-yard return for the White team.

The Beavers open the 2015 season at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, against Weber State at Reser Stadium. Their Pacific-12 Conference opener is Friday, Sept. 25, against Stanford, also at Reser Stadium.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING (No-Yds-TD)

Chris Brown 9-89-2; Seth Collins 12-84; Marcus Greaves 2-4; Storm Woods 4-24; Ryan Wallen 2-9-1; Victor Bolden 1-(-)1; Nick Mitchell 5-29; Jaylynn Bailey 6-64; Xavier Hawkins 2-76-1; Damien Haskins 13-70; Marcus McMaryion 2-17; Ryan Nall 3-13; Gave Ovgard 1-(-)1