Everything Oregon State Head Coach Trent Bray Said Monday
With the Oregon State football team (0-2) gearing up for a matchup against No. 21 Texas Tech (2-0) on Saturday, BeaversEdge recaps everything head coach Trent Bray said at his Monday press conference.
Opening statement
“After watching the film from Saturday, you know, it was what I thought it was, which is was very pleased with offense and defensively, how they responded and played a lot, a lot of really good stuff, played hard, made plays. There was there was encouraging things of we are the team we can be. We obviously know what led to that loss, but we’ve got to get that cleaned up because the way we played on offense and defense was very encouraging. There’s no question. Texas Tech is obviously very talented. And so they got skill. They got a quarterback. They got an offensive line, defensive players. You know, they’ve they’ve got a lot of talent.”
Coach, there were some pretty incredible moments Saturday, including 18 plays, 75 yards, 11 minutes and 16 seconds. You get the touchdown out of it, despite there was penalties and there was a targeting call. What about that drive after you watched the tape? What was so impressive about it in your mind?
“Yeah, the efficiency of how they played. And that’s something that we didn’t have the week before against Cal. So to see that improvement, be able to sustain a drive is very hard to do just in general. And for them to be able to do that and go down and put six points on the board was huge. I thought there were just a lot of great responses, tough situations. You know, Fresno got the ball inside the 20 late in the game. We’re able to hold them to a field goal, which gave us an opportunity. The offense came back out the next drive and went down and took the lead at the end of the game. So there was a lot of stuff that was good to see that I wouldn’t have said showed up in game one. So that improvement’s good. And we’ve got to take another step this week.”
On the same level, that last drive when you guys needed to get the lead, the efficiency. You talk about efficiency. I thought Malik Murphy maybe had his best moment so far as a Beav
“Yeah, he did. And then his improvement from game one to game two was very good. He trusted the offense. He worked well within the offense and made plays when we needed him to. You know, the only disappointing thing was not being able to close it out in that last two-minute drive after they’d played so well. So we’ve got to get that cleaned up.”
After they got the lead, what happened to the defense against Fresno in that final drive of the game?
“Yeah, we let the quarterback out. Because the coverage and everything, there wasn’t anywhere to throw. And we let him get out, and I think he had close to or around 30 yards, which got him in the field, because that 30 yards was the difference, and so we can’t let the quarterback out, especially when we got as good a coverage as we did downfield.”
Texas Tech has scored over 60 points two weeks in a row. What do you have to do to slow that down a little bit?
“Yeah, I mean, it’s execution and making sure that we’re where we need to be, not only in the run game but on top of routes in the pass game. Like I said, they’re an extremely talented team, and they’ve got talent and speed all over. So it’s going to be just a challenge from that standpoint.”
We talked at the second scrimmage, you talked about how you had been pleased with the tackling through camp. It did seem on Saturday that there were some tackling issues on some plays, some missed opportunities. Did you see that in the tape, and how do you work on that?
“Yeah, I did see some of that stuff. And then there needs to – it’s just a – a lot of it was a strike zone issue, just understanding where you need to strike when you’re in this body position. When you’re leaving your feet, you can’t go up high. You fall off. And that was really a lot of the missed tackles was strike zone issues. So easily correctable, but it takes discipline and focus to get that done.”
And on the special teams side, what have the conversations looked like with Coach Christian since that game? And then how has – Jackson’s mindset obviously said that was a challenge for him in the game. How is he doing?
“Yeah, we talked yesterday after the team meeting and just reminded him we’ve got all the confidence in the world, and we’ve seen him do it in game. What happened on Saturday, I don’t think anyone could have ever expected or thought would happen. But I expect him to bounce back and respond and do a great job on Saturday. As far as talks with Coach Christian, there’s some of that stuff like he can’t affect how that ball snapped. I mean, that was really the number one main issue of what happened on Saturday. So there’s some things schematically. They had a return that got called back that we can’t allow to happen. But there are some things that are outside of his control that took place.”
And with the civil case dismissed now against Exodus Ayers, is the suspension potentially going to be lifted this week for him to be available?
“Same comment, just never going to talk about player availability.”
