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Despite the season officially ending for Oregon State football; there’s been a plethora of activity. Trent Bray was hired as the full time defensive coordinator. Avery Roberts and Teagan Quitoriano declared for the NFL draft. Sam Vidlak entered the transfer portal. Jonathan Smith and company signed their best recruiting class. And despite the outcome, Oregon State football played in their first bowl game in eight years. It’s been a busy week!
There’s obviously going to be more roster changes in the next nine months. There are a bunch of “juniors” on the football team guys like: Jaydon Grant, Rezjohn Wright, Brandon Kipper, B.J. Baylor etc etc. And while they will all have another year of eligibility (Covid season), do they want to be super seniors like Trevon Bradford, Nathan Eldridge and Andrzej Hughes-Murray were this season?
You also can’t forget about the transfer portal. It would be odd if Oregon State didn’t lose/add a few more players. Despite the fluidity of Oregon State’s football roster, I took a stab at the depth chart for next season:
OFFENSE
Quarterback
- Chance Nolan
- Tristan Gebbia
- Ben Gulbranson
- Travis Throckmorton
Running Back
- Trey Lowe
- Deshaun Fenwick
- Isaiah Newell
- Damir Collins
- Damien Martinez
Wide Receiver
- Tre’Shaun Harrison
- Anthony Gould
- Jesiah Irish
Wide Receiver
- Zeriah Beason
- Champ Flemings -OR-
- Makiya Tongue
Wide Receiver
- Tyjon Lindsey
- Silas Bolden
- John Dunmore
Tight End
- Jake Overman
- Jack Velling
- Ralph Taufa’asau
Tight End
- Luke Musgrave
- J.T. Byrne
- Tommy Spener
Left Tackle
- Joshua Gray
- Marco Brewer
Left Guard
- Jake Levengood
- Tyler Morano
Center
- Tanner Miller
- Dakota Napierkowski
Right Guard
- Heneli Bloomfield
- Cooper Darling
Right Tackle
- Brandon Kipper
- Taliese Fuaga
- Jason White
DEFENSE
Defensive End
- Simon Sandberg
- Sione Lolohea
- Omarion Fa’amoe
Defensive Tackle
- Alexander Skelton
- Cody Anderson
- Quincy Wright
Defensive End
- Isaac Hodgins
- James Rawls
- Tavis Shippen
Outside Linebacker
- Riley Sharp
- John McCartan
- Ryan Franke
- Cade Brownholtz
Inside Linebacker
- Kyrei Fisher
- Easton Mascarenas
- Semisi Saluni
- Junior Walling
Inside Linebacker
- Omar Speights
- Jack Colletto
- John Miller
- Melvin Jordan
Outside Linebacker
- Andrew Chatfield Jr
- Cory Stover
- Shane Kady
- Mathias Malaki-Donaldson
Cornerback
- Alex Austin
- Skyler Thomas
- Noble Thomas
Safety
- Alton Julian
- Akili Arnold
Safety
- Kitan Oladapo
- Ian Massey
- Wynston Russell
Nickel
- Jaydon Grant
- Ron Hardge III
- Ryan Cooper
Cornerback
- Rejzohn Wright
- Ron Hardge III
- Arnez Madison
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker
- Everett Hayes
- Atticus Sappington
Punter
- Luke Loecher
- Josh Green
Long Snapper
- Dylan Black
- Cameron Landes
Holder
- Luke Loecher
- Josh Green
Punt Returner
- Jesiah Irish
- Anthony Gould
Kick Returner
- Champ Flemings
- Jesiah Irish -OR-
- Silas Bolden
Looking ahead to next season a lot will be riding on the decisions of a few key players. If B.J. Baylor, Rejzohn Wright, Jaydon Grant and others all decide to move on there could be some growing pains. The Beavers will need to replace a few key starters on the offensive line, but if anyone is up for the challenge it’s Jim Michalczik. And while the offense was very good this season, it needs a quarterback to step up to take it to the next level. Is that Chance Nolan? Tristian Gebbia? Ben Gulbranson? Someone else?
On defense Oregon State is developing and bringing in some much needed defensive line talent. Trent Bray hinted that the Beavs might mix-and-match different defensive formations. While linebackers still look like the strength of this defense moving forward, it does seem like the other position groups are catching up. Specifically in the secondary players like: Kitan Oladapo, Alex Austin, Alton Julian & Akili Arnold were all very good this season and should be key contributors moving forward. Let’s hope Oregon State can keep building on their progress from the past few seasons and look forward to an even brighter 2022.