NCAA Transfer Portal

Continued from PAGE 7 is 6-foot-9 but plays more like a center compared to Taylor Jr.

The OSU men’s basketball team is already young, maintaining a group of primarily freshman and sophomores, and one of the Beavers brightest freshman stars this year was point guard Jordan Pope.

Pope can be the future of Beaver the Las Vegas Bowl, Uiagalelei didn’t hear anything for around two weeks. each reporter before the interview session started, then explained his reasons for

“I wanted to go somewhere that was going to put me in the best position.

I did a lot of homework on a lot of different colleges, and ultimately, I did a lot of homework on Oregon State and watched a lot of games.” Uiagalelei said about what drew him to the Beavers,

“I watched a lot of film on Oregon State. I watched a lot of their games, probably every single game and I liked that they run a pro-style offense, and that was something was looking to run.” brother in November.

The transition for Uiagalelei to the team has been relatively smooth, but the challenge has mainly been learning a new playbook along with the work that comes with it such as film study, throwing after practice to receivers, and playbook study. Teammates and coaches have both praised his eagerness to learn and improvements every single day in practice.

“He’s still getting used to the offensive and getting into his groove. He’ll definitely dominate once he does that,” sophomore running back Damien Martinez said. Uiagalelei added that he’s leaned on teammates and coaches to help him learn the plays along with just practice and film studying.

“It’s been great. The quarterbacks in the room: Ben, Travis, and Dom having been helping me and Aidan out a lot. It’s been good just being able to pick their brain and for them to help us, and also coach Lindgren and all the other coaches helping us out with the offense,” said Uiagalelei. “Every day I feel like it’s getting better and better. Every single day we have a new install, so learning the install, and then going back and watching the film and learning from it.”

Another reason for Uiagalelei’s commitment to Oregon State were the players that were returning on both the offensive and

Other additions to the team involve changes to the coaching staff as a familiar face to Beaver nation rejoins the team as a coach. Former Oregon State linebacker Avery Roberts has been hired as a Graduate Assistant giving him an opportunity to begin his coaching career back where he played in his college career.

The Beavers also welcome a new running back coach in Keith Bhonapha as he replaces coach Steward who left to go to Baylor University to take the same position. Bhonapha recently served as the running back coach at Boise State University and has familiarity with Smith from their time together at both Boise State and the University of Washington.

“I’ve seen this team and program get better year after year,” Bhonapha said on his decision to come to Oregon State. “I was at a great place in Boise State and a place I care about a lot. It was not an easy call but at the end of the day I wanted to put both programs in the best situation.

I’m just happy to be here and be a

The plan for the Beavers in the offseason is to evaluate players as an opportunity to show how much they’ve improved in the program and reps during scrimmages. This will allow coaches to figure out position battles at cornerback, kicker, wide receiver, quarterback, etc.

Uiagalelei, freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles, and quarterback Ben Gulbranson each have gotten plenty of experience with calling offensive plays during this period and will likely see a fair amount of playing

On special teams, punter Josh Green will not be available until training camp and his backup Max Walker will handle punting duties in spring camp. Smith mentioned that there is an open competition at kicker with Everett Hayes’ struggles last season. The time in spring camp will also give Smith and the coaching staff the opportunity to see how players have adapted to position changes in the offseason as both Makiya Tongue and Riley Sharp Beaver Football will play their annual spring game on Saturday April 22 at 10:30pm in Reser Stadium. Admission is free to the

JASON MAY | ORANGE MEDIA NETWORK basketball, if he chooses to stay. Pope averaged 12.6 points and tallied 74 assists during his freshman campaign, playing in a way that quickly won over Corvallis and fans of Beaver basketball. women’s basketball team more than the men’s team, having players Taylor Jones (University of Texas), Kennedy Brown (Duke University), Sasha Goforth (University of

DJ Uiagalelei throws a ball during the second spring practice of the 2023 season at Reser Stadium in Corvallis on Thursday. Uiagalelei is a transfer from Clemson University and a former 5-star.

Following the conclusion of the PAC-12 men’s basketball tournament for the Beavers, Taylor Jr. and Pope were both asked about their commitment to the team moving forward.

“We’re both with the Beavers,” Taylor Jr. said.

The transfer portal can be great, as bigger programs at Oregon State, such as football, have benefitted from it greatly.

However, for a smaller program, such as basketball and others, it seems too easy for players to achieve some sort of success and then depart to a situation that they deem better for themselves and

Lots of decisions need to be made now. How much longer will OSU stand with Tinkle? Can recruiting get any better? Who will replace Taylor Jr.?