Oregon State Football: Most Valuable Player Countdown - #50 Daniel Rodriguez

The college football season is quickly approaching and we are just 45 days from an official college football game. Oregon State will open their season on August 30th (52 days from now) at home against Oklahoma State Cowboys and Mike Gundy’s hair.

With the off-season quickly coming to an end, Building the Dam is unveiling their top 50 most valuable football players that will help lead the Beavers to a successful 2019 season. We’ll countdown by previewing one player at a time until it’s time for some Beaver football and also take a stab at projecting production for each player (minus offensive lineman, because despite their crucial role their stats are almost impossible to track). Without further ado #50.

#50: Daniel Rodriguez - Punter

Daniel Rodriguez is the man! He joined Oregon State as a walk-on in 2015 and took over the starting punting duties last season. Oregon State has often been referred to as “Punter U” and Rodriguez continues the rich tradition.

Rodriguez is a California-native and was a terrific kicker in high school. Last season, he averaged 41.9 yards per punt and more than half his punts resulted in fair catches. Back-up punter, Luke Loecher, is a lefty and might occasionally get his number called to throw a new look out there, but this is definitely Rodriguez’s season to shine.

Against Washington last year in an otherwise forgettable game for both teams; Rodriguez helped keep it interesting by drop kicking an onside kick that the Beavers recovered. Also in that game, Rodriguez threw a touchdown pass to Andre Bodden. He can truly do it all. Also he has two sister’s who play soccer, one at Oregon State and one at Oregon. Look for #39 to make a big impact this upcoming season.

Projected Statistics:

64 Punts - 2707 yards (42.3 average)