SB Nation - Sammie Stroughter

Fall Camp Questions - Receivers

Jake Bertalotto — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:10:03 -0000

Jordan Bishop has had a strong fall, and looks to compete for playing time at slotback. (Photo by Ethan Erickson)

What a fall it has already been for the wide receivers.

First, there were questions of whether Darrell Catchings could fill the void of the departed Sammie Stroughter. Then he suffered a wrist injury, and was expected to be out for the season. Then, the news came that in fact the injury wasn't a fracture as originally stated. Long story short, No. 15 could be back for Oregon State's second game against UNLV.

But beyond Darrell, some other interesting things have happened in the receiving corps this season. When Darrell first went down, true-freshman Marcus Wheaton really looked like he had the wherewithal to handle being put into the spotlight so early in his career. Could he have got open as a split end against Pac-10 defensive backs as a freshman? We may never know. But definitely expect to see a lot more out of this kid as the years go on.

This is now the fifth "Fall Camp Questions" post of camp, (Linebackers, Defensive Line, Secondary, Running Back) and as I write this, I get the feeling that the post would look a lot different had I sat down to write it back on August 10, when fall camp began.

James Rodgers, OSU's stud flanker, has battled a minor knee injury (just a bruise, we hear) throughout camp and missed some practices, but it's nothing that should be long term. Everything we've heard points to both Rodgers' brothers being stronger and faster this season... as if they weren't fast enough already. Expect him to only improve this year, if he can stay injury-free, and help to fill the Sammie-void.

At slotback, we now have two players competing to be the next Shane Morales. Heading into camp, it looked like 6-2 junior Casey Kjos would be the sure-fit at slotback, but Jordan Bishop, the redshirt freshman from West Salem, is giving Kjos a run for his money. Riley seemingly dubbed Kjos as "the next Morales", and the coaches continue to be high on the Ohio native. After all, he's older and more experienced. After all, it took Morales three years after transferring from the College of the Canyons to really mature and figure things out in the slot.

To me, Jordan Bishop first seemed like another Oregon-born guy who would generate some attention as a recruit, then disappear from the map for a few years as he advanced through the program. But now, Bishop really looks like a guy who could contribute as a redshirt-freshman. Not only did he turn heads at West Salem High School, he took the 2008 Les Schwab Bowl by storm with 2 TD's on his way to being named the game's MVP. I heard some ranting and raving about Jordan last year during his redshirt year, but never expected it to amount to much until I've continued to hear great things about him the spring and fall. He has the athleticism to go up and get balls in a crowd, and has the speed to separate from defensive backs. He's definitely the flashier of the two candidates at slotback, but once he gets enough experience to know the playbook in-and-out so he can focus more on his skills-- watch out.

Other receivers who will play a role include Geno Munoz, another redshirt freshman, and Damola Adeniji, the senior walk-on. Taylor Kavanaugh could also be in the mix at some point.

The depth chart at all three wide receivers has been shifting considerably in the first two weeks of fall camp. Will it change even more before OSU's September 5 opener versus Portland State?

--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Upgrade or Downgrade? - Split End

Jake Bertalotto — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:00:36 -0000

First of all, I hope everyone had a great fourth and got to blow a few things up. A couple things to hit on before we jump into football discussion.

--Follow BtD on Twitter! Face it, it's the next big thing. If there are any twitterers out there who have not already befollowed BtD, you should do it now. Also, while you're in the twitosphere, follow the official OSU feed as well.

--We try to cater to everyone's interests here... if you're not into Twitter, you can become one of Building the Dam's fan on Facebook. I'm still developing the Facebook page, but it's never to early to become a fan.

Now, to the real point of this post:

The Beavers had some big losses due to graduation last year, but also return some key playmakers. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at who leaves and who returns, and decide if what we have this year is an upgrade or downgrade at each position in question. Click on the player names for additional information, but the main question is whether you think Darrell Catchings is an upgrade or a downgrade over Sammie Stroughter. *Perhaps* this is an easy one to start with.

Last Year:

Sammie Stroughter

#19 / Wide Receiver / Oregon St. Beavers

Height: 6-0

Weight: 186

Year: graduated

This Year:

Darrell Catchings

#15 / Wide Receiver / Oregon St. Beavers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 173

Year: junior

The poll is important, but I'm a lot more interested in the discussion in this case. I know most of you will say that Sammie is the better of the two, but why?

--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

PS: Hat-tip to Double-T Nation for the idea of this post.

Poll

Is Darrell Catchings and upgrade or a downgrade from Sammie Stroughter?

Upgrade

6 votes

Downgrade

116 votes

122 votes | Poll has closed

WR, Sammie Stroughter, Oregon St.

