Jonathan Smith Makes Home Debut

By Kip Carlson

            As Jonathan Smith makes his Reser Stadium debut as Oregon State's head football coach Saturday, he's a familiar figure to Beaver fans, a key part of OSU's gridiron history.
That wasn't the case on October 24, 1998, when Smith buckled his chinstrap and headed onto the Husky Stadium field.

            There were 13 minutes, 30 seconds left in the second quarter. Smith, a redshirt freshman, was coming off the bench to guide an Oregon State offense that trailed Washington 14-7. The 5-foot-10, 186-pound walk-on was about to face a Husky defense that had recorded 13 sacks in each of its previous two games.

            The most recent had been a 21-13 win over California, and when that one was over Bear quarterback Justin Vedder told reporters, "That team was out there to kill me, to get me out of the game. There was no doubt about it. They said that to me a couple of times, while I was on the ground."

            That was the nasty attitude across the line of scrimmage from Smith in one of the most raucous environments in college football.
How did Smith end up in this situation?

            A standout football and baseball player at Glendora High in Southern California, Smith caught Oregon State's attention only because they noticed him while recruiting one of his teammates, offensive lineman Dustin Janz.

            Smith was invited to walk on at Oregon State and redshirted the 1997 season. As the 1998 season began, he was in the mix to back up the new starter, Terrance Bryant, a highly regarded junior college transfer.

            Bryant led the Beavers to a 4-3 start heading into a home game against Arizona. Just before halftime against the Wildcats, though, he took a helmet in the back and that caused muscle spasms; head coach Mike Riley turned to Smith as Bryant's replacement.

            To that point in the season, Smith had completed as many passes as Beaver punter Mike Fessler – one – and Fessler's had gone for more yardage. Smith hadn't thrown a pass in a game since the season-opening 48-6 win over Nevada, when he was 1-for-2 for 7 yards.

            Arizona would beat the Beavers 28-7, but Smith won plaudits by completing 6 of 14 passes for 73 yards and that touchdown.

            "He didn't surprise me one bit," Riley said afterward. "He always goes in and can execute. If we had made some plays while he was in there, he really would have had a nice day. Considering the circumstances of how he went in there, I thought he did a nice job. He's a cool customer and a good quarterback."

            Next up was the trip to Washington. The Huskies were 4-2 and its defense had become a unit capable of dominating a game. Leading up to that Saturday, Smith's performance against Arizona – and the walkon's Cinderella story - earned him a bit of the media spotlight.

            "This is only my second year here, and to actually get into a game?" Smith told reporters. "The first time I got here, I didn't even know if I was going to stay on the team for a year. Now I might get some playing time at Washington? That's just overwhelming. More than I can hope for."

            Running back Ken Simonton, another freshman, said Smith had been anything but overwhelmed when he got the call against Arizona.

            "I'm proud as hell of Jonathan," Simonton said. "He's always had that poise about him, he's real calm. He stepped into the huddle and we didn't miss a beat. He didn't have that nervous look. He went in there with confidence, cracked some jokes, and played a hell of a game."

            After being hurt against Arizona, Bryant was able to start against the Huskies but the effects of his injury lingered. He completed just 1 of 7 passes for 19 yards – but had run for 41 yards – before Riley sent Smith into the game.
Now, in front of Washington's loud Homecoming crowd of 71,552, that cool Riley referred to would be tested.

            Smith and Oregon State's offense couldn't score before halftime while the Huskies punched in a late touchdown for a 21-7 lead. Bryant re-entered the game for a scoreless first two possessions of the third quarter, but after Washington scored again to make it 28-7, Riley went back to Smith.

            "Cool" didn't even begin to describe what followed.

            Smith guided the Beavers on a 98-yard drive culminating in Simonton's 1-yard run to pull OSU within 28-14. Next came an 80-yard pass from Smith to Greg Ainsworth for another score and it was 28-21 in the final minute of the third quarter.
            Washington seemed to restore order with a 65-yard drive of its own to lead back to 35-21 with 13:50 to play. OSU got that back almost immediately, Smith connecting with Roddy Tompkins for a 90-yard touchdown strike that again made it a one-score game at 35-28 with 8:02 to go.

            The Beavers had a chance to tie the game when Jamil Brathwaite blocked a Husky punt to give OSU the ball at the UW 7-yard line with 4:54 to go, but a sack and a fourth-down interception thrown by Smith ended that drive.
            Oregon State's defense got the ball back for one final try, starting from the Beaver 22 with 30 seconds remaining and OSU out of timeouts.

            Smith found Tompkins near the right sideline for a 19-yard gain to the 41 and Tompkins was able to get out of bounds to stop the clock with 19 seconds left. Next was a pass over the middle to Tompkins for another 26 yards to the Washington 33; Smith spiked the ball to stop the clock.

            "I came to the line, looked at the clock and figured there were nine seconds left," Smith said. "I figured this was pretty much the game so I stepped back, tried to buy some time so he could get downfield and then stepped up in the pocket. Tim got open."

Smith drilled Tim Alexander with a perfect throw on the left hashmark at the UW 13-yard line. Alexander split four Husky defenders and reached the end zone as time expired. The score came at the closed end of the stadium where Beaver fans were seated, and they exploded into delirium as the rest of the stadium sat stunned.

            It was 35-34 with the conversion try to come. Riley and the Beavers opted to decide the game then and there with a two-point attempt.

            "I wanted to end the game right there," Riley would tell reporters afterward. "I thought we could. That last play was like slow motion to me."

            The target was Tompkins, at the back of the end zone near the goalpost. He got his fingers on Smith's pass for a moment, but UW defensive back Nigel Burton was able to get a hand in and knock the ball to the turf.
            "I couldn't ask for a better pass, because it was there," Tompkins said. Added Smith: "It was a good choice, a good play. They just had one step above us on that play."

            The stat sheet showed some incredible numbers for a quarterback who had played just over half the game: Smith had completed 17 of 32 passes for 469 yards and three touchdowns; the yardage was both an OSU school record and a Husky Stadium record and was the seventh-best mark in Pacific-10 history.

            Smith had led the Beavers on touchdown drives of 98, 90, 86 and 78 yards. His 459 yards total offense was the second-highest game in school history and the 10th-best in Pac-10 history. A few days later, he would be named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week.

            After the game, Riley wouldn't say Smith had supplanted Bryant as the starter. But Smith was in the lineup the next Saturday against California and for every game through the 2001 season.

            By the time he was finished, Smith had helped the Beavers to the 1999 Oahu Bowl, a share of the 2000 Pacific-10 championship, a 41-9 win over Notre Dame in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl and a No. 4 final national ranking.

            Now, 20 years after bursting onto the scene that afternoon at Washington, Smith is back at Oregon State looking for similar success.

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