Oregon State Football Fall Camp in Bend: Recap

Oregon State is headed back to Corvallis and will get Thursday off before they host a scrimmage on Friday at Reser Stadium. The open scrimmage is being called “Family Fun Day” and will also include an autograph session and the showing of “Remember the Titans” on the video board.

Oregon State’s 6-day camp ended today in Bend with the seasons first two-a-day practice. Players are no doubt happy to get the grueling day over with and head back to the comfort of Corvallis and get a much needed day off, for rest.

There were many highlights during the practices in Bend and one of the top highlights for the players and staff were the hundreds of fans that showed up during the open practice on Saturday to watch the Beavers practice.

During 11-on-11 work, the first unit on defense included: lineman Baker Pritchard, Sumner Houston and Kalani Vakameilalo, linebackers Caleb Saulo, Manase Hungalu, and Bright Ugeowbu and defensive backs Treston Decoud, Dwayne Williams, Devin Chappell, Brandon Arnold, and Jay Irvine (Based on a nickel-package).

Sean Harlow did individual work and drills on the sidelines throughout the week but did not participate in any of the team drills. Without Harlow the first-team offensive line included: Blake Brandel at left tackle, Fred Lauina at left Guard, Yanni Demogerontas at center, Gavin Andrews at right guard and Dustin Stanton at right tackle.

Yanni Demogerontas struggled snapping the football early in the week. A number of low snaps resulted in turnovers when Garretson couldn’t get a handle on the ball. Coach Andersen was less than pleased with the miscues and it showed.

The transition from quarterback to wide receiver seems to be going very smoothly for Seth Collins. He added a number of highlight worthy catches throughout the week. He was also seen returning punts on Saturday alongside Victor Bolden, Trevon Bradford and Rahmel Dockery.

Seth Collins also is not lacking in confidence telling OregonLive.com ,“I think we’re a deadly receiving corps... I think we could be something special”.

The play that drew the biggest cheer from the crowd in Bend was when Paul Lucas accidentally took down Gary Andersen after catching a pass and both of them went stumbling down. Fortunately, everyone popped up unharmed. (Watch the video below)

Speaking of head coach Gary Andersen, he’s decided to install a large chunk of his offensive and defensive schemes during the first week of camp. When asked by OregonLive.com how the players were handling the large work load Andersen responded:

I think they can handle it. And quite frankly, for us to be the team that we want to be and to win...we have to have multiple personnel groups on offense and multiple personnel groups on defense. These kids know that, and it's part of our plan to win football games this year is to be very multiple and hard to deal with and hard to prepare for because we do so many things.

One player who seemed to have quickly grasped the offensive schemes was true freshman running back Art Pierce. All newcomers receive a stripe sticker on their helmets and in order to have them removed they most prove themselves. Pierce, who took some first-team reps on Sunday was the first newcomer to have his stripe sticker removed.

Another newcomer, true freshman Kenny Turnier, who was limited at times due to injury, was moved from defensive end to tight end. The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder has the perfect frame and athleticism as a former high school basketball player to make an impact at the position.

Off-the-field notes:

During the first night in Bend, the fire alarms went off in the middle of the night at the dorms where the Oregon State players stayed. According to Andersen, somebody not associated with the team overcooked some bacon in the dorms. Despite the minor nighttime inconvenience, by all accounts the Oregon State football team enjoyed their stay in Central Oregon and made a lot of great progress that should translate to game day success this upcoming fall.