Ivan Maisel: Riley And The Beavers Face An 'Uphill Fight' This Upcoming Season

To put it mildly, the offseason has not been very kind to the Oregon State Beavers.  If you feel down in the dumps about any adversity that the college football team you root for has faced, check this out.  It may just make you feel a little bit better about things.

Senior WR James Rodgers had his knee taken out playing against Arizona on October 9th of last year, and still hasn't even started to run on his repaired knee.  His little brother, Jacquizz, the unquestionable star of the team, decided to take his talents to the NFL and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons this past weekend.  Star defensive lineman Stephen Paea graduated and was drafted this past weekend as well.  Starting QB Ryan Katz has missed most of spring practice so far with a nagging wrist injury.  And two key returning starters, WR Jordan Bishop and TE Joe Halahuni, are both down and out and likely won't be back until the start of the season in September.

ESPN's Ivan Maisel, as part of his touring around college football, recently spent some time in Corvallis.

Stanford Wants To Talk To Mike Riley About Their Coaching Vacancy

The word out of Palo Alto today is that Stanford AD Bob Bowlsby is interested in interviewing Oregon State coach Mike Riley, reports Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News.

Wilner also adds, "However, Riley, who attended Corvallis High, has given no indication he wants to leave his hometown. (He rejected USC's overtures last winter.) "He remains very popular with some of the Stanford donors," a source said."

There isn't much worry in Corvallis yet, that Riley may be leaving.  But for a program that just lost their star running back in Jacquizz Rodgers, losing Riley would be a devastating blow.

[ San Jose Mercury News ]
[ Oregon Live ]