The Beavs end their season in three weeks and I am sad to say that we are losing a lot of important senior Beavs to the NFL. The exciting Emerald Bowl should be a momentous occasion for all of our greats to shine one last time and make us all proud. I booked my ticket and can not wait for the city by the Bay.
Below is a list of Graduating Seniors and the holes that Riley will need to fill ASAP -
Clinton Polk, Dorian Smith, Derrick Doggett, Kyle DeVan, Yvenson Bernard, Anthony Brown, Gerard Lawson, Ryan Gunderson, Roy Schuening, Matthew Sieverson, Jeff Van Orsow, Brandon Powers, Sammie Stroughter (Might get medical redshirt), Curtis Coker, Joey LaRocque
Looking at this list, it is almost as if each of these individuals has their name in the newspaper each week for big plays of the game. We are losing almost our entire starting D line and a few of the heart and soul of the O line. We lose an amazing Cornerback in Lawson (We still have Afalava for another year) and our ENTIRE set of RBs. The loss of an O line and Bernard and Sieverson will hurt the OSU running game tremendously which will mean that the Smilin' Samoan and Canfield will need to step up their accuracy even more than they did at the end of the year. Time will tell if its going to be a long season or a breakout season for the Beavs QBs next year.
One of the only benefits of the ugly, horrible spread offense system that seemingly every college football team runs these days is the high school mirroring phenomenon. When Dixon or Tebow are shown nationally as scrambling and running QBs with little to no arm strength and accuracy, high schools across America train their defenses to stop the spread offense. RESULT - Very fast, leaner DLs, even faster LBs with good vision and NO need to perfect the CB system. Riley still runs a more traditional system and so we benefit twofold from this phenomenon. We can recruit the strong fast defenders meant to stop people like Dixon (seems like no need now) and we still have most of our amazingly strong upperclassmen CBs. And those other schools can not recruit the CBs of quality needed to beat our system.
One of the high school recruits that perfectly fits this need is Tony Wilson of Sprague. He is a big, fast LB with amazing vision. Watching him play this year was a treat and made me excited for Linebacker U to pump out another superstar.
So as usual, our defense will spring back from the losses, but what about our offense. Can we survive without Bernard? Will our entire running game consist of Rodgers doing a fly sweep? FEAR NOT Beaver faithful. While the adjustment period will most definitely be a rough one after Bernard goes to the NFL, we have some amazing recruits entering our system starting next year that could elevate our running game to another level.
The most exciting prospect is Jacquizz Rodgers, the brother of current superstar Rodgers from the Civil War. The 5'6'' 180 LB running back may sound more like a kickers stat line, but looking at this kid play on Youtube, it is evident that he could easily become the next Kenny S.
Jacquizz was heavily recruited by LSU and Mississippi State, but was convinced to come to OSU by his big brother. He holds the Texas State Rushing record over a certain Chicago Bear of a similar stature and demeanor (Cedric Benson) and he already knows how to win (his team is in the state finals). This kid is the real deal and a year in the weight room should make him a monster in the Pac-10. I can seem him giving us a full collegiate career because of his size which bodes well for the Beavs. For more information, check out Jacquizz' Myspace Account - http://www.myspace.com/rocrodgers.
The biggest back coming in as a recruit is the rock solid 6'1'', 220 Jeremy Francis from El Camino College in Torrance, Calif. He had an amazing year and looks to be a good challenger for the starting RB position.
BRING ON THE BEAVS IN 2008!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Monday, December 3, 2007
~~ TO ALL MY FANS ~~ SORRY ABOUT THE CHANGE
For those of you not in the know or for those newcomers, my name is Theo Skourtis. I have been the news writer for bestofthebeavs.com for 4 years and had accumulated thousands of articles and pictures. I had 4000 regular readers following my site weekly and more the 300,000 hits. All of this has changed as of November 15th, 2007, when a hacker broke into my account and deleted everything. Call it an OSU-UO rivalry prank but this was my livelihood. I could potentially lose sponsors because I could not salvage the site after the security breach. (Please stay tuned for the bestofthebeavs ads to be reposted).
I contemplated letting my sports writing die but I received about 100 emails from fans stating they wanted me back. I could not let my fellow Beaver faithful down, so after some soul searching, I am back on a blogspot account until I can pay off the debts I owe and hopefully resurrect bestofthebeavs.com in its full glory (flash and video included).
