5 Questions Ahead Of Oregon State’s Scrimmage

With the Oregon State football team readying for their first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday, BeaversEdge Publisher Brenden Slaughter and writer Ryan Harlan give five questions we have!

1. How Does Oregon State’s OL Perform?

Arguably, the most curious position group on the team ahead of the start of the 2025 campaign, the first scrimmage should tell us a lot about the progress that the unit has made under new position coach Mike Cavanaugh.

While the Beavers are indeed healthier and have more bodies available than spring, it’s still not a room of full health as the team is still working back in some players.

However, progress is being made, with a standout day in practice already this week. The big question is, I imagine Trent Bray and the defense will throw a ton of exotic looks, different fronts, delayed blitzes, all those things to try and confuse the OL and create chaos.

If the offensive line can hold their own in this matchup, I’d say that would be a huge win for the offense because I think it’ll be a challenge on Saturday.

2. How Aggressively Will Trent Bray’s Defense Play?

If there’s one thing that’s for sure with Trent Bray leading the defense, it’ll certainly be aggressive. The question is, just how aggressive in the first scrimmage of camp?

Make no mistake, one of the big standouts on the defensive side of the ball during spring and here in fall camp has been the numerous players and coaches on the defensive side who are excited to be able to be more aggressive this season.

The Beavers’ defensive line and front seven as a whole have really improved from a pass-rush standpoint a year ago, having more depth and talent to get into the opposing backfield. It’s often said that a pass rush’s best friend is a great secondary, and from what we’ve seen so far, the Beavers’ secondary is perhaps the deepest position group on the team.

All that’s to say, the Beavers have the pieces in place to really let ‘er rip, so to speak, and get after the offensive unit during the scrimmage. The thing I’ll be watching for is just how pedal to the metal Bray and Co. will be in the first scrimmage in terms of how many guys they blitz, how they scheme up the offense, and more.

3. Which Pass Catchers Stand Out?

The Beavers at least have two pass catchers in the wide receiver room that will be relied on heavily this season in Trent Walker and Darrius Clemons, but who steps up outside of that duo in the room?

So far in fall camp, we’ve seen Taz Reddicks, Zach Card, Malachi Durant, and Eddie Freauff all make plays and highlight catches at one point or another, but out of those four, who steps up to be the third option behind Walker and Clemons?

Reddicks has the inside track to win that third receiver spot, but Card and Freauff have been pushing him in practice lately, which tightens up that competition even more so during the first scrimmage of fall camp. Wide receivers coach Pat McCann mentioned that while his room is talented, the guys that are going to see the field are guys who can make plays in that game environment without the coaches having to give any direction.

McCann also noted that with the competition in his room, he’s also trying to outwork the tight end room, which coach Will Heck also leads. The tight ends have been involved in the passing attack throughout the first couple of weeks of camp, but how often will they be featured in the first scrimmage? The room has talent with Bryce Caufield and Riley Williams leading the way. Yet, I think we’re waiting to see an actual emergence of the group in this dimension of the Oregon State offense, and perhaps this scrimmage will be that opportunity.

4. Who Will Win Oregon State’s First Scrimmage?

With it being the first scrimmage of fall camp, one of the bigger and more obvious questions we’ll want answered is who came out on top? Typically, this time in camp, the defense has an edge on the offense, and considering what we’ve seen two weeks into camp, on first glance, I would give the advantage to the defensive unit.

Oregon State’s offensive line is largely still a work in progress, and doesn’t figure to have five fully set until two weeks before Cal. That could allow the defense to pin their ears back and bring pressure, as we mentioned above. So will the offense be able to make them pay by hitting the deep shot over the top, or will the pressure be able to get there first?

By no means is the winner/loser of this scrimmage in a good or bad spot; it’s just a good barometer to see how much progress Oregon State has made over these first two weeks of camp. My prediction as we approach Saturday is that this will be a defensive win, the scrimmage the following Saturday being an offensive win.

5. How Will Special Teams Look?

One of the most significant question marks for the Beavers headed into the 2025 season was how to replace Josh Green and Everett Hayes’ production on special teams.

Well, it looks like the Beavers might’ve at least solved part of that puzzle with Caleb Ojeda taking most of the reps kicking field goals in the special teams portion of fall camp practices. The biggest concern with Ojeda is his range beyond 40 yards and accuracy, specifically hitting his kicks from the left hash, which has been something he’s worked on.

However, I’d expect in the scrimmage that Ojeda will be put in some game-like conditions and have to make some kicks under pressure, which should give us a good barometer on where the kicking game will be headed into week one against Cal. The punting battle still looks like it’s coming down to the wire, with both Max Walker and AJ Winsor battling it out for playing time this season.

Winsor and Walker have had their days where they have excelled, but the biggest thing they also have to work on is consistency, like Ojeda. I’d expect we’ll get a good gauge of where both are at when special teams work happens during the first scrimmage for the Beavers.

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