Oregon State, Former Football Coach Mike Riley Sued: Latest Details and Reaction
Sep 2, 2015
CORVALLIS, OR - NOVEMBER 08: Head coach Mike Riley looks on from the sidelines during the first half of the game against the Washington State Cougars at Reser Stadium on November 8, 2014 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
Oregon State University and former head football coach Mike Riley are facing a lawsuit from a woman alleging that she was raped while attending the school in 1999.
Bryan Denson of the Oregonian reported details of the lawsuit:
A former student at Oregon State University has filed a federal Title IX lawsuit that accuses the school's former head football coach Mike Riley of failing to correct a hostile and sexually violent culture among football players that contributed to her being raped.
The woman alleges that she was raped on Oct. 9, 1999, while a freshman at OSU.
It also notes the alleged victim "attended a party at an off-campus apartment when a young man approached her with an open can of beer..."
According to the alleged victim's complaint filed in Eugene's U.S. District Court, per Denson's report, "she took two drinks of the beer and then became woozy and fuzzy-headed" before being taken to a house where some Oregon State football players "allegedly lived."
After that, her lawsuit claims the man who offered her the beer sexually assaulted her. She also accused the university's sexual assault counselor of suggesting that she "perhaps said 'yes' to the man and that she shouldn't have been drinking."
Following that encounter, per Denson's report, the female student was deterred from seeking additional help from the school.
Oregon State vice president of university relations Steve Clark told Denson that the school was "not responsible for her very unfortunate sexual assault."
Riley, who is the head football coach at Nebraska, released a statement about the allegations against him and the Oregon State program, per freelance journalist David Ubben:
Statement from Nebraska coach Mike Riley, regarding a complaint dating back to an October 1999 incident. pic.twitter.com/kaN05cOSHI
This is the second allegation of sexual assault against Oregon State from this time period, as Brenda Tracy came forward with her story to John Canzano of the Oregonian last November about an alleged incident from 1998.
Riley had two different head coaching stints at Oregon State, from 1997-98 and 2003-14, before accepting the same position at Nebraska. He spent three seasons as a head coach in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers from 1999-2001.
Gary Andersen to Oregon State: Latest Contract Details, Comments, Reaction
Alvarez, via Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman, talked about the search for a new head coach, noting that the players have asked him to coach against No. 19 Auburn in the Outback Bowl Jan. 1 in Tampa, Florida:
Barry Alvarez: My goal is to have somebody in place (as the new head coach) before the bowl game. #Wisconsin
Andersen attended the University of Utah and spent time as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator with the Utes. Following a stretch as head coach of Utah State, he took over the Badgers job shortly after the 2012 campaign.
In two seasons in Madison, he compiled a 19-7 record with a loss to South Carolina in last year's Capital One Bowl. Under his watch, the Badgers finished sixth in the nation in scoring defense in 2013 and 13th in 2014.
As such, his decision to leave comes as a bit of a shock. Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon and defensive end Chikwe Obasih (among many other Badgers players) took to Twitter to express their disbelief and disappointment:
While it's unfortunate for Wisconsin, which met a similar fate just two years ago when Bret Bielema unexpectedly darted for Arkansas, it's a huge hire for the Beavers.
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah put it simply:
Gary Andersen to Oregon State? Wow!! That’s a huge get for the Beavers. Physical style will challenge speed of Oregon. Great hire!
Oregon State finished 5-7 this season under Mike Riley, and while there have been some solid seasons in Corvallis in recent years, the Beavers have had a difficult time breaking through into the Pac-12's upper tier.
This hire, however, is a terrific step in the right direction.
The Pac-12 Football Coach Who Routinely Exceeds Recruiting Rankings
Feb 10, 2014
Oregon State head coach Mike Riley, right, congratulates Oregon State running back Terron Ward, center, after the replay official ruled his touchdown good in the second quarter of the Hawaii Bowl NCAA college football game against Boise State, in Honolulu, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner)
Mike Riley must not have seen the rankings of his recruiting class because on national signing day the Oregon State head coach was beaming in his interview with Pac-12 Networks, discussing the quality of a recruiting class that 247Sports.com ranked No. 10 in the conference.