Thank you all for this support during my difficult time. I am sorry that thousands of my readers lost all of my past postings and photos on BESTOFTHEBEAVS.com because of the hacker. It is unfortunate that the police can not do anything to salvage the old website. Thank you for following me to this blogspot link
I contemplated letting my sports writing die but I received about 100 emails from fans stating they wanted me back. I could not let my fellow Beaver faithful down, so after some soul searching, I am back on a blogspot account until I can pay off the debts I owe and hopefully resurrect bestofthebeavs.com in its full glory (flash and video included).
Thank you all for this support during my difficult time. I am sorry that thousands of my readers lost all of my past postings and photos on BESTOFTHEBEAVS.com because of the hacker. It is unfortunate that the police can not do anything to salvage the old website. Thank you for following me to this blogspot link
Went from bowling in beautiful San Diego to Hyphy Park in the Bay Area
I was infuriated this weekend at finding out that the Beavers were yet again subject to our bad PR team and not enough national recognition to be accepted to a bowl UNDER the team we just beat!!
The Beavers unfortunately were the subject of bad luck and horrible policies by the bowl chairmen of the Sun Bowl by being selected to play in the Emerald Bowl at AT&T park. The bowl is still great, but we finished 3rd in the Pac-10 over the Ducks. The Eugeninites, after surviving a brutal loss at the hands of the school up north, were not only given the third place bowl game, the Sun Bowl, but they also get the higher bowl payout. All of this was set up by the snubbing of ASU for a BCS bid. Had they made it to a better bowl game, OSU likely would have been playing with Shamu.
The bright side? The Bay Area is beautiful and the park is magnificent. I have seen the Giants play there a number of times and I can not wait to rush the field after the game. The Emerald Bowl committee is excited to have us play as well. I can tell you right now that dealing with the Sun Bowl for press credentials last year was a nightmare and they could care less about anyone that wasn't an AD or a booster. Furthermore, Riley loves the idea of going to San Francisco for a bowl game. A lot of his players are from Northern California and some of them grew up very near the Bay. OSU recruits the area "like crazy'' in Riley's words.
The Beavers also play The Terrapins (6-6), an ACC team tied for fifth place in the Atlantic Division, with quality wins over No. 8 Boston College and No. 10 Rutgers. The team plays right into our strengths, as our defense plays with heart and conviction against the run, and it seems like this is the only place where the Terrapins have thrived this year. Interestingly, the Terrapins were just as beat up as we were this year and their season seemed to have mirrored our own as they came on strong towards the end. With both of us coming in healthy, we should have a slight edge.
Top 5 reasons why playing in the Emerald Bowl is muuuuuuuuuuuuch better than the Holiday and Sun Bowl
1. I don't have to change planes in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Houston and Dallas to arrive in San Francisco
2. Four Words: Mexico is further away
3. I don't think President Bush is a fan of the Terrapins
4. I actually get to see my family for Christmas
5. We get a few extra days to heal!!
The Beavers unfortunately were the subject of bad luck and horrible policies by the bowl chairmen of the Sun Bowl by being selected to play in the Emerald Bowl at AT&T park. The bowl is still great, but we finished 3rd in the Pac-10 over the Ducks. The Eugeninites, after surviving a brutal loss at the hands of the school up north, were not only given the third place bowl game, the Sun Bowl, but they also get the higher bowl payout. All of this was set up by the snubbing of ASU for a BCS bid. Had they made it to a better bowl game, OSU likely would have been playing with Shamu.
The bright side? The Bay Area is beautiful and the park is magnificent. I have seen the Giants play there a number of times and I can not wait to rush the field after the game. The Emerald Bowl committee is excited to have us play as well. I can tell you right now that dealing with the Sun Bowl for press credentials last year was a nightmare and they could care less about anyone that wasn't an AD or a booster. Furthermore, Riley loves the idea of going to San Francisco for a bowl game. A lot of his players are from Northern California and some of them grew up very near the Bay. OSU recruits the area "like crazy'' in Riley's words.
