Oregon State Football

Washington co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jonathan Smith will reportedly be the next head football coach at Oregon State. 

Danny Moran of the Oregonian reported the news.

Smith, 38, has served as an offensive assistant at Washington since 2014. He was the Beavers' starting quarterback from 1998-2001, leading them to a Fiesta Bowl victory in 2000. After graduating, Smith served as a graduate assistant coach for two years before moving on.

Smith's name has been mentioned in Oregon State circles for weeks following the sudden departure of Gary Andersen. When asked about the opening in October, he refused to speculate but acknowledged his "great memories" in Corvallis. 

“I’ve got a great job here, a great place, and I really don’t know what it’s like down there,” Smith told reporters. "It’s flattering. Obviously I’ve got great memories there and whatnot, but I’ve got an extreme focus on us and these next couple of practices. I thought we practiced really well today, and the Sun Devils present a challenge. And we’ve got a lot of things going, so it’s a huge game Saturday.”

Washington ranks 18th nationally in points scored this season, and Smith has been instrumental in the development of Jake Browning. The three-year starter has thrown for 77 touchdowns against 24 interceptions and 8,929 yards.

Oregon State has not had a winning season since 2013 and has gone 7-29 over the last three seasons. 

Rick Neuheisel isn't actively looking for a new job on the sidelines, but he told ESPN.com's Kyle Bonagura on Wednesday that he would listen if the Oregon State Beavers reached out to discuss a future as their new head coach.

"I'm not going to pursue it," Neuheisel said. "If they reached out to me and thought I might be a fit, I would absolutely entertain a conversation, but those sort of searches, they have guys in mind. They have ideas to where they're going.

"I've made up my mind that if someone thinks I'm the right fit for a particular situation, I would absolutely entertain and listen to it."

The Beavers and Gary Andersen parted ways on Oct. 9, and they subsequently named Cory Hall as their interim head coach.

However, the school hasn't committed to Hall long-term as it continues to explore options on the open market.

According to ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg, Oregon State has hired a search firm "targeting candidates with some head-coaching experience and ties to the Northwest."

Given that criteria, Neuheisel would seem to fit the bill.

Although he hasn't coached since 2011, Neuheisel has 12 years of head-coaching experience thanks to stops at Colorado (1995-1998), Washington (1999-2002) and UCLA (2008-2011).

All told, Neuheisel owns a career record of 87-58, including five bowl wins.

Gary Andersen is no longer the head coach at Oregon State after the two sides mutually agreed to part ways, according to an email obtained by Amy Schwartz of Beaver Blitz.

Assistant coach Cory Hall will be the team's interim coach for the remainder of the 2017 season.

The Beavers are 1-5 on the season, including 0-3 in the Pac-12.

The team confirmed the decision in an official release on the team's site.

"I thank Gary for his many contributions to our student-athletes, OSU Athletics and Oregon State University," Athletic Director Scott Barnes said. "OSU football has advanced significantly in many ways during Gary's tenure here, including in our facilities and student-athlete academic performance. This program is poised for success on and off the field."

Things have not gone according to plan for Andersen on the field since leaving Wisconsin for the Beavers in 2015. After accumulating a 19-7 record in two seasons with the Badgers, he was just 6-18 in his first two seasons at Oregon State before struggling mightily this season.

The only win this season came against Portland State while each of the five losses were decided by more than 20 points.

On the other hand, Darren Rovell of ESPN noted the money Andersen gave up from leaving his position:

Oregon State will now be in the hands of Hall for the rest of the season, who had been the cornerback coach until now. He has also spent time on the staffs of Weber State, Washington State and Wisconsin, although his last head coaching job was at Clovis North High School in California for three years.

Hall also spent six years in the NFL as a safety for the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals.

Oregon State quarterback Jake Luton is listed as week-to-week after a back injury suffered Saturday in a 52-23 loss to Washington State at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, was diagnosed as a thoracic spine fracture.

Danny Moran of the Oregonian provided the update Monday. Luton was taken to a local hospital after suffering the injury but was discharged Saturday night.

The redshirt junior previously posted a message on social media thanking everyone for their support after the scary incident that required him to get stretchered off the field:

Moran noted Beavers head coach Gary Andersen was asked after the game why his starting quarterback was still in the lineup with Washington State holding a commanding fourth-quarter lead.

"If we can do anything to keep them in a position to keep moving forward, we've got to keep pressing it," he said. "That's where we are right now as a program. Our kids can use every rep that they can get."

The loss dropped Oregon State to 1-3 heading into its bye week. Luton has completed 61.5 percent of his throws for 853 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions so far in 2017.

Darell Garretson is set to take the reins of the Beavers offense until Luton is cleared to return. Conor Blount or Aidan Willard will move into the backup role when the team returns to action Sept. 30 with a home game at Reser Stadium against Washington.

The Oregon State coaching staff let one of the internet's most popular memes do the talking on one of its play-call cards Saturday against Colorado State.

Backup quarterback Conor Blount held up a four-paneled card, which prominently featured the famous Crying Jordan meme in the top right corner. 

The other squares featured a photo of the Ninja Turtles and logos for The Chive and UPS. 

While it's unclear exactly what the card was signaling, the end result was a fumble by tight end Noah Togiai on the next play.

The Beavers went on to lose 58-27.