The outlook wasn't much better at Rivals.com or Scout.com, both of which pegged Oregon State at No. 9. And yet, there was an exuberant Riley on television, touting the qualities of a class overlooked among its conference counterparts.
What Riley knows that others don't is proven—the future of Oregon State football is not written in the stars.
Beavers recruiting classes are not typically filled with 4- and 5-star prospects, but Riley has proven especially adept at leading overachievers to records that exceed their expectations.
The 2013 roster features some notable examples of recruits who were not the most celebrated coming out of high school, but have since gained plenty of attention. Chief among them were quarterback Sean Mannion and wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
Both came to Corvallis, Ore., as 3-star recruits. Cooks is now projected as one of the top wide receivers available in May's NFL draft and a target for the first two rounds by NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah. Mannion set the Pac-12's single season passing record. He returns to captain the Beavers' offense in 2014.
Another 3-star hidden gem Riley found and helped polish for success in the Pac-12 and a professional future is defensive end Scott Crichton, who CBSSports.com projects as a second-round pick.
Really, it's old-hat for the Beavers coach. From Jacquizz Rodgers to Jordan Poyer and Markus Wheaton, Riley has unlocked the star power from those players without star ratings.
The embrace of such a recruiting philosophy is truly unique, but also a primary reason Riley is a great fit at Oregon State. The Beavers face one of the more daunting recruiting challenges up against in-state rival Oregon, a program celebrated for changing the game with its state-of-the-art facilities and seemingly endless supply of new gear—all courtesy of Nike mogul and alum Phil Knight.
The Beavers couldn't win a traditional arms race against such a formidable force, so Riley takes on a different approach.
Oregon State assistant director of player personnel Ryan Gunderson pulled back the recruiting curtain for The Oregonianlast season, revealing a process that includes soliciting highlights via Twitter.
Riley explained how finding hidden recruiting gems works.
It's not necessarily that they're totally under a rock, but development of kids is different. Some kids don't develop until late. Mike Remmers is playing in the NFL right now, and nobody recruited Mike out of high school. There are all sorts of stories and even now, there are guys who are really, really good players who no one knows about.
Oregon State has produced professional prospects from this model, but have also been competitive in the Pac-12. The Beavers won at least eight games every season from 2006 through 2009. In the 2009 regular season finale, they played for their first Rose Bowl berth since the 1964 campaign.
The Beavers' 2012 season was a return to form after a two-year lull of 5-7 in 2010 and 3-9 and 2011—the latter being a season in which Riley relied heavily on underclassmen. Oregon State won nine games, returned to the Top 25 and peaked at No. 7. It did so with a roster comprised primarily of recruiting classes that did not rank that highly among the Pac-12, let alone the nation.
2008: No. 10 in Pac-12/No. 52 nationally (Rivals.com)
2009: No. 10/No. 54 (Rivals.com)
2010: No. 10/No. 44 (Rivals.com)
2011: No. 7/No. 41 (247Sports)
2012: No. 11/No. 46 (247Sports)
So when it seems as though Riley knows something everyone else doesn't about his unheralded recruits, it's probably because he does.
Kyle Kensing is the Pac-12 Lead Writer. Recruiting rankings culled from 247Sports.com unless otherwise noted.
Hawaii Bowl 2013: Oregon State Romp Foreshadows 2014 Pac-12 North
Dec 25, 2013
Oregon State's 38-23 win over Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl ensured the Beavers a "Mele Kalikimaka" in Honolulu. More importantly, the win—which was more lopsided than the final score indicates—set the right tone for Oregon State's 2014, a season in which it could play a dangerous spoiler role in the Pac-12 North.
The performance Oregon State put together on both sides of the ball was arguably the Beavers' best since blowing out Washington State on Oct. 12.