Jeremy Bolander — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:51:31 -0000

WR, Sammie Stroughter, Oregon St.

At A Glance
Position 1: Wide Receiver	Height: 5-10
Position 2:	Weight: 189
Class: Senior	Age:
Projected Round: 5th-6th	40time: 4.54

Combine/Proday Results
Bench Reps: 13	Vertical: 30
20yd Split: 2.62	Broad Jump: 9'2"
10yd Split: 1.50	20yd Shuttle: 4.28
3 Cone Drill: 7.03

Pros: Good lateral quickness and surprising strength to gain a release from press coverage. Good foot quickness and balance as a route-runner. Can generate consistent separation despite less than ideal deep speed. More quick than fast. Elusive. Can make defenders miss in small quarters and has the vision to set up blocks to turn short and intermediate routes into long gains. Can make the spectacular catch due to his body control and flexibility. Generally reliable hands. Tough. Willing to go over the middle and can absorb a big hit and hang on to the ball. Size, agility and toughness to project nicely as a slot receiver.

Cons: Smaller than scouts would like. Lacks the straight-line speed to challenge NFL cornerbacks over the top. Marginal late acceleration and can be caught from behind. Prone to lapses in concentration and drops too many passes. Teams will explore the personal issues appearing before the 2007 season.

Around MHR:

Around SBNation:

Highlights:

Scouting Reports and Offsite Links:

Quick with a burst and plays faster than he times...Reliable hands...Is elusive with excellent vision and instincts...Runs great routes...Tough and plays bigger than he is...Super competitive...Good ball skills and body control...Great work ethic...Team leader...Fantastic return man. [see more...]
Stroughter was believed to be a possible 1st round pick going into the 2007 season. Prior to the season he lost two very influential male role models in his life and fell into a deep depression. He was granted a medical redshirt for the season after suffering a season ending kidney injury and went through intensive counseling and returned to the team prior to the 2008 season. Early indications lead most to believe that he has not suffered physically from missing last year's season. Stroughter will continue to see his stock rise as long as he continues to be productive. He should also benefit from first year starter Shane Morales' success, so that he is not constantly double teamed. Stroughter has great speed and will at the least be a legitimate deep threat in the NFL. He also has very good skills as a punt returner. [see more...]
A tough, undersized wideout who’s been through it all but has the mindset to handle adversity. Displays a good burst and first step off the line with the elusiveness to make corners miss on the bump. Is very natural working the middle of the field and gets in and out of his routes quickly. Is dangerous after the catch and has potential as a punt and kick returner at the next level. A natural receiver with consistent hands. [see more...]

What the Hekker? Initial thoughts on OSU's 3-0 Sun Bowl victory

Jake Bertalotto — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:08:27 -0000

In what resembled a MLB game, or a bad hockey game, or a soccer game, or a 2nd grade youth basketball game, the Beavers beat Pittsburgh 3-0 in the 75th Brut Sun Bowl.

The last time Oregon State won 3-0 was against USC in 1967.

The Trojans came to town with O.J. Simpson, with everyone assuming that the Beavers would just be another featherweight in the path of USC claiming the national championship and going undefeated.

In that game, it all boiled down to a second-quarter field goal by Oregon State kicker Mike Haggard. Of his three attempts, a 30-yarder with 5:18 left before halftime was the only one he made.

In the 2008 Sun Bowl, Justin Kahut (now pronounced kay-HUT, by the way) made a field goal with 2:18 left in the first half.

The similarities between the two games are quite interesting.

"The whole game I didn't think that field goal would hold up," then-OSU coach Dee Andros said of the 1967 game in an interview with The Oregonian years later. "The conditions didn't bother O.J. a bit, and it was just a well-played defensive game by both teams."

Oregon State won the Sun Bowl due in a large part to their defense, which held LeSean McCoy to 78 yards on 24 carries in the game.

My schedule didn't allow for me to watch the game live, so I had to resort to watching the game off of my DVR several hours later. I will now spew out my thoughts stream-of-consciousness style, so I apologize in advance for poor grammar and anything that is unclear.

Offense: Coming into the game, we knew we would have to rely heavily on the passing game. Without Jacquizz being effective, the Beavers offense isn't the same. I had an inking that it could turn into a game where we throw the ball 50+ times, but after I watched Lyle throw his first pass of the game not even close to intended receiver Ryan McCants, I knew we were in for a long game.

I didn't think Lyle played particular well, but I know the wind was a large factor. There were a number of passes in which our receivers were wide open and had to make diving catches, negating yards after the catch, but Lyle has been doing that in almost every game this season.