[Twitter]

Running back Thomas Tyner is reportedly crossing lines in college football's Civil War.

On Saturday, John Canzano of The Oregonian reported the former Oregon Duck is looking to continue his football career with the Oregon State Beavers after taking a medical retirement more than 15 months ago.

According to Canzano, Tyner requested a release from the University of Oregon on Friday and was granted it Saturday.

"I've wanted to be a Beaver my whole life," he said.

Tyner missed the entire 2015 season with a shoulder injury before his medical retirement in February 2016. However, he said he feels 100 percent and pointed out his two years away from the game helped him heal.

Canzano clarified the NCAA doesn't allow medical retirees to return to play at the same school, which ruled out a comeback with the Ducks.

When healthy, Tyner was an impact player in Oregon's high-tempo offense in the 2013 and 2014 seasons with a combined 1,284 rushing yards, 201 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns. He helped lead Oregon to the College Football Playoff national championship game in his final campaign.

The speedster will now look to guide an Oregon State rushing attack to more success after it finished a middling 49th in the country in rushing yards per game in its third straight losing season.

Class of 2017 4-star wide receiver prospect Jamire Calvin announced during Saturday's U.S. Army All-American Bowl he will be heading to Oregon State to play his college football in the fall. 

Andrew Nemec of The Oregonian provided video of Calvin's announcement: 

According to Scout's prospect rankings, Calvin is the No. 5 receiver to come out of his home state of California, the No. 33 pass-catcher in the country and the No. 231 recruit in the class of 2017.

He won't provide a lot of size to Oregon State's wide receiving group, but he will bring the promise of an explosive option in the slot as a 5'10", 150-pound target. 

His soft hands make him a safe target, so opposing teams in the Pac-12 do not want to see Calvin in the open field given his speed and agility:

That kind of skill set made him a coveted recruit for numerous schools. According to Scout, 34 different programs extended offers to Calvin. 

But just a week before his announcement, he revealed to Scout's Brandon Huffman which schools he would decide between. 

"The hats will be Alabama, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon State and Washington State," Calvin said. "All five have been on me super tough."

Oregon State was lacking any kind of threat from the wide receiver position in 2016. Its leading receiver was Victor Bolden Jr., who could muster only 542 yards in his final season with the Beavers. 

The program has been able to acquire four other receivers alongside Calvin, but only No. 174 Isaiah Hodgins is ranked in Scout's top 200. 

Given Oregon State's lack of firepower in the aerial game, expect Calvin to have a notable role upon his arrival in Corvallis next fall. 

Oregon State football extended the contract of head coach Gary Andersen through the 2021 season on Tuesday, according to Zach Barnett of College Football Talk. 

Andersen's original contract—which he signed in 2014 after coming over from Wisconsin—was for six years, meaning that this extension is just for one more season.  

The salary figures have not been disclosed as of yet. Last season, Andersen had the 45th-ranked salary among all FBS coaches, earning $2.55 million, per USA Today. 

Looking at his first two seasons with the program, an extension might be a confusing move to some considering the Beavers went 6-18 and haven't reached a bowl game.

That's the program's worst two-year stretch since the 1996 and 1997 seasons, when it went 5-17, per Sports-Reference.com. 

However, Oregon State is competing within a Pac-12 North division that features No. 4 Washington, which is in the College Football Playoff semifinal, alongside Washington State and Stanford. The latter two are bowl-eligible teams that were ranked within the nation's Top 25 at one point during the 2016 season. 

Andersen had some success in a major FBS program during his tenure with Wisconsin. During his two-year stint as head coach from 2013 to 2014, he posted a 19-7 record with one bowl appearance.

But he's going to have his work cut out for him within a tough division, and there doesn't seem to be too much help on the way. 

After such a difficult season, the Beavers' 2017 recruiting class is ranked No. 45 among all FBS programs with just one 4-star recruit and 15 3-star prospects, per Scout. 

While a one-year extension might not seem like much, it could provide some confidence for Andersen that the school is pleased with his philosophies and provides the best chance of turning things around. 

Stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.

BR Video

For more Oregon State news, visit BeaverBlitz.com.

Animal bones dating back to the Ice Age, including a potential femur from a mammoth, were discovered this week at the Reser Stadium construction site at Oregon State University.

Anthony Rimel of the Corvallis Gazette-Times passed along word of the rare find. OSU spokesman Steve Clark provided the outlet with further details about what was found.

"We believe we have an intact femur from a mammoth," Clark said. "There also appear to be bones from other species, including possibly a bison and a camel."

The report noted that work was being done in the area where the new locker room for the Beavers football team will be constructed.

"Maybe the archaeologist can tell you if it's good luck," deputy athletics director Mark Massari said.

Beavers Football provided some pictures from the site:

Joseph Rose of the Oregonian commented on the discovery:

The university has closed off the area around the discovery to the public to prevent it from being disturbed. The Corvallis Gazette-Times noted it is being examined by one of the school's associate professors of anthropology before archaeology students are allowed to sift through the site.

"They're really giddy because usually when they find these things they have to drive three hours to get to them," Massari said.

Superstitious members of the Oregon State community will surely hope the Ice Age find leads to better fortunes for the football program. The Beavers are coming off a 2-10 season that included a 2-4 record at Reser Stadium.