Tuesday's showing has bearing on 2014, as head coach Mike Riley’s lineup primarily featured players who will return next year. As noted on the ESPN television broadcast, just three seniors started for Oregon State in Tuesday's dominant win.
Playing as it did in the Hawaii Bowl, Oregon State's role as a spoiler in its division next season is hardly a stretch—particularly given it played Pac-12 North heavyweights Oregon and Stanford within single digits in a trying 2013.
Count Oregon wide receiver Josh Huff among those who know how dangerous Oregon State can be. His touchdown reception on the Ducks' final drive saved Oregon from an upset in last month's Civil War.
Despite its struggles in the back half of this season, manifested in a five-game losing streak, Oregon State showed flashes of being a dangerous team this season. Tuesday, those flashes were a sustained burst that resulted in one of the team's best performances. It will serve as a building block in the upcoming offseason.
The Beavers dominated the Broncos up front both offensively and defensively, assuaging a season-long concern of Riley, particularly on offense. The Beavers' ability to assert themselves in the trenches resulted in 195 rushing yards.
Running back Storm Woods ripped off 6.7 yards per carry for 107 total and scored a touchdown, far and away his best outing of the year. Woods struggled to get going in 2013, coming off a 2012 campaign of 940 yards and 13 touchdowns. He'll be an integral part of the Beavers' offense in 2014.
Make no mistake, next year's Oregon State team could face some significant turnover from the Hawaii Bowl winner. Defensive end Scott Crichton, a star of Tuesday's rout, has a year of college eligibility remaining but is a high-level NFL draft prospect. CBS Sports, for example, projects Crichton as a second- or third-round target.
The Beavers defense also loses cornerback Rashaad Reynolds, who was outscoring Boise State for the better part of the evening by himself. The All Pac-12 selection returned two fumbles for touchdowns.
And, of course, what 2013 Oregon State game is complete without mention of junior wide receiver Brandin Cooks? The star receiver caught eight passes for 60 yards and a touchdown to end the season at 1,730 yards and 16 scores.
A favorite among NFL draft experts, including B/R’s Matt Miller, who writes Cooks is a “top-40 player,” and NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks, Cooks could be destined for a first-day selection in May. But if he does return to Corvallis, Ore., for another campaign, he’ll team with quarterback Sean Mannion, the Pac-12's record-setting passer, to form the conference's, if not the nation's, most prolific passer and receiver combination.
Challenging the status quo Oregon and Stanford have set is a high hurdle, but Oregon State has the right makeup to play spoiler in 2014. And the Hawaii Bowl gives the Beavers a much-needed stepping-stone into the offseason after they took their lumps to end the regular season.
Oregon State Kicker Trevor Romaine Explains His Epic Duck Dynasty Beard
Nov 30, 2013
Oregon State junior kicker Trevor Romaine was a social media sensation during Friday's Civil War rivalry game at Oregon. Fox Sports 1 cameras caught a shirtless Romaine warming up in white sunglasses with a meticulously manicured torso. Romaine, a native of Corona, Calif., said he was going for "the bikini look."
But what had Twitter lighting up was Romaine's beard, the sculpting of which has become something of a pregame ritual. His performance in the Beavers' 36-35 loss lived up to the hype of the beard—Romaine connected on both his extra-point attempts and hit field goals of 18, 37 and 47 yards.
Romaine has another season in Corvallis, Ore., and after that, the NFL may have to learn to fear the beard.
Bleacher Report: What inspired the beard?
Trevor Romaine: Nothing really; it just came out of nowhere. I started growing it in July, and then it just kept going. I got too lazy to shave it. After a while, I just thought, "I'm going to keep it for the rest of the season."
B/R: With the bowl game coming up, are you going to do anything with it?
TR: I haven't decided. My holder, Tim McMullen, he usually helps me decide with the ideas. But I haven't decided yet.
