Young Oregon State Players Show Promise in Sam Houston Loss Despite Final Score
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The Beavers suffered a shocking home loss on Saturday night to Sam Houston State, despite a very strong performance on the defensive side of the ball. The Bearkats were held to only seven offensive points on the evening. They rest of their points were scored off a kick return touchdown and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.
While a special teams collapse and missed offensive opportunities led to the 21-17 loss, a few members of the current Beavers' squad delivered standout performances, and now need to replicate them in their final two contests of the season.
David Wells Jr. - WR
In what was overall an awful night for the Beavers' offense, the sophomore wide receiver was certainly a bright spot. In a second half where Oregon State was desperately looking for answers, Wells was able to keep them in the game with numerous first-down receptions. He went over 100 receiving yards for the second time this season, and finished with nine total receptions.
Aiden Sullivan - LB
Making this list for the second consecutive week, the junior linebacker was a staple in the middle for an Oregon State defense that was rock solid last night. Sullivan ended the game with five solo tackles and two TFLs (giving him a total of three over the last two weeks). Aiden also showed good speed chasing down plays, rarely allowing SHSU ball carriers to get to the outside.
MORE: Oregon State Football Collapses in Second Half To Hand Sam Houston First Win of 2025
Tygee Hill - DL
The LSU transfer, whom the program has had high hopes for since he transferred in, has broken out for OSU in the past few weeks. Hill wreaked havoc against the SHSU offensive line, helping the Beavers plug up holes in the run game. Hill was a big part of why Oregon State allowed just 72 yards on the ground last night. He finished with four tackles and a TFL.
Jalil Tucker - DB
The entire Oregon State secondary was fantastic on Saturday, as the Beavers allowed just nine completions on 24 pass attempts. In fact, one of the reasons there aren't more stats from the DBs last night is because the ball wasn't thrown their way a whole lot, a result of Bearkat receivers not being open. Jalil Tucker stood out even more than the rest of the group with a couple of impressive pass breakups that he had in the second half on well-thrown balls .
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Ben Pahl is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in Portland, Oregon. His work covering college and professional sports has been featured by the Orange Media Network at Oregon State University as well as KBVR.fm. His other career stops in sports include the Portland Pickles baseball club and the NBA G-League's Rip City Remix.