The Beavers also play The Terrapins (6-6), an ACC team tied for fifth place in the Atlantic Division, with quality wins over No. 8 Boston College and No. 10 Rutgers. The team plays right into our strengths, as our defense plays with heart and conviction against the run, and it seems like this is the only place where the Terrapins have thrived this year. Interestingly, the Terrapins were just as beat up as we were this year and their season seemed to have mirrored our own as they came on strong towards the end. With both of us coming in healthy, we should have a slight edge.
Top 5 reasons why playing in the Emerald Bowl is muuuuuuuuuuuuch better than the Holiday and Sun Bowl
1. I don't have to change planes in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Houston and Dallas to arrive in San Francisco
2. Four Words: Mexico is further away
3. I don't think President Bush is a fan of the Terrapins
4. I actually get to see my family for Christmas
5. We get a few extra days to heal!!
Beaver Football Tickets - On Sale
From OSUBeavers.com
"CORVALLIS, Ore. – Tickets sales for the 6th annual Emerald Bowl, to be played Dec. 28, 2007 in San Francisco, go on sale Monday. Tickets can be ordered by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS, in person at the Gill Coliseum Ticket Office, or by going online at www.osubeavers.com.
Ticket orders on Monday, Dec. 3 will only be accepted from 2007 football season ticket holders. In order to receive full Beaver Athletic Student Fund priority on their order, season ticket holders must order their tickets by Monday at 6 p.m.
Ticket orders will be opened to the general public on Tuesday, Dec. 4, and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ticket Prices:
- $75
- $50
- $40
OSU receives a limited number of tickets at each price level. BASF priority will be used to determine which price ticket will be allocated. Example: If you order a $75 ticket and we have over sold our allotment of those tickets, we will use BASF priority to determine if you receive the $75 ticket or automatically get allocated a lower priced ticket.
Tickets ordered by Dec. 10 will be mailed via UPS Next Day Air. Orders received after Dec. 10 will be placed in Will Call for pick up at the Emerald Bowl. Will Call information will be available shortly. Tickets will be mailed on Dec. 20.
Orders and order quantity are not guaranteed until all orders are processed. Ticket orders will be filled based on BASF order priority.
Bowl Tour packages are available through Azumano Travel, the preferred provider of all fan travel for the 2007 Bowl Season. Information on Bowl Packages can be obtained by calling 1-800-937-2959 or by visiting www.azumano.com/beavers. Please note that Bowl Packages WILL NOT include game tickets. Please order all game tickets through the OSU Athletic Ticket Office.
The OSU Ticket Office will be open extended hours on Monday, Dec. 3, 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Normal business hours will resume on Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m."
"CORVALLIS, Ore. – Tickets sales for the 6th annual Emerald Bowl, to be played Dec. 28, 2007 in San Francisco, go on sale Monday. Tickets can be ordered by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS, in person at the Gill Coliseum Ticket Office, or by going online at www.osubeavers.com.
Ticket orders on Monday, Dec. 3 will only be accepted from 2007 football season ticket holders. In order to receive full Beaver Athletic Student Fund priority on their order, season ticket holders must order their tickets by Monday at 6 p.m.
Ticket orders will be opened to the general public on Tuesday, Dec. 4, and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ticket Prices:
- $75
- $50
- $40
OSU receives a limited number of tickets at each price level. BASF priority will be used to determine which price ticket will be allocated. Example: If you order a $75 ticket and we have over sold our allotment of those tickets, we will use BASF priority to determine if you receive the $75 ticket or automatically get allocated a lower priced ticket.
Tickets ordered by Dec. 10 will be mailed via UPS Next Day Air. Orders received after Dec. 10 will be placed in Will Call for pick up at the Emerald Bowl. Will Call information will be available shortly. Tickets will be mailed on Dec. 20.
Orders and order quantity are not guaranteed until all orders are processed. Ticket orders will be filled based on BASF order priority.
Bowl Tour packages are available through Azumano Travel, the preferred provider of all fan travel for the 2007 Bowl Season. Information on Bowl Packages can be obtained by calling 1-800-937-2959 or by visiting www.azumano.com/beavers. Please note that Bowl Packages WILL NOT include game tickets. Please order all game tickets through the OSU Athletic Ticket Office.
The OSU Ticket Office will be open extended hours on Monday, Dec. 3, 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Normal business hours will resume on Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m."
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