B/R: [Oregon State] has the tradition with the chainsaw [carried onto the field goal before home games]...do you think you could get on the front of the [2014] media guide with the chainsaw for the lumberjack theme?
TR: That'd be great. I'll have to talk to [head] coach [Mike] Riley about that. I hadn't thought about that.
B/R: The chest hair: Was that in the shape of a goal post?
TR: I didn't really intend for it to look like a goal post. It was more of a bikini look, but with the little extra [hair] going down the middle of my stomach, it looked like a goal post. So I'm fine with either/or, bikini or goal post.
B/R: The fact you're getting attention right now...it's something unique, how is that for you?
TR: It's actually pretty cool [laughs]. I love it. And the fact I had a pretty good game last night, too, really helps it. It looks as though I'm having fun and not being a distraction to the team or being too crazy. It's cool.
B/R: With the tough loss [to Oregon], how do you shake that off heading into the postseason?
TR: We've been having a lot of ups and downs in the past month or so, and we played a really great game last night. I don't think it's really shaking off the loss, but using how we played the entire game against a team like Oregon and using it as motivation that we can play like that, so why not carry it over into the bowl game?
B/R: The long beard right now is kind of synonymous in pop culture with [the A&E TV series] Duck Dynasty. Did anyone mention that with the Civil War and you playing the Ducks?
TR: [laughs] No, a lot of people said I'm starting to get the Duck Dynasty beard, but nobody connected Duck Dynasty with the Civil War and playing the Ducks.
Oregon State Kicker Trevor Romaine Has College Football's Manliest Beard
Nov 29, 2013
Trevor Romaine is the manliest of all men. His facial-to-chest hair ratio is right on point and he's enhancing the power of his beard to make his kicks go farther, be more accurate and have perfect spirally movements.
OK, so that last part's not true at all, but he does have the epic beard of awesomeness that all kickers, offensive linemen and other under-appreciated positions should all have in the ultimate man's sport—football.
It's got just the right amount of bushiness, length and complementing chest hair that it puts other beards to shame. Other top-notch beards, like Daniel Bryan of the WWE and Brian Wilson from the MLB, would be proud of Romaine's facial hair.
The legend of the beard is starting to grow as far and wide as the beard itself. Just seeing it for a few seconds on television led to reactions on twitter.
Because he's awesome. Why don't we all have defensive linemen beards?
They would keep our faces warm for the coming months when it gets too cold to have bald faces.
Chandler, we can all admire it. We should all aspire to have one. The furriness on his face will develop its own following. And the manscaping does deserve some admiration as well.
All this being said, and, as epic as the beard is, the Beavers were unable to hook Romaine up with a game-winning opportunity. The beard was never given the opportunity to enhance Romaine's kicking abilities for the clutch kick in the final moments of the game.
A game that saw its owner—Romaine—make all three of his field goals as well as both of his extra points. Romaine also had a long kick of 47 yards, and in a game that the Beavers lost by a total of one point, it's rough to lose the way they did.
But at least we got to enjoy what is College Football's best beard.
Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, College Football, NFL and NFL draft. He also runs DraftFalcons.com.
WR Brandin Cooks Is Putting Up Insane Numbers, but Where's the Appreciation?
Oct 24, 2013
Brandin Cooks' face isn't popping up on every website, magazine cover or newspaper in the country, but his numbers command the kind of attention given to the nation's best player. The Oregon State junior wide receiver leads the NCAA in receptions (76), yards (1,176) and touchdowns (12).
But when asked Wednesday if his candidacy for the Heisman is at least a topic of conversation on his own campus, Cooks said, "No, I don't really hear [Heisman talk].''
"I don't like to think about it," he said. "I'm just focused on winning games. All the other stuff, I can wait until the end of the season for those discussions."
Still, the production is worthy of discussion for individual honors. Cooks has to be an early front-runner for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top wide receiver.
He's also a dark-horse contender for the Heisman Trophy, which wide receivers have only won twice. One of the two, Michigan great Desmond Howard, doubled as a returner.
