Oregon State football a surprise Pac-12 contender in 2020
Oregon State looks to accelerate offensive improvement
The Beavers have experienced plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball through the past couple of seasons. Finding new starters won’t be necessarily hard for Jonathan Smith to replace but they do have to replace eight starters that started over a majority of the games this past season.
Two of the returning starters are on the offensive line. Last season, the Beavers were ranked 48th (sixth in Pac-12) in points (31.2) and 58th (sixth in the conference) in total yards (411.8).
Offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren is entering his third season with the Beavers as he was hired by Smith. Lindgren has delivered great results with Oregon State so far as they have seen solid production on the field. He will have his work cut out for him this upcoming season as the Beavers have to find eight new solid starters. It did not help their offense that they did not have the spring practice sessions to help them transition.
The Beavers were hoping to use the spring to find their answers on a potential starting quarterback week one of the 2020 season. There are two definitive competitors in Tristan Gebbia and former JUCO transfer in Chance Nolan.
Gebbia was Jake Luton’s backup last season as he passed for 347 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 38 completions out of 60 attempts. He played in four games for the Beavers while starting in the season finale game at Oregon. Nolan is a four-star JUCO transfer from Saddleback College. He’s rated the No. 1 dual-threat JUCO quarterback. Last season, Nolan had 4,384 total yards and 44 total touchdowns. Both quarterbacks have a distinctive ability to play and lead on the offense but they will be playing on a complex and dynamic set of schemes.
Among the key starters returning for the 2020 season is running back Jermar Jefferson. Last season, he rushed for 685 yards and eight touchdowns on 142 carries as he played in nine games with six starts. Jefferson has played in 21 games while starting 15 of them in his career at Oregon State. He is becoming one of the most prolific rushers in the conference as he was named to Athlon Sports’ preseason first-team All-Pac-12. The Beavers will expect him to remain healthy as they will need him to be the leader of the skilled positions.
Oregon State has serious work to do in the passing game as it must replace all starters at wide receiver and tight end from last season.
The most significant impact player in the receiving game was Isaiah Hodges, who had 86 receptions for 1,176 yards and 13 touchdowns. Now that he’s gone to the NFL, the Beavers will need new star playmakers at wide out. Champ Flemmings returns as their dynamic flex playmaker after he had 32 catches for 457 yards and three touchdowns.
Oregon State has options to make when picking its main outside receiver. Trevon Bradford and Kolby Taylor are two wide outs expected to make starts as the position.
The Beavers return only two starters from the offensive line. This is a unit that gave up 25 sacks this past season.
Brandon Kipper returns as the starting left tackle after starting all 12 games. Kous Keobounnam returns as the starting right guard after starting in 11 of the 12 games he played in last year. Korbin Sorensen is projected to start the left guard after transferring from Portland State for the past four seasons. The rest of the offensive line have a lack of experience playing for the Beavers.