Spring Practice Day 7 -- That Giant Q-Tip Thingy
April 11, 2011
Corvallis, Ore. -
By Anthony Casson
For osubeavers.com
The Oregon State community has a knack for finding gems, and it looks like one of their latest includes wide receiver coach Brent Brennan. On the first day of spring football, Brennan admitted entering a hectic situation--moving north from California, rooming temporarily with friend and Beaver offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf, and jumping into the coaching role with hardly enough time for a team introduction.
But all is well for Brennan--a man oozing energy and creativity--seven practices into the season. When the whistles started to blow and the clocks began to tick this afternoon, Brannan was well under way as teacher. Fans and media have come to associate him with a big, orange stick with a cushion attached to the end, not unlike a giant Q-tip.
He calls it "the weapon." He pokes and prods his players with it at the beginning of a route--tries to ruin their patterns and force them to handle disruption. Some of the receivers tried to take it easy in quick drills but soon felt the wrath of the battle baton, controlled mightily by the man critiquing them.
"Those guys have to get used to people getting hands on them and collision all over the field," Brennan said. "It's a way for me to do that without having another body involved."
When the group is working well and doing what he asks of them, the receivers are all smiles; he uses his lively demeanor to give them a boost. If anything, Brennan has grown more energetic on the field in the past two weeks. Still, he's stern when necessary. Football, however, has to have elements of enjoyment, according to the coach.
"I think it's important that you enjoy your time out here," he said. "Bust your butt and do it right. But it's important that you enjoy it, because it's a hard game. We try and make it fun but also try and do the right things and get the guys in the right place, including myself."
The players did find themselves in the right place during today's 50-play scrimmage and the seven-on-seven drills prior. Junior Markus Wheaton continued to show his dominance as an athletic wideout; senior Darrell Catchings was all over the field and is trying his hand at leadership; freshman Obum Gwacham made catches some veterans would have had difficulty with.
Overall, the receiver group is impressive, as is its coach. The OSU community is past the "welcome" stage and has accepted Brennan as a family member.
"Everyone's been so good to me," he said. "Everyone's been so welcoming. I had my wife and kids up here last week, and she was blown away by how many good people are here in the athletic department and how supportive everybody is. It's just awesome."
Notes: Former Beavers Stephen Paea, Jacquizz Rodgers, and Alexis Serna attended practice today. Junior Quarterback Ryan Katz did not participate in the "scrum" but did start making deep throws throughout most of the day. Practices on Wednesday and Friday will be outside.
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