2014 Spring Prospectus
THE SEASON: Spring practice is the official beginning of the 2014 season, the 117th year of Beaver football that began in 1893. The 15-day session opens March 31 and culminates May 3 with the annual Spring Game at 1 p.m. at Reser Stadium.
SCHOOL RECORD COACH: Mike Riley continues to build on his school record for victories, now with 88. He has 56 league wins, which is tied for 11th with Rich Brooks (Oregon/1977-94). Riley’s overall league record is 56-56 (14 of those losses in his first era of 1997-98) – his second tenure (2003-present) league mark is 54-42. Riley is the longest tenured coach in the Pac-12, entering his 14th year at OSU; the rest of the league entering the ’14 season includes Kyle Whittingham, Utah (10 yrs), Steve Sarkisian, UW/USC (6), David Shaw, Stanford (4), Todd Graham, ASU (3), Mike Leach, WSU (3), Rich Rodriguez, Arizona (3), Sonny Dykes, Cal (2), Mark Helfrich, Oregon (2), Mike MacIntyre, Colorado (2) and Chris Peterson, UW (1).
THE NEW COORDINATOR: For the first time since the 2005 season, OSU has a new coordinator on the coaching staff. Longtime offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf (2005-13) left the program in January to return to the NFL with the New York Giants as quarterbacks coach. Langsdorf replacement is John Garrett, who has had a lengthy NFL coaching career with the Cowboys (his brother Jason is the head coach), Bengals, Cardinals and Buccaneers, as well as in college at Virginia. Garrett will also coach the quarterbacks and tight ends with the contributions of graduate assistant coaches Tavita Thompson and first-year GA and former Beaver standout QB Lyle Moevao.
60 YEARS: No other team in the Pac-12 can boast as much NFL coaching experience as the Beavers. OSU’s full-time coaches have 60 years of NFL experience, including Mike Riley as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers. Here is a closer look – Mike Riley (4 years), Mark Banker (3), Bruce Read (7), Mike Cavanaugh (2), John Garrett (19), Rod Perry (23) and Chris Brasfield (2).
BEAVS AT 104: USC owns the most victories in the Pac-12 Conference this century with 138 (114 with vacated wins), followed by Oregon (133), OSU (104), Arizona State (95), UCLA (95), Stanford (93), Cal (87), Washington (79), Arizona (77), WSU (72). Utah has 115 victories this century and Colorado has 71. The Beavers hit the 100-win plateau this century in the Oct. 21 win at San Diego State. The previous 100-win stretch started during the 1966 season, ending with 1999 – nearly 34 seasons (365 games). This century’s 100 victories were achieved in just over 13 seasons (168 games).
EARLY DEPARTURES: Juniors Brandin Cooks and Scott Crichton elected to forgo their senior seasons and enter the NFL Draft, becoming the fourth and fifth Beavers to do so, joining Steven Jackson, Brandon Browner and Jacquizz Rodgers. Cooks, a consensus All-American and Biletnikoff Award winner, set new Pac-12 marks for receptions with 128 and single season yards with 1,730 (NCAA leader in 2013). He accounted for 226 receptions for 3,272 yards and 26 total touchdowns (24 rec, 2 rush) during his illustrious career. Overall, he compiled 3,863 all-purpose yards. Crichton made 165 career tackles for the Beavers, including 51 tackles-for-loss and 22.5 quarterback sacks. He ranks third all-time at OSU for tackles-for-loss and fourth for quarterback sacks.
CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICANS: Oregon State has never had a consensus All-American in three consecutive seasons; that opportunity presents itself in 2014. Cornerback Jordan Poyer earned the acclaim in 2012 and receiver Brandin Cooks in 2013. The most likely candidate for 2014 is quarterback Sean Mannion, who is on the verge of smashing the Pac-12 record for career passing yards.
PAC-12 CAREER PASSING YARDS
Rk--Yds--Player--Yrs
1.--12,274--Matt Barkley, USC--2009-12
2.--11,818--Carson Palmer, USC--1998-02
3.--11,249--Derek Anderson, OSU--2001-04
4.--10,913--Alex Brink, WSU--2004-07
5.--10,911--Steve Stenstrom, STAN--1991-94
6.--10,708--Cade McNown, UCLA--1995-98
7.--10,693--Matt Leinart, USC--2003-05
8.--10,492--Andrew Walter, ASU--2001-04
9.--10,491--Rudy Carpenter, ASU--2005-08
10.--10,436--Sean Mannion, OSU--2011-pres – needs 1,839 yards
ACCURATE PASSER: Quarterback Sean Mannion’s is flirting with the school record for career completion percentage that is currently held by Sean Canfield at 64.1 percent (552-861) during the 2006-09 seasons. The four-time Manning Award recipient and two-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week is currently at a 65.3 percent (905-1385).
