What the Beavers Said Before Facing UTEP

Fresh off a rout of the Montana Grizzlies, hope is surging at Oregon State. With a win over the UTEP Miners this Saturday, the Beavers would even their record at 2-2, and launch their first win streak since beating FCS Lafayette and Pac-12 rival Washington State last Fall.

This weekly series spotlights top quotes of the week from Oregon State players and coaches. This week, here is what the Beavers said about their big test in El Paso.

JaMarcus Shephard believes in Aeryn "Bubba" Hampton

Shephard: "When I first started working with him [as the wide receivers coach at Alabama], he really didn't have a great foundation for understanding receiver play, because he just played all over the place in high school and did a lot of different things in high school. He wasn't as honed in on just receiver all the time. So, him learning split rules, and the why behind why you're going to get your inside hat placement on blocking schemes, and things of that nature, it was foreign to him. It took some time for us to really work through that because there was a piece of him that I always said, 'I just want to go out there and make a play'. When you understand why you're making a play, that's when you become an elite receiver. I think he's starting to get to the point where he understands the why behind what he's doing."

Mitch Dahlen is impressed by UTEP's defense

Dahlen: "Yeah, I mean shoot, you put on the Michigan tape, I mean, they're beating Michigan. It's 14-7 and was 17-14 or whatever right before half. They play really, really hard, and their defense - I told our guys yesterday - you can't deny what they're putting on tape. Like, they play hard. You can say what you want about who they play, this, that, the other, but they play hard. If you're playing with a Michigan team in that first half and the game's right there, that says something to [UTEP] as a staff, and their players playing hard for them."

Mike MacIntyre likes what he sees from the Beavers' pass rush

MacIntyre: "Of course, you always want more, but I think we're doing well at it. I think not only are we getting some sacks, we're getting a lot of hurries. We're getting a lot of the quarterback having to rush the ball, pull it down, and dump it. [We] always go by sacks, but does [the quarterback] feel the pressure? Does he feel that? You kind of notice that in the NFL. They don't always sack them, but they're there, and the guy has to dump it down. He has to get rid of it. He has to throw it away. I think we're seeing more of that."

AJ Newberry explains why the run game broke out against Montana

Newberry: "I think the most important thing that we worked on [since the season began] was moving the line of scrimmage. Just like, getting at least one to four yards down the field before possibly contact is made. So, as long as we keep working on it, getting better and better, then the run game is just going to keep increasing and getting better and better."

Jarrel Comer shares the story of how his football career began

Comer: "I played football growing up, but I stopped right before I went to high school. [My] grandma ended up passing away. She was the big reason why I played. She ended up passing away, so I just stopped playing. Then after high school, I was trying to figure out how to get back into a sport, whether it was basketball or football, and then football became an opportunity. So I went from Florida, I went all the way to California. That was my first time taking a flight, but I was willing to take that chance to get where I am today."

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