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Counting Down Oregon State’s Most Important Players for 2022: #16 - Safety Kitan Oladapo

In his first year as a starter Oladapo drew acclaim. He coudl be even better in 2022

By John Severs
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NOV 27 Oregon State at Oregon Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

We’re closing out the third week of our countdown of Oregon State’s 30 Most Important Football Players for 2022 with a return to the secondary. Oregon State’s pass defense needs to improve this season, and they should have the talent to do so. That includes today’s featured player, safety Kitan Oladapo.

#16 - Safety Kitan Oladapo

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 25 Oregon State at USC

Key Stats

  • 38 Solo Tackles, 69 Total Tackles
  • 10 Pass Deflections
  • 1 Interception

Oladapo became a full time starter in 2021, and excelled given more time on the field. He was fourth on the team in tackles, and while he moved between strong and free safety, he especially excelled on the strong side. He was aggressive in getting behind the line of scrimmage, picking up 5 tackles for a loss.

There’s not going to be a lot of new blood on this year’s secondary, so most of the improvement is going to have to come from last year’s group playing tighter coverage and making more big plays. Oladapo has a bit of room to grow, but he’s already performing at a very high level, and is arguably the biggest bright spot on the Beavers’ weakest unit.

Previously on the countdown

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