Yet, Cooks' production isn't like any receivers before him. He's on pace to become just the second player in NCAA Division I history with 2,000 or more yards in a single season.
Continuing on his 168-yard per game clip, he'll surpass all-time record-holder Trevor Insley's 2,060 yards for Nevada in 1999 by season's end.
The odds of winning college football's most coveted award are stacked high against the 5'10", 186-pound Cooks, but he has at least one advocate in head coach Mike Riley.
"I don't really know why not," he said on Tuesday's Pac-12 coaches teleconference call. "A lot of stuff has to happen [but] with those numbers, he can be in any conversation you want as far as players around the country."
Even though it's had just one Heisman winner—quarterback Terry Baker in 1962—Oregon State's athletic communications department isn't launching an elaborate campaign. Instead, it's showcasing his highlights—of which there are plenty—on social media platforms Twitter and YouTube.
It's a very grassroots approach, but Cooks' play does enough talking, as coaches in the Pac-12 can attest.
"I watched the explosive pass cut-up [Monday] night and...Wow," Stanford head coach David Shaw said. "Cooks is just running by everybody."
Shaw's team travels to Corvallis, Ore. on Saturday, tasked with stopping Cooks and the rest of the nation's No. 2 passing offense. A season ago, Stanford spoiled Oregon State's Pac-12 championship aspirations, handing the Beavers a 27-23 defeat.
That's an outcome Cooks said stuck with his team.
"It's definitely motivation. We felt like we had that game at the tip of our fingers last year," he said.
Much has changed for Oregon State in the year since, though few could have projected just how different the Beavers would look.
A quarterback controversy that extended until just days before the 2013 season opener was just beginning on Stanford week last November. Cody Vaz started ahead of Sean Mannion, one game after Mannion threw four interceptions in a loss at Washington.
Since taking the reins as starting quarterback, Mannion has thrown three interceptions all of 2013.
"He's on fire, and that's what we love from him," Cooks said. "We all look up to him as a leader."
Even with a clear-cut No. 1 at quarterback, Oregon State also had to replace leading wide receiver Markus Wheaton, who is now with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. Wheaton left Corvallis with 2,994 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.
"Obviously, [Wheaton] was a great player, but we had other good players ready to step up," Cooks said. "Our tight ends were ready for a wonderful year, and they're doing that. I just needed to step up and be the leader."
He's certainly done that. Last year as the No. 2 target complementing Wheaton, he caught 67 passes for 1151 yards—impressive numbers to be sure, though well off the incredible statistics he's posting in 2013. Riley credited 10 pounds of added muscle to making Cooks more durable to go along with his speed.
"That strength has helped him a lot, playing against all different kinds of coverages and cornerbacks," Riley said.
Yet even with a bulkier physique, few could have foreseen such a huge step up in production—save Cooks himself.
"You expect a lot from yourself, so I guess you could say I did anticipate it," Cooks said. "With the hard work that was put in this offseason between the whole team, yeah. I did expect this from the whole team and myself."
Cooks may have had an inclination he would have such a prolific junior campaign, but count Riley among the surprised.
"I don't know how you anticipate the numbers he's got," Riley said.
His production may be unexpected, but it can't be ignored for much longer. Stanford is the first challenge in a season-defining second half of the Beavers' schedule that also features USC, Washington and rival Oregon.
Player (Games Played)
Receptions (Rank)
Yards (Rank)
TD (Rank)
YPG (Rank)
Brandin Cooks, Oregon State (7)
76 (1)
1176 (1)
12 (1)
168.0 (1)
Mike Evans, Texas A&M (7)
43 (30)
1024 (2)
9 (4)
146.3 (2)
Antawn Goodley, Baylor (6)
36 (58)
851 (4)
8 (5)
141.8 (3)
Jarvis Landry, LSU (8)
53 (13)
795(8)
8 (5)
99.4 (22)
Jeremy Gallon, Michigan (7)
45 (21)
831 (5)
7 (9)
118.7 (9)
Paul Richardson, Colorado (6)
43 (30)
782 (9)
6 (17)
130.3 (4)
Davante Adams, Fresno State (7)
60 (4)
717 (16)
11 (2)
119.5 (7)
Allen Robinson, Penn State (6)
43 (30)
705 (18)
5 (32)
117.5 (10)
Three of those four beat Oregon State a season ago.
