What to Expect Saturday at Oregon State's Spring Game

The big day is almost here.

On Saturday afternoon at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Beaver Nation will see their first glimpses of what Oregon State Beavers' football looks like in the Jamarcus Shephard era. This piece covers three things we expect to see in Oregon State's 2026 spring game.

Players will be tested in game-like situations

At the start of camp, JaMarcus Shephard was blunt with reporters: he didn't have a spring game format set in stone, but he did have an idea of what he wanted. Here's what he told the media in early April:

"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."

Shephard followed up with a more detailed plan this past Monday, sharing a format that incentivizes game-breaking plays from both sides:

"We will have our offense: they'll get points for the points that they score. So, if they score touchdowns, if they kick field goals and make them, then they'll get points. The defense will get points for varying factors. If they get a three and out, they'll receive points for that. If they get a stop, they'll get points for that. Getting a fourth down stop at various locations in the field is more valuable. So, they'll get more points for getting fourth down stops, in those various areas of the field. We'll release the actual format itself, we have it, I just haven't released it yet. And then obviously if they get a pick six, take it back, turnovers, those are points associated for the defense as well."

All three scholarship quarterbacks will split the reps

While I have repeatedly predicted that Maalik Murphy will win Oregon State's starting quarterback job - a prediction that I echoed in this week's State of the Beavs podcast - JaMarcus Shephard's coaching philosophy borrows heavily from Mario Cristobal at Oregon and Nick Saban at Alabama, who both stressed the merits of relentless competition. Murphy might be the best man for the job this August, but he'll need to earn that job fair and square. On Saturday, the former Duke transfer will compete with the rest of Oregon State's signal callers. Shephard hinted as much two weeks ago:

"We split up the reps evenly amongst all the quarterback group, so all of them got to work with both the ones and the twos pretty evenly across the board. That's how we're going to continue to move forward, pretty much all the way until we kind of make a decision about who's going to be the starter."

In other pressers, Oregon State's first year coach has admonished his passing game for dropping passes, missed alignments, and other mistakes. If any of Oregon State's three quarterbacks on scholarship - Western Michigan transfer Brady Jones, Mercer transfer Braden Atkinson, or the aforementioned Murphy - can fix those woes, they'll have a chance to prove it on Saturday.

The offensive line will be challenged

Two weeks ago, Shephard took the unusual approach of publicly calling out his offensive line. A unit that began the spring as Oregon State's most glaring question mark is now firmly under fire, with all eyes upon them Saturday.

With the graduation of Van Wells and the departure of multiple transfers, the Beavers starting five is a mish-mash of inexperienced reserves and transfers trying to develop chemistry together under a strict deadline. Monday, Shephard openly admitted that his staff would hit the portal looking for upgrades across the roster. If his linemen aren't ready Saturday, then their days in Corvallis may be numbered.

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