It was quite an offseason for Oregon State as Coach Riley left without a word. I was shocked! Never imagined that such a great coach could do something like that to his team. Well, I guess thats college football for you.
As long as I can remember Coach Riley was always on the sidelines helping the Beavers though good times and bad. Lets not just think about last season but look at Riley’s entire coaching era at Oregon State. Being a hometown guy Riley was able to connect with players and help them through their times at Oregon State. He was able to recruit and most importantly sell Corvallis and the University to the players he wanted. To be honest why would such great players want to come to a small college town and play? There are schools like Michigan, Alabama, and even Texas that are more appealing. The reason being Coach Riley and his sincerity. He brought great players to Oregon State: Derek Anderson, Yvenson Bernard, Ken Simonton, Matt Moore, Steven Jackson, Brandon Cooks, Alexis Serna, and the Rodger’s brothers. This list goes on and on with most of these players still active in the NFL.
While making great players Riley also made them great people. He made them great students and one family. In Riley’s years of coaching most of his past players came back during a weekend off to visit their old college town. This bond between Riley and his players was my favorite part of all the years he coached Oregon State.
While we did not always win and we did not always make Bowl games. There is always hope and that hope is still not dead. Though Riley was not as mean as most coach he got his points across. I have enjoyed watching coach Riley and his exciting games like beating USC twice, the 2006 Sun Bowl, and beating Oregon in 2006. It was sad to see such a great coach leave Oregon State but fans will remember him for the humble man he was. Riley is a great coach and always a Beaver.
When we got news that Coach Andersen was hired most of the Beaver community did not know much about him. I was not sure what type of coach he was going to be. Since we are now in the season I can say there are huge differences I see between Coach Andersen and Coach Riley. However, Coach Andersen has the mindset that the Beavers will be able to compete with the best and be the best one day. I agree, we needed someone who wanted the same goals as the players and the fans. It was a good move bringing someone tough to be the coach.
Even though it is still just Coach Andersen’s first season at Oregon State I can see some promising things. Seth Collins has a bright future ahead of him for one and since our team is young we will be better next season then this. This season is all about getting used to the new coach and becoming a new family. When Andersen got to Corvallis I was sad to see many of Riley’s old players transfer to other University but with those losses Andersen has done his best to fill the gaps.
Both Riley and Andersen have their strengths and weaknesses but they are both nice individuals. I truly think Coach Andersen is helping us get in the right direction though it will take some time before we get there. Beaver fans just have to keep their hope alive and trust Coach Andersen. The wait will be over one day and it will be great. Go Beavs!