We really needed our running backs to step up, and I thought they did fairly well. Nothing spectacular, but I don't think we expected a tremendous performance from either McCants or Francis. Like Lyle's incompletion that I was talking about above, another bad omen that came at the beginning of the game was McCants' fumble on his first carry. All in all, 99 yards between McCants and Francis isn't bad. This game was clearly a defensive battle, and Pitt's defense played well. That being said, Oregon State misfired a bunch-- twice, the Beavers took the ball inside Pitt's ten yard line and came away with no points.

Defense: The defense clearly won this game for us. Coming into the game, I thought that it would be very difficult to hold Pittsburgh to zero points. I seemed to think that Pitt would score several touchdowns even if we played great defense, and our offense would have to score to win the game. However, it worked the opposite way, and Oregon State won by keeping Pittsburgh out of the end zone.

Our defensive line was outstanding. Victor Butler, Slade Norris, and Stephen Paea all did a great job of leading the defense in dominating Pitt's offensive line all game. And when Pittsburgh did try to throw the ball, OSU's secondary stepped up. Pitt QB Bill Stull only completed (correction... 7) of 24 passes for 52 yards, and when he got hurt, backup QB Pat Bostick completed two passes for 37 yards. Both of Bostick's completions came on the final Pitt drive when the Panthers needed to get into field goal position to attempt a field goal to tie.

Thinking back on the game, I can only remember one time that Al Afalava was involved on a tackle. The box score indicates that he had one solo tackle and one assisted tackle, but I can only remember him tackling LeSean McCoy late in the game. Really, it seemed like our front seven just stuffed Pitt's rushing attack to the point that the secondary didn't have to make many tackles.

Special Teams: The game wouldn't have gone the same way it did without the performance of the defense, but our special teams were outstanding as well. For Hekker to punt the ball ten times and average 45 yards is phenomenal, especially considering where he was at the beginning of the season. And he was drilling kicks into the wind. Punting wasn't a liability today, it was an asset.

We can't end this conversation without talking about Kahut, who made the eventual game-winning kick in the second quarter. And also, kudos goes to Taylor Kavanaugh, who got the snap down after bobbling the football. Even if Kahut did kick the laces, it showed how disciplined the Perry-Kavanaugh-Kahut combination is.

Anything else I forgot? Chime in below.

GO BEAVERS!

(Sorry buthol, "What the Hekker" was too good to pass on.)

--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Let's Skewer the Bears One Last Time

CV3000 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:00:07 -0000

Good Afternoon, my name is Sam. I'll be your All-American punt returner today. May I interest you in our 57 yard special?

Finally, I have a chance to sit down and compose some thoughts on the utter destruction of Cal. Overall, it was a great day with many high points and only a few low points. Cal was a good team, but ultimately could not rise to the challenge of going toe-to-toe with OSU's playmakers. They had Jahvid Best trying to keep up with the exploits of James, Sammie, Quizz, and whomever was to inevitably intercept Kevin Riley. It wasn't really a fair matchup.

First of all, a hearty hip-hip-hooray to our two Pac-10 Players of the Week: Ocho Loco and Stephen "Tonga Power" Paea. The Ocho had a scorching, rocket-powered kick return score as well as a sprint, then skip to a stop, then scamper again rushing touchdown on the flysweep. 2 scores, 50 receiving yards, 20 or so out of the backfield--versatility, baby! He almost scored on a pass reception as well, but that would have been overkill and James Rodgers is a man of mercy.

Ocho Loco shows mercy by coasting at the goalline. via Thomas Boyd of The Oregonian

However, Tonga Power was not so kind. Stephen was snapping heads and putting on a bull rushing clinic all afternoon. He decided that it wasn't good enough to simply dominate Cal's All-American center, Alex Mack. No, Stephen thought it would be better if he could defeat Alex Mack aided by a double-teaming guard as well. And when Stephen decides that he's going to collapse your pass protection, well that's what's going to happen. Pads were popping, offensive linemen were getting blown off the ball, bodies were flying, and Mr. Paea was making soup up in their kitchen all day long. 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and this fabulous sack...no, not that one.

Tonga Power teacups another defenseless quarterback! via Thomas Boyd of The Oregonian

It was kind of a weird game, a bit of a slugfest punctuated by huge returns by Jahvid Best of Cal, and James Rodgers, Sammie Stroughter, and Keenan Lewis of the Team That Knows What The Hell It's Doing Wearing Black.