Coach, I had asked you about, and everybody, how important it was to get somebody else in the receiving game going. And what about the game that Taz Reddicks had, and then Malachi, and Eddie stepping up in the way those guys did?
“It was great to see because we’d seen it in fall camp. And for those guys to step up in game when we needed them to and then show what we’ve all seen them do was great to see and need them to keep progressing.
And on the other side, tell us a little bit about Tahjae Mullix. He looks like a playmaker guy. Have you been seeing that from him too? Tell us a little bit about how he came to Oregon State.
“Yeah, he transferred in from Western Carolina. We really liked him and liked his skill set. He was hurt all fall camp, so that’s why he was kind of going into game one a little bit buried. But he got healthy and liked what he can do. He’s got really good athleticism for his size, twitchy, and is a disruptive player. And we’re starting to see that in game. He had a couple of nice plays against Fresno in the backfield. We need him to keep growing that way.”
You talked a little bit about just Maalik and his improvement from game one to game two. You mentioned last week just about how you wanted him to trust the offense a little bit more, not predetermine where he wanted to throw the ball. What were the conversations like leading up to that game, and how did you feel like he responded and did take that step forward?
“Yeah, I think the conversations were with him and Coach Gunderson and just spending time with the offense and understanding the game plan and I think why the ball needs to go a certain place. So I think he just bought into that and worked really hard during the week to make sure he was on top of his reads and where the ball needed to go when they gave us this certain look.So I thought he did a tremendous job of improving in that area on Saturday.”
Obviously, you’re a very passionate coach. When it comes to especially playing close games in Reser, do you feel like you have a sense of pride to play well here and play the best brand of football that you know that this team is capable of playing?
“Yeah, I mean that’s very important is defending Reser. So that’s been disappointing the first two weeks is not just their losses, but it happened in our stadium. And we can control it. We certainly could have controlled what happened on Saturday. There’s no question about that. And so we’ve got to work to eliminate the self-inflicted wounds that have plagued us the first two weeks and kept us from winning games that we should have won.”
And then heading into a tough stretch of games here, what’s the key to keeping your team optimistic looking forward, even after how the last two weeks have been?
“Yeah, I don’t think it’s hard, especially with the guys that we got on the team. But then, when you watch the film, it’s there. The proof is on the tape of what they’re capable of being. I became more encouraged about this team after watching the tape, as disappointed as I was with the result and what happened. When you watch the offense, when you watch the defense, and what they did, it is very encouraging. Yeah, we’re the team we think we can be if we can eliminate, like I said, those self-inflicted things that took place on Saturday.”
Looking at the series of false start penalties, it looked like all kinds of different things were happening. What did you see, and what have you got to work on there?
“Yeah, I think the snap count needs to be both in how it’s delivered and with the center on point. A couple of them was a guy that was actually in his first game.He didn’t play against Cal, so a little bit of nerves there. But we need to be tighter because the big one was right before half. I mean, fourth and one, we’re going to convert. We’ve got a chance to never give Fresno the ball back and maybe put points on the board, and it turns into a touchdown for them. So we’ve got to clean up those errors that weren’t in week one. So we’ve got to be sounder there.”
Talk About Jack Colletto Being Back For The Game
“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s important. We want it to happen. I know from my own experience here, this is a place that means a lot, and it’s a great place to come back and visit. And guys feel that way. And I think that’s why we see so many former alumni come back. The good thing is there’s been stability throughout the years, not just right now with familiar faces for these guys to come back to, which is rare and unique in college football. So I think that helps with it as well.”
Back on the offensive line, Nathan Elu, what did you think of his performance and his move to right tackle?
“Yeah, for him to move, and I thought he did a nice job. I think Nate’s becoming a very good player for us. So we’re excited about that, and he keeps growing and able to continue to solidify that offensive line. And I like the way we ran the ball, and he’s a big part of that with his physicality and the way he plays.”
Talk About Taz Reddicks Having A Breakout Game & Being That Guy Alongside Trent Walker
“Yeah, Taz has always had a tremendous amount of talent. Last year, his availability just hasn’t been there. So that’s part of the reason why we haven’t seen him do that before. But, yeah, I think Taz is a really good player, and we were excited about him coming into the year. And to see him do it in-game and kind of verify what we all thought as coaches was great to see.”
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