In Stanford, the Beavers' 44.1-point per game scoring offense is opposite one of the Pac-12's premier defenses.
"I really see no weakness in their defense. They're smart; they play physical, and they're tough," Cooks said.
Another stellar performance, this time against one of the nation's most celebrated defenses, and a Heisman campaign will make its way to Corvallis.
And even with that, Cooks could still be going under the radar—at least, if he has it his way.
"For myself, I couldn't care less about that. But for Sean, I definitely feel like he deserves to be in the Heisman race with the numbers he's putting up," Cooks said.
Kyle Kensing is the Pac-12 Lead Writer for B/R. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Oregon State Is the Forgotten Team in the Pac-12 North Race
Oct 9, 2013
Mike Riley has made a habit of defying expectations in his time as head coach at Oregon State.
The Beavers’ Week 1 loss to Football Championship Subdivision opponent Eastern Washington was oddly apropos—it dropped Oregon State from the AP Top 25 and put Riley’s team in more familiar territory as the overlooked underdog.
Pac-12 media picked the Beavers to finish No. 3 in the conference’s North division prior to the season, but nearing the season’s midway point, the team is 2-0 in the league and a dark-horse contender.
Oregon State returns from its bye week on Saturday at Washington State, riding a four-game win streak since that confounding season-opening loss.
The Beavers and Cougars promise to air it out on the Palouse—they rank No. 2 and No. 8 in the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing yards, respectively. Unlike Washington State head coach Mike Leach, though, that’s not entirely by design for Riley.
“We certainly want to [rush],” Riley laughed during Tuesday’s Pac-12 coaches teleconference “We’d like to balance out a little bit, but as I’ve said, we’ll do whatever we have to do to try to win a game.”
Quarterback Sean Mannion is shouldering the offensive load while the ground game irons out kinks, and he’s excelled. His 21 passing touchdowns and 403.6 passing yards per game lead the nation.
After he was embroiled in a competition with Cody Vaz that started in 2012 and spanned almost the entire offseason, Mannion’s success is one of the biggest surprises of the early college football season.
Mannion and Vaz shared the position down the stretch a season ago, and the instability was Oregon State’s most glaring issue.
Nevertheless, a Beavers team picked to finish dead-last in the Pac-12 North was seven points—three at Washington and four at Stanford—from entering the Civil War against Oregon undefeated and playing for the program’s first Rose Bowl berth since 1965.
The Beavers get both the Cardinal and Huskies at home this season, yet they aren’t really breaking into the Pac-12 championship conversation.
This isn’t a team without flaws. The inability to establish a consistent running game—even before running back Storm Woods suffered a concussion—has been a consistent cause for concern.
The team's 49-46 loss to Eastern Washington also set a tone for the Beavers defense, which ranks No. 92 nationally in points allowed at 31.6 per game.
Still, it’s made strides. Oregon State held Colorado to just a field goal through three quarters in Week 5, and the Buffaloes reached the end zone only after Riley let off the throttle.
The Beavers’ schedule breaks down in such a way that Riley and his staff can fine-tune many of the team's issues before a tough, final stretch.
Their first four conference opponents were a combined 6-30 in the league last year. Oregon State already dispatched two of them this season, including its survival of a road test against an improved Utah squad in Week 3.
Saturday’s Washington State game mirrors the Beavers' overtime clash with Utah in several ways.
The Cougars are much improved, and they have already eclipsed their 2012 win total. Washington State is playing great on the defensive end, too, holding opponents to 20.8 points per game.