Against the Beavers overwhelming defensive pressure the Golden Bears were essentially incapable of sustaining any kind of offensive output. There was a garbage trick wide receiver pass play that reminded us of all the crap Tedford used to pull back when he was in Eugene and forced to compensate for the ducks' lack of talent, and also a nifty outside run by Best when the team lost contain, and that was basically the whole day for Cal. No, literally--apart from those 2 plays, the Bears gained 132 yards from scrimmage. The Bears were unable to establish any kind of consistent interior running game, and their draw plays weren't enough to overcome the damage of failing to block the stifling pass rush. Under that kind of pressure, the offense simply caved. Cal was able to run only 57 offensive plays all game and they gained only 1 yard in the 4th quarter.

The teams traded punches in the first half, then Quizz was Quizz and the Beavs were advancing the ball at-will in the second while turning the screws on defense. As Ted Miller put it, "the Beavers made a 6 point lead feel like 60." And that is the beauty of being a Beavers fan. 80 yards is a long way to go against this defense.

Wait, I said grill the Bears, not Bear Grylls! -Discovery Channel

With all respect to the Cal Football Team and its cheerful, good-humored fans, Zack Follett is the biggest crybaby in the universe not named Mike Bellotti. He was whining after the game to anyone who would listen, saying that he was being held by Tavita Thompson. This doesn't even make any sense because Tavita is 6'6" and about 75 pounds heavier while having just as quick of a first step as Follett or anyone not named Orange Jesus--Tavita doesn't need to hold anyone. Zack, sorry bro, they're called rules. You're just deflecting blame away from your poor performance and multiple personal fouls. As a dime-a-dozen linebacker, you aren't going to get away with hitting an All-American out of bounds. Deal with it, little buddy. Zack Follett prepares to deliver his first personal foul. Do you see #25 on the ground there? Quizz was actually the one who blocked him to his location out of bounds--from somewhere outside of the picture!!!! via Thomas Boyd of The Oregonian

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Sammie Stroughter DEE-HEE-STROY Follett on the very next play after Zack had hit Sammie out of bounds. It was a bloodthirsty crackback applied on James Rodgers' flysweep touchdown. Follett's head whipped back and his feet were hanging in the air as his limp, lifeless body floated momentarily before crashing to the ground. I guarantee that it only felt like running through one of those big pieces of paper at a high school football game for Sammie. I further guarantee that Follett is still feeling it 3 days later. It's been fun watching Sammie get the best of every team's top defensive player this season, especially when it's a poor sport like Zack Follett.

How incredibly ROCKING was Reser on the back to back interception returns at the end of the game? Even though the first one was called back on a false start, karma proved that it was the correct result. Keenan Lewis was all business on his pick. It was textbook. He caught it, lined up a couple blockers, then shed a comical attempt at an arm tackle by Jahvid Best. He didn't even need to look away from the endzone while he was brushing him off.

Brandon Hardin had a great hit on Cal's punt returner, but he also appeared to be out of his lane on Cal's long opening kickoff return. It will be fun to see if he's a starting corner next year, if they don't switch him to defensive end first. He's huge.

Kevin Riley deserves credit for only throwing one interception. Under that much duress, it could have easily been 4-5 picks.

Lyle had a poor showing in the stat column, in some ways it was the worst start of his career, but he played effectively and converted a lot of 3rd downs. Going one turnover or less is really all we need out of our quarterback position to win just about every game. Everything else that Lyle usually does is just a bonus. He was playing sick, with a coughdrop in his mouth so that he could be heard on the field--and he's still hoarse in interviews three days later.

After a noodle-armed early interception, he resisted making very many risky throws. I think Lyle really reined it in and waited to find the relatively few holes presented on some of the crossing patterns we had to run when Cal mostly dropped 8 players into a very tightly spaced, shallow zone coverage. From where I was sitting, you had to admire the uniform spacing Cal had down the field. They were very disciplined, with good alignments and equal spacing all over--it really reminded me of all the synchronized karate guys at the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing this summer. If you didn't see that on TV, you can probably find it on youtube. That was definitely the best pass defense we've seen this season.

My one sour note for the game: "black outs" are stupid. Half-(lawyers) blackouts are really, really, really, ridiculously stupid. Did anyone see the Georgia game earlier in the year? It looked like 85,000 empty seats. It looks even worse in Reser, especially when you can't get your act together. NEVER EVER DO THAT AGAIN. You're making a mockery of ORANGE. We've worked a long, long time to get people to wear orange at games and we still have a LOOONG way to go until we have 100% compliance. Recruits LOVE an Orange crowd. They LOVE it. People watching Beavers games across the country respect it. They're AMAZED by Orange. When fans see it on television they literally wonder aloud, "is it really that Orange in Reser Stadium?" The best that Reser Stadium has ever looked was during the USC game this year. Why? Because of Orange. Wear Orange. Be Orange. Let us never speak of this blackout again. OVERWHELMING ORANGE FOREVER.

