OSU football: Smith wants to focus on this team and this season

The news that Oregon and Washington will leave the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten in 2024 broke just before the Oregon State football team started practice Friday morning.
That is in addition to the expectation that Arizona will soon accept in invitation from the Big 12 Conference and may be joined by Arizona State and Utah.
Immediately after practice head coach Jonathan Smith took the opportunity to deliver a brief but impassioned message to Beaver Nation.
"Sounds like there's more and more reports even while we're going through practice on uncertainty, realignment, things of that nature," Smith said. "I just echo what we talked about as a team last night: What we have in front of us is certain and these guys have built this program and worked so hard. To allow this to be a huge distraction, we're not gonna do it.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei looked much more comfortable running the Oregon State offense on the first day of training camp than he did during the spring.
Jess Hume-Pantuso, Mid-Valley Media
"Awesome practice today in practice two, guaranteed practice three tomorrow. Guaranteed awesome home schedule. Big-time opponents on the road this season 2023. And so that's where we're locked in on. Obviously plenty of questions. To be totally honest at this moment walking off the practice field I'm not gonna have many answers for you.
"We'll be in the near future able to talk more on this, but this team is locked in and excited about the idea of playing a 2023 schedule with a roster that has worked so hard, couldn't be more excited. And the idea of going into Reser Stadium that is gonna be brand-new, it is gonna be rockin like it's never before."
Perhaps inspired by Thursday night's meeting, the team went through a spirited practice Friday on the second day of fall camp.
Uiagalelei impresses
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei never looked fully comfortable during spring practices and he struggled to connect with receivers during the closing spring scrimmage. That was not the case during the opening practices of fall camp Thursday and Friday. Uiagalelei looked sharp and made accurate throws throughout the sessions.
Thursday’s practice focused heavily on throws to the sideline and Uiagalelei repeatedly connected with both receivers and tight ends. He made a particularly accurate throw late in practice during a full-team drill, dropping a pass over a defender to receiver Jimmy Valsin III just inside the right sideline.
Defensive players warm up prior to the start of practice Thursday at Prothro Field.
Jess Hume-Pantuso, Mid-Valley Media
Smith has stated repeatedly that there will be a competition at the quarterback position during training camp between Uiagalelei, Aidan Chiles and returning starter Ben Gulbranson. Uiagalelei wasted no time staking his claim.
Smith said it was expected that Uiagalelei would need time to get acclimated to his new team after transferring from Clemson after the end of last season.
“From the first day there’s no question, just at the line of scrimmage. Put a lot of work into it in the summer, which we anticipated," Smith said. "There’s going to be a learning curve in the spring, made some strides in the summer, I think it showed up. I think all three guys that got reps today, Aidan and Ben, did some good stuff.”
Defense applies pressure
There were several plays during Thursday's practice when quarterbacks had to throw the ball away because they were under pressure and no one was open. There was no contact, of course, but defensive lineman were making their presence known.
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Oregon State must replace multiple veteran defensive starters but Smith is confident defensive coordinator Trent Bray will put the pieces together.
“No question that we lost some pieces and that’s what college football is,” Smith said. “That’s why I continue to be fired up about this staff. Each year’s going to be a little bit new, each year’s going to have a set of challenges and opportunities. And not just that side of the ball. Same way on special teams and offense. And so I think Trent, just like he does everything, he’s attacking it with a great mindset.”
The defense made a couple of interceptions during the seven-on-seven and team drills, but defensive lineman Isaac Hodgins made the play which got his teammates most excited. The redshirt senior sniffed out a screen pass, stepped in front of the target and held on to make the interception before running to the end of the field, drawing cheers from fellow defenders both on the field and on the sideline.
Notes
Offensive lineman Marco Brewer suffered a season-ending injury in the days just before fall camp. Smith said it is too soon to begin thinking about whether Brewer might apply for a medical redshirt for this season and the focus right now is on helping him begin his recovery and stay connected to this year’s team.
Running back Jam Griffin, who had transferred to Oregon State from Georgia Tech during the previous offseason, has entered the transfer portal. Smith said the decision was “not ideal” but he has confidence in the three experienced running backs on the roster — Adrian Martinez, Deshaun Fenwick and Isaiah Newell. Smith also said this creates opportunity for Gavin Haines and Jake Reichle, the younger backs on the roster.