Three Things Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith Said Entering Matchup with Pokes

After the spring and fall of hitting each other, the Cowboys will finally get a chance to play against someone different Friday — even if those players are still wearing orange and black and go to an OSU.

Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith had a news conference Monday, where he previewed his Beavers’ upcoming matchup against Oklahoma State. Here are some takeaways out of Corvallis over the past week.

1. Smith Talks Defending Against Two Quarterbacks

Without knowing too much about how Dru Brown or Spencer Sanders will fit into Oklahoma State’s system, it sounds like the Beavers will focus more on the Cowboys’ system than the two quarterbacks.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy hasn’t named a starting quarterback, and it’s almost a certainty at this point Sanders and Brown will play against the Beavers, but rather than focusing on those two, Smith said his defense is looking more at the macro than the micro.

“In general, our plan really doesn’t change if one guy’s taking the snap and then the next series, another guy is taking the snap,” Smith said. “That’s how we approach it, like we’re defending their offense, not just one guy.”

First games of the season can be tricking because the most recent film opposing coaches have on each other is about a year old. It can be even more tricky when the players from the film available are different.

“First games, you don’t exactly know what it’s gonna look like,” Smith said. “You gotta base off what it looked like last year, and you research on who they have and if you don’t have tape on them, you look into those guys. We’re not making large changes.”

2. The Other OSU Quarterback Battle

This didn’t come from Monday’s news conference, but the Beavers named their starting quarterback only last week.

Sixth-year senior Jake Luton won a battle against Tristan Gebbia, a redshirt sophomore Nebraska transfer, it was announced Friday.

Injuries have plagued much of Luton’s career at Oregon State. He started his career at Idaho before transferring to Ventura Community College then to Oregon State. Luton started the first four games of Oregon State’s 2017 season before a hit left him diagnosed with a thoracic spine fracture. He was given a medical redshirt.

Last season, Luton played in eight games, starting five, but he also missed time with a concussion and an ankle injury.

In his 12 games at Oregon State, Luton has completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,513 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

3. Injuries to Know

Smith opened his news conference saying the Beavers will be without linebacker Andrzei Hughes-Murry (foot), wide receiver Trevon Bradford (foot) and defensive lineman Simon Sandberg (knee). He also mentioned safety Jalen Moore would be a game-time decision with a nagging hamstring injury.

Hughes-Murray started in 11 of Oregon State’s 12 games last season. He finished the year with 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Trevon Bradford also started 11 games last season, where he tallied 56 catches for 649 yards. His six touchdown catches led the Beavers.

Moore was the Beavers’ leading tackler last season with 102 tackles. He also had four pass breakups.