Should Oregon State escape Pullman, Wash., with a win, sputtering Cal is the last opponent for the Beavers before a home showdown with Stanford.
If the Beavers are 6-1 and undefeated in the Pac-12 by that point, it will be impossible to overlook them in the North any longer.
Kyle Kensing is the Pac-12 Lead Writer. All quotes were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Follow Kyle on Twitter: @kensing45.
Meet College Football's Best Wide Receiver: We Bet You've Never Heard of Him
Oct 8, 2013
In college football, unlike in the NFL, it's not uncommon for the best wide receiver in the league—statistically speaking—to be a relative no-name from a smaller program.
In fact, it's rather normal. Every year between 2008 and 2011, an anonymous receiver led the country in either catches, yards, touchdowns or some combination of the three:
This year appears to be the best of both worlds. America's best wide receiver does come from a BCS league—his team was even ranked in Week 1—but for whatever reason, he's yet to break out on a national stage.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Brandin Cooks.
As a Prospect
Oregon State is far from a recruiting powerhouse, losing the top echelon of recruits to established West Coast programs like USC and Oregon.
So it comes as little surprise that Cooks, part of the 2011 recruiting class, received just three stars from 247Sports' composite and ranked No. 390 in America (50th among receivers).
Part of that had to do with his size. Listed at just 5'10'', 160 pounds, it was hard to be overly bullish about Cooks' next-level prospects—even though his tape screamed otherwise:
2011 was also a very strong class of wide receivers.
In hindsight, Cooks obviously should have ranked higher than 50th. But there's no shame in grading out behind current stars like:
Jarvis Landry (LSU)
Sammy Watkins (Clemson)
Kasen Williams (Washington)
JaxonShipley (Texas)
Davaris Daniels (Notre Dame)
Rashad Greene (Florida State)
Donte Moncrief (Ole Miss)
Odell Beckham (LSU)
Ty Montgomery (Stanford)
DeVante Parker (Louisville)
Devin Smith (Ohio State)
Plus, despite his physical limitations, Cooks' agility and skill set made him popular among red-chip West Coast schools. Along with Oregon State, he received offers from Arizona, Boise State, Cal, Nevada, UCLA, UNLV, Utah, Washington and Washington State.
But still, with USC and Oregon missing patently from that list, it's not hard to understand the chip-on-his-shoulder attitude that Cooks often plays with.
He still feels like he's proving himself.
Steady Improvement in Corvallis
After six weeks and five games, Cooks leads the nation with 52 receptions, 807 yards and nine touchdown catches.
The triple crown of receiving is a rare feat, but if Oregon State's defense continues to struggle, forcing the Beavers to stay aggressive for 60 minutes each game, there's no reason Cooks can't finish the year atop all three categories.
His progression from undersized, undervalued, 3-star recruit to college football superstar has been steady. He went from modest contributing freshman to big-play sophomore to unguardable junior in three short years:
Nothing from 2013 sticks out more than the increased touchdown catches. As a sophomore, Cooks was a threat between the 20s but ceded red-zone targets to All-Pac-12 teammate Markus Wheaton, who finished third in the conference with 11 TD grabs.
This year, Cooks has become the best red-zone finisher in the country. Seven of his nine touchdowns grabs have come from inside the 20, five have come from inside the 10, and other than a 55-yarder against Utah, all have come from inside the 25.
For that, Cooks owes a great debt of gratitude to Wheaton, who mentored him through his first two years in Corvallis.
A third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wheaton might have been the best slot-receiver prospect in April's NFL draft, and he has a promising pro career ahead of him.
He helped teach Cooks the tricks of his trade—how to get open in the red zone, how to run pristine routes, how to use a smaller, slighter frame to his advantage instead of trying to overcompensate for it.
He helped make Cooks the receiver he is today.
Beating You Both Ways
What makes Cooks so scary is his ability to burn you short or deep. His improved route tree makes him a threat to dissect you underneath—see the 10.4 catches per game—but his quick release and straight-line speed allows him to take the top off of a defense.
