Cavanaugh Tutors New Look Beavs' Offensive Line in 2025

The coaching profession has been kind to Mike Cavanaugh.

After working for his brother-in-law Kevin Gilbride on the San Diego Chargers staff (1997-98), Cavanaugh coached offensive linemen for June Jones’ early Hawaii teams at the turn of the century. Afterwards, “Cav” spent ten seasons tutoring the offensive lines for Mike Riley at Oregon State.

Now, after seasons spent all over the country - including an analyst role at Oregon last fall - he is back in Corvallis. Yesterday, Cavanaugh and several Oregon State offensive linemen spoke with the media. Here are highlights of their conversations.

Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh on figuring out a starting five for the season opener

“Gotta get ‘em up to speed, so whoever’s ready, we gotta get ‘em ready. That’s my job. We got a guy Ryan Berger in at left guard right now, he flashes at times. He’s got to get more consistent, too. I think Bam [center Van Wells] has had a good camp. I think Nate [tackle Nathan Elu] has had a good camp. He’s been consistent; I love his smarts and toughness. Right tackle Ty Morano’s back. He’s getting reps there. He’s growing; he’s got a lot of rust, he hasn’t played in a couple years.”

Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh on what he likes so far

“To me, a great thing for us is what we see every day in Coach Bray’s defense. We’re seeing everything. We’re seeing event front, we’re seeing odd front, we’re seeing bear front, we’re seeing tons of pressure. So being alert - to grow off of all that stuff - I think is really good."

Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh on Tyler Voltin’s presence

“Big presence, another guy that’s a leader. He knows how to act in the meeting room, how to work, how to take notes. He’s a vocal guy - which is a rare thing today - a lot of people don’t like to call guys out. But I love what he does, so I like him a lot.”

Guard Tyler Voltin on where the line can improve

“Mostly technique stuff, some scheme stuff, but most of it's just technique. Just dialing in technique, making sure its second nature for us, when we go out there on Saturdays.”

Guard Tyler Voltin on his inspiration and his leadership style

“[I lean on] past leadership, the Jake Leavengood’s, the Heneli Bloomfield’s, the Tali’s (Taliese Fuaga), the Kipper’s (Brandon Kipper), all those guys three or four years ago, those guys have kind of been the role models to lead this squad.”

Guard Tyler Voltin on recovering from a season-ending injury

“Yeah, it was tough in the beginning, because I had to start basically over. I had to start from scratch - learn how to walk again - and do all that stuff. But it feels really good right now. The athletic trainers are great; they’re helping us out every step of the way, monitoring it really well, so I’m ready to get back out there.”

Tackle Tyler Morano on Cavanaugh’s impact and chemistry with teammates

“Oh I love it. We just preach toughness and technique. He really gets the guys fired up and motivated every day to attack the day.”

Tackle Tyler Morano on his mindset

“I’m just excited to be back. It’s been a while. I love this game, not being able to be a part of it over the last year and a half, now being able to be here, I’m just excited to get back out there.”

Tackle Jacob Strand on Cavanaugh’s demand for positional versatility

“Yeah, everyone can play every position. I feel like center is a little bit different just because you have to be able to snap the ball, but tackles can play the guard position, guards can play tackles, and it’s really helpful when injuries come into play later in the season, guys can step up.

Tackle Jacob Strand on where he stands after missing Spring camp

“I feel like we’re good. I don’t think there’s any catch-up that we’re playing right now. I think we’re already back. A lot of us - like me, Volt [Tyler Voltin], Timo [Josiah Timoteo], were all injured last year - but we were still doing all the stuff during spring ball, just not the team reps necessarily.”

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