Now, I will leave you with the eternal brilliance of James Rodgers:

OSU vs. Cal in Pictures

PLUBeaverBeliever — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 06:06:52 -0000

I would like to take this opportunity to formally introduce the newest member of the Building the Dam team, Blake. He's a photographer who can be found on Flickr at Blake James Photography. Sit back and enjoy some of his pictures from today's game. --jake

The view from Section 11, row 18...

BIG TIME win for our program! Reser was ROCKING...about as loud as the USC game I thought. Great job Beaver Nation! One.game.at.a.time!

The Beavers take the field for the huge match up with the Bears. The visiting team had won the matchup for the last five years.

Captains meet at midfield prior to kickoff. Oregon State won the toss and deferred to the second half.

The OSU Student Section during Oregon State's 34-21 win over California.

Lyle surveys the defense. He threw for 145 yards on 14 completions.

Shane "Money" Morales bringing one in. It was nice to see him back after he had to sit out the UCLA game due to the infamous goalpost incident.

Brandon Hughes

Sammy ready to rock....Gotta have your big time players play well in big games....Sammie came to play today. Great performance.

Layborn tracking down Best

Victor Butler putting heat on Kevin Riley. Oregon State sacked Riley five times during the game.

Chris Johnson almost taking it to the house.

Scoreboard with the Alma Mater....BIG WIN for the program.....time for the Wildcats!

Malicious Internet Interrogation with Building The Dam

BSD — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:30:06 -0000

Jake, from SBNation's fine Oregon State blog, Building the Dam, was kind enough to sit down with BSD and answer a few questions for us this week. Enjoy.

Ok, so last year Oregon State had the toughest run defense in the nation averaging just 70 yards rushing allowed per game. Last week they gave up 210 yards to Stanford, and 147 of those yards were by a guy coming off of major knee surgery wearing a knee brace. Was this just a fluke, or are Beaver fans concerned this could be a problem that plagues them all season?

Well, the cliche answer to this question is that we had to replace our entire defensive front seven. However, we feel like this year's group has more overall speed, and has the potential to be just as good as last years' group. We didn't see that from them last game, so we're hoping they needed a game to acclimate and develop as a cohesive unit. We'll have safety Al Afalava back this game, which whill help

How much will the return of safety Al Afalava improve the defense this weekend?

Having him back could loosen up the defense. Our new linebackers will likely take more risks if they know that one of the conference's best safeties is behind them. He's great in coverage and is one of the hardest hitters we've seen in awhile. I'm not sure if he's the answer to the defensive woes we experience last week, but he will definitely make an impact.

Last week your passing attempts were almost a 2:1 ratio versus the run attempts. The passing yardage was over four times the rushing yardage (404:86). Would you say that is the kind of split the OSU coaches shoot for or would they like to see a little more balance? And how will they go about achieving that balance?

Um, no. Oregon State takes pride in its running game, and the coaches would probably like to see us excel more on the ground. It's not our style to put up 400 yards in the air, but that's what happened at Stanford. We got a surprise performance from WR Shane Morales that was excellent, and gave us 150 yards that we usually don't have. Sammie Stroughter also had about 150 yards receiving, and the rest made up the final 100. On the ground, we just couldn't get anything going. Our O-Line really needs to step up against the Lions, because we need much better blocking both to help the rushing game, and to give Lyle more time to get the ball downfield-- an area I think the Beavers can really excel.

How do Beaver fans feel about their situation at quarterback? Lyle Meovao had 400 yards passing and three touchdowns, but he also gave up a few turnovers.

We're happy with Moevao-- he only had one noticible bad decision against Stanford, and that was an interception thrown to one of the conference's best safties. He's the best leader we have at the quarterback positions, and he makes good decisions for the most part. We're much more concerned with the offensive line and the running backs.

The Beavers have to fly across the country and ride a bus two hours up into the mountains to get to Penn State. They will have 107,000 fans intent on disrupting everything they try to do. There is a possibility the remnants of hurricane Hanna may be passing over Pennsylvania that day mixing driving rain with 30 mph winds. Can things get any worse for the Beavers?

If you think back to the last time the Beavers were in a situation like this-- 2004 at LSU-- you'll notice that the Beavs fared well despite the tough situation. The Beavers didn't pull of the win in that game, but it was much closer then all of us expected. There was also a rain storm before that game, and us Oregonians live for the rain. Weather shouldn't be a problem unless we're dealing with lots of heat (a la Stanford last week), although wind could make things interesting.

Thanks again to Jake from Building the Dam.