CAREER COMPLETION PERCENTAGE (1000-PLUS ATT.) FOR RETURNING QUARTERBACKS
Rk--PCT--Player--Comp-Att
1.--.692--Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion--949-1372
2.--.653--Sean Mannion, Oregon State--905-1385
MOST PASSING YARDS FOR RETURNING QUARTERBACKS IN 2014
Rk--Yards--Player--Comp-Att
1.--11,483--Taylor Heinicke, Old Dominion--949-1372
2.--10,436--Sean Mannion, Oregon State--905-1385
3.--10,176--Rakeem Cato, Marshall--886-1387
PAC-12 CAREER PASSING TOUCHDOWNS
Rk--TDs--Player--Yrs
1.--116--Matt Barkley, USC--2009-12
9.--74--Steve Stenstrom, STAN--1991-94
9.--74--Keith Price, WASH--2010-13
11.--72--Carson Palmer, USC--1998-2002
12.--70--Jason Gesser, WSU--1999-2002
13.--68--Cade McNown, UCLA--1995-99
13.--68--Sean Mannion, OSU--2010-pres
PAC-12 SEASON PASSING YARDS
Rk--Yds--Player--Season
1.--4662--Sean Mannion, OSU--2013
PAC-12 SEASON TOUCHDOWN PASSES (2013)
Rk--TDs--Player--Season
1.--39--Matt Barkley, USC--2011
2.--38--Matt Leinart, USC--2003
3.--37--Andrew Luck, STAN--2011
3.--37--Sean Mannion, OSU--2013
WHO’S BACK: The Beavers expect to return 330 starts (players who have started during their careers), while losing a total of 245 due to graduation and early departures. DE Dylan Wynn is the most experienced returner with 32 starts, followed by quarterback Sean Mannion with 31. The Beavers will return seven starters on offense, seven on defense and both the kicker and punter. Here is a closer look at the returning starters (career #s included):
Offense (Career Stats)
SE – Richard Mullaney, Jr., 65 rec, 944 yds, 4 TDs, 8 starts
SL/TE – Caleb Smith, Jr., 27 rec, 362 yds, 4 TDs, 8 starts*
C – Isaac Seumalo, Jr., 25 career starts; ’13 Pac-12 2nd Team (out spring practice)
RT – Sean Harlow, So., 9 career starts
TE – Connor Hamlett, Sr., 72 rec., 767 yds, 8 TDs, 17 starts, ’13 Pac-12 Hon. Mention
QB – Sean Mannion, Sr., 10,436 yds, 68 TDs, 31 starts, ’13 Pac-12 Hon. Mention
RB – Storm Woods, Jr., 1,417 rush yds, 19 TDs, 23 starts
*Smith started 7 games as OSU often uses a two tight end set.
Defense (Career Stats)
RE – Dylan Wynn, Sr., 160 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 32 starts
OLB – D.J. Alexander, Sr., 139 tackles, 11 TFLs, 20 starts
MLB – Rommel Mageo, So., 47 tackles, 5 TFLs, 7 starts
OLB – Jabral Johnson, Sr., 102 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 13 starts
LCB – Steven Nelson, Sr., 62 tackles, 6 INT, 9 starts, ’13 Pac-12 Hon. Mention
SS – Tyrequek Zimmerman, Sr., 104 tackles, 3 TFLs, 26 starts
FS – Ryan Murphy, Sr., 165 tackles, 11 TFLs, 6 INT, 28 starts, ’13 Pac-12 Hon. Mention
Specialists (Career Stats)
P – Keith Kostol, Sr., 41.3 avg., 47 I20, 24 starts
PK – Trevor Romaine, Sr., 45-60 FGs, 128-134 XPs, 37 starts
STARTERS LOST: The Beavers lose eight starters overall from the 2013 team. Here is a closer look:
Offense (Career Stats)
LT – Michael Philipp, 48 starts
LG – Josh Andrews, 32 starts
RG – Grant Enger, 31 starts
FL – Brandin Cooks, 29 starts, 3,272 yards, 226 rec., 26 TDs (24 rec.), Biletnikoff Award, All-American
Defense (Career Stats)
LE – Scott Crichton, 37 starts, 165 tackles, 22.5 sacks
LT – Mana Rosa, 13 starts, 56 tackles
RT – John Braun, 8 starts, 27 tackles
CB – Rashaad Reynolds, 38 starts, 10 INT, 35 BrUp
BACKUP QB: There will be no competition for the starting quarterback position this spring, unlike recent years, but there will be a battle for the No. 2 signal caller. Initially in the spring, the competition will be between sophomore quarterback Brent VanderVeen (has not played a down) and redshirt freshman Kyle Kempt. Redshirt freshman Luke Del Rio will participate in spring drills, but as of March 2014 will not be eligible for the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer regulations – he was a true freshman at Alabama in 2013. As of spring football, this will be the first year OSU has not had more than one quarterback with playing experience in the program since 2010 when Ryan Katz was the only roster member with college experience.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: The following is a statistical comparison for returning numbers in 2014:
Category--2013 Total--Returning Yards--Pct.
Rushing Yards--1,227--909--74%
Receptions--413--251--61%
Passing Yards--4844--4668--97%
All-Purpose Yards--7741--5122--66%
RESER RECORD: Oregon State’s home record of 61-25 this century at Reser Stadium is third best in the Pac-12 Conference, trailing the home records of only Oregon (73-13) and USC (67-15).
