CORVALLIS – Spring football matches are rarely pretty and barely instructive for fans. But in front of a few thousand boosters under the sun stadium on Saturday, the defense of the state of Oregon shone.
The Beavers offensive, led by the quarter-back of Duke’s transfer, Maalik Murphy, only succeeded in the 90-minute scrum. But Murphy showed obvious flashes of arm talents and rapid decision -making, despite having played behind an offensive line struck and faced with an almost constant pressure. Murphy connected to the winger tightened Cooper Jensen for a touch of 30 yards during the third quarter and was effective with its intermediate throws.
“The offensive has known good pieces, but overall in my eyes, the defense has definitively dominated,” said senior Nikko Taylor. “Many young guys from the outdoor secondary room – Blue (Dantzler), Shamar (Meikle), Will (Haverland) – making a lot of bags. It was nice to see their improvement in the spring.”
The OSU’s defense hunted Murphy and presumed the safeguard Gabarri Johnson, as much as they could when they were not allowed to approach them. The beavers recorded several bags – whistles blown when they were close enough to shoot the QB, if they could – every quarter, and Dantzler often opened the way on the edge. Taylor estimated “four or five” bags for the first year of Arizona, but the statistics were not officially held.
“The Edge game was well improved compared to a year ago, so I am very satisfied with this,” said the OSU head coach and defensive coordinator, Trent Bray. “I will continue to improve, but very satisfied with the place where we are currently.
“We have natural guys who can precipitate the smuggler at Inside Décomer (also). We have athletes who can apply a certain pressure, which is a good thing.”
One of these seconds inside took a passing of pass at the first quarter: Makiya Tongue, whose long journey back from a horrible knee injury in 2023 could serve as inspiration for the Beavers this season.
The success of the OSU to provide pressure also occurred from its long secondary second, keeping a mixture of Wideouts Beavers mainly in check. There were big games and exploded covers, as planned in Spring Ball, because the players familiarize themselves with the game book, but for the most part, there were no blatant mistakes in the defensive back.
“We have definitely achieved (our goal) today,” said Taylor. “Know our assignment, do what we are supposed to do and play quickly and physical.”
Bray is also back in the headquarters of the defensive coordinator, which the second year head coach said that he had appreciated.
“It was great,” said Bray. “It was good to be a coach, to be involved and to take care of it.”
Although we can watch the bags and pressures on Saturday and wonder if Murphy would fight for his life this fall behind an offensive line in difficulty, Bray said that injuries – some are not precaution because there is no sense of urgency in the spring – has kept several contributors expected on the sidelines. And there is always the transfer portal to fill all the holes that beavers could identify.
However, much to improve from the point of view of the execution once the calendar will arrive in August.
“Obviously, Dinged Up (on the offensive line) with guys who will play for us who will be back in the fall,” said Bray. “These guys had the opportunity to get a ton of representatives in the spring. When you talk about who can play, more guys who can play winning football, I thought the spring was really good for this group.”
– Ryan Clarke Covers university sports for Oregonian / Oregonlive. Join it to rclarke@oregonian.com or on Twitter / X: @Ryantclarke. Find it on Bluesky: @ ryantclarke.bsky.social.
