Oregon State Head Coach Jamarcus Shephard on the Return of Spring Football

On Wednesday, JaMarcus Shephard got to experience Oregon Weather.

When spring practices resumed that morning, the Oregon State head coach instructed his team to train outside, amidst a downpour. Following the completion of drills, Shephard spoke with the media, sporting an orange Oregon State Beavers jacket that was noticeably soaked.

This piece highlights several quotes from that press conference.

Shephard on his life over spring break

"You know what? My family came out here to visit. They were on spring break. I think that was one of the most important things. And so I got to spend time with my family. I think that sometimes we forget about that piece when we're going through this process as coaches, and folks just want us to sit in the office for forty-seven-thousand hours, and guess what? We do sit in the office for forty-seven-thousand hours, but it's great when you get to take two or three hours and spend a little bit of time with your family.

Beyond that, we had some players that we were trying to acquire - making sure that we added a few extra pieces to the roster - making sure that we're reviewing some of what we're doing from those first three practices of spring ball [last month] and seeing how we can adjust some things going forward and into the future, while also making sure we had a good plan for what it was going to look like for spring recruiting, as well as fall camp, and going into the season. So just doing all the things necessary to make sure that we're preparing ourself for the long term."

Shephard on Scott Barnes' retirement, and his wishlist for his next boss

"There's a plethora of things that I've already written down - because hopefully I get a chance to be a part of this process of selecting who this person is - and I'm not going down the litany of them, but for me, the experience - where they've been, and who they've been involved with - is going to play a major role in what's gonna excite me about who that next person is. Knowing the landscape of college football and what it is, that person should have a extreme understanding of what are the next steps, as far as college football's concerned. Like I've said it multiple times, we're not the most important part of this house that we have here at Oregon State, but I think a lot of times we're the front doorstep of it, you know, and most people are going to see us first.

And guess what? They're going to see our baseball team who's doing a freaking great job. Coach Canham. They're going to see the wrestling team. You didn't see that beautiful bathroom, that was the wrestling team. Okay, that kitchen. Oh my goodness. That's the basketball team. And that bedroom up there, hey that's our rowing team. You know, we're not the most important, but we're the most visible. People are going to see us probably more than some of the others, and so I do want that person [Scott Barnes' successor as Athletic Director] to have a keen understanding of how we can grow football."

Shephard on the spring game's format

Have you decided on a format for the spring game?

"Uh, not quite. I think I got a pretty good idea. We're looking at two different formats, and really it'll just be based on availability of our roster; our players on the roster.

It'll look like a game, for the most part. I mean, regardless of what the format is, it'll for the most part look like a regular football game, where we'll move the ball different. Now, there may be an opportunity for us to move the ball into a certain area of the field because we want to make sure that we're getting enough reps in certain areas of the field, but it'll look and feel like a regular football game versus it being us playing three-point contest on the football field, or something like that. No, we're not doing that. We're going to play football."