He can also take short patterns for big gains, using his blockers well and taking good angles through the holes they provide. See, for example, this screen pass he took 55 yards for a touchdown against Utah:
Cooks takes the dump off and immediately turns his head down field. Instead of following his assigned blocker down the right flank, he notices open space across the middle of the field and decides to traverse:
When he does, he's burdened only by a safety chasing him down. But he takes a much better angle to the sideline, allowing him to get around the edge and score:
The natural reaction to this run-after-catch ability is simple: Don't let him catch the ball. The best way to stop gains like that is to press up on Cooks and shadow him around the line of scrimmage.
But earlier in that same game, Cooks had already made Utah pay for trying to jam him at the line. When teams try to press him, Cooks can beat them over the top:
That's the beauty of Cooks' game: Defenders trying to guard him are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
He puts the "Catch" in Catch-22, leaving cornerbacks and safeties in lose-lose situations all over the field. He forces opposing coordinators to pick their poison, choosing the lesser of two evils and deciding not if but how Cooks is going to beat them.
There are loads of great receivers in college football right now, many of whom pose the same dilemma to opposing coaches.
But no one is doing it at a higher level than Cooks is.
Oregon State QB Sean Mannion Quietly off to a Hot Start
Sep 9, 2013
Lost in Oregon State becoming the first Top 25 team beaten by a Championship Subdivision opponent in three years was quarterback Sean Mannion's outstanding individual performance.
The junior threw for 422 yards and three touchdowns in the 49-46 loss to Eastern Washington. For his encore in the Beavers' 33-14, bounce-back defeat of Hawaii, Mannion struck for 372 yards and another four scores.
Memories of a quarterback battle with Cody Vaz, which began in late October 2012 and lasted until the final week of preseason practice, are past. Mannion has taken firm control of this offense.
Through two games, his 794 passing yards are second-most among all quarterbacks in the nation. Registering big yards is nothing new for Mannion—in his freshman campaign, his 25.4 completions per game for 3,382 yards were No. 11 in college football.
His big arm also left him prone to turnovers. Mannion was picked off 18 times in 2011, and 13 more last year. Four came in the Beavers' first loss, at Washington, after his return from arthroscopic knee surgery. That showing ignited the competition that raged for several months, spilling over into the past offseason.
Mannion's prolific output to start 2013 has coincided with much-improved decision-making. He's finding teammates for long gains and touchdowns as he had in the past, but without the turnovers that were frequently one big step back anytime the Beavers stepped forward.
The quarterback competition came down to Mannion's risk-over-reward against Vaz's stability. Vaz was not susceptible to the interceptions that sometimes plagued Mannion, but the senior is also not the type to make a splash.
Mannion has game-changing potential. That's been both positive and negative for Oregon State, but head coach Mike Riley's decision to wager on Mannion providing more of the former is paying dividends.
After the Beavers' 2012 season-opening defeat of Wisconsin, the writing was on the wall that such play is what Riley ultimately wanted from the position.
"Quarterbacks have to make split second decisions, and I think that [Mannion] passed up some opportunities, and I thought played a relatively conservative game. You have got to have that mixture, of a little bit of a gunslinger."
Mannion is making those snap judgments and slinging it around plenty thus far—and doing so without his previous No. 1 target. Brandin Cooks has settled in nicely as replacement to Markus Wheaton, catching 20 balls for 288 yards and four touchdowns.
It's not just Cooks doing damage, though. Mannion has spread the wealth among 10 different receivers, including five with at least four catches. His even distribution will be a foundation for keeping defenses honest and cutting down on turnovers going forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gUYZJPBngA
Should Mannion continue at his current pace into Pac-12 play—which begins for the Beavers in Week 3 against Utah—his productivity won't go under the radar for long.
Kyle Kensing is the Pac-12 Lead Writer. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Kyle on Twitter @kensing45.
