JaMarcus Shephard to Beaver Nation: "Get your tickets"

This morning, Oregon State's first year head coach spoke with the media. Learn more here.

Oregon State head coach JaMarcus Shephard talks to the media after the Oregon State fall camp practice at Reser Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Corvallis, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

At the beginning of fall camp last Wednesday, JaMarcus Shephard promised local media that his team would tell their story.

Today, the Beavers' biggest story was Shephard.

In a twenty-two minute conversation with reporters in attendance, the former Washington and Alabama wide receivers coach laid out his vision for winning in Corvallis.

First, the rookie head coach stressed the importance of winning the turnover margin.

"I've given [the team] the statistics. If you win the turnover margin by one turnover, then your odds of winning the game go up exponentially. So we have to do a really great job of focusing on that piece of it."

When Oregon State's new head coach first begun to plant the seeds of his emergent football career, as a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky, he was named Graduate Student of the Year, with a flawless 4.0 grade point average. Now, he's trying to teach a crash course in the Beavers' locker room: Turnovers 101.

"Our guys need to understand football more. I did my best to explain to them what turnover margin is by asking them, if one team commits four turnovers, and the other one only commits one, what's the difference in the turnover margin for our football team? You know what? They did not know and understand what that meant. They're learning how important these particular situations are for our football team."

During Washington's 2023 College Football Playoff run, Shephard's offense included a first round NFL draft pick quarterback handing off to a draft pick tailback, and throwing to three future draft pick wide receivers. Today, the man in charge of the orange & black emphasized the importance of Oregon State's playmakers making explosive plays.

"The second one [of my fundamentals] is really the explosive play battle that you're having...I have had a statistic in front of [the team] right now that says if you win both of those things, you have a 93% chance of winning the football game. So we want to give our players the best chance to win by taking care of the football, getting turnovers, while also making sure that we get explosive plays and eliminate explosive plays."

Last season, the Beavers' total offense ranked 125th in FBS per Sports Reference, the lowest spot among current Pac-12 member schools. The team's leading point scorer, running back Anthony Hankerson, is now fighting to make an NFL roster.

After an offseason full of transfers, the Beavers have several new additions learning how to deliver what their leader demands of them.

"The offense right now, man, we're getting explosive plays all over the place, but then our ability to sustain drives throughout and not just be counting on those explosive plays all the time, it has to continue to improve."

The rule of three is a classic rhetorical device to get points across, and Shephard is using it with his team. Teaching his foundation during Fall camp, he is pressing them on one more fundamental.

"The last piece that really impacts winning is certainly the field position positioning battle that you're working with. It really speaks to our special teams, and ensuring that they understand that if we can get the other team to start inside their own 10 yard line, the odds of them scoring a touchdown, or points at all really, I think touchdown is 18%. If they're inside the 10, I think it only goes up to about 21%."

After a season of historically poor special teams week-in and week-out, Shephard is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to improve that side of the ball. This Fall, the Beavers will lean on analytics to help strategize on fourth down.

"Forever, we [coaches] have been told to trust your gut, okay? I think your gut lies to you sometimes. I try to have our players understand the difference between passion and emotion. I try to exercise that same thing, and so the analytics is what kind of helps us not be so emotional."

According to Shephard, if his team follows his teachings, Beaver Nation could be in for a show.

"Everybody on this team is important. Everyone has a role and they have to be elite in the role that they're in. And once again, I'm going to say this, we will not be at full capacity. We will not have our full team out there until those stands are at full capacity, so get your tickets."