Orange October: Beavers Head Coach Jonathan Smith

Once upon a time, Jonathan Smith was the quarterback who led Oregon State to its greatest season ever. Now he's the man rebuilding the Beavers into a successful program, but this season, they must deal with the disruptions of a pandemic and a rugged slate in the Pac-12 North. Ashley Adamson and Yogi Roth join Coach Smith to analyze the schedule, roster and outlook in Corvallis.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
I get a bunch of disrespect tothe leadership on this team because we've had
some great conversations over zoom on thetopics that you mentioned in regards to all
the social justice topics that's going onin our country. So I think we've
grown closer and guys have been ableto tell their stories and what they've experienced,
and each of us have had theopportunity to really listen and learn about

(00:23):
our the guy next to us,and so I think it's from our team
closer. All right, Beaver fans, you're looking at it. Oregon Stay
opening up the twenty twenty football seasonagainst the two new head coaches in the

(00:47):
league, host Nick Rolovich and theCoops November seventh, and then headed to
Seattle to see Jimmy Lake and theHuskies. Rivalry game against the Duck set
for the day after Thanksgiving in Corvallis, and it's up for their divisional crossover.
They have to go to Salt LakeCity to take on the Utes in
December. No less. Jonathan SmithI, during a third season as head
coach of the Beeves with us nowto give us a preview of what we

(01:11):
can expect, and Coach I justwant to start with, it's been a
roller coaster the last several months.Can you just fill us in on where
you and your team are at rightnow in this moment, a schedule in
front of you, camp about tostart. Sounds like you just got off
the field. That's all good news. Yeah, I think we're in a
good place. You know, abunch of optimism now that you know we've
got a plan in place, aschedule in place, a bunch of excitement

(01:32):
out of these players. They're justanxious to get really going and got training
camp starting Friday to get truly practicing. We've got a bunch of guys around
the summer and working in a pairing, so I know they're totally ready to
go. And you're right, it'sbeen a roller coaster the last few months,
and so we're headed to the endof the thing where it's the good,
good part of it. You guyshave been able to have these organized

(01:55):
team activities twelve hours per week nowper the NCAA. You've got able to
know your team in a different waybecause of of course COVID nineteen anti racism,
and then even some of these workoutsthat you're unaccustomed to. Yeah,
you know, it's been definitely adifferent environment all that all of us have
been experience, and with the twelvehours, I do think that we've gotten

(02:16):
to being able, especially our youngerguys around them, and teach more detailed
than maybe a normal summer respect tothe leadership on this team, because we've
had some great conversations over Zoom onthe topics that you mentioned in regards to
all the social justice topics that's goingon in our country, and so I
think we've grown closer and guys havebeen able to tell their stories and what

(02:38):
they've experienced, and each of ushave had the opportunity to really listen and
learn about our the guy next tous, and so I think it's brought
our team closer. You know,Jack and I want to get into some
of the actual personnel on your team, but just talking about what you've had
to navigate and all the stuff goingon in the world, global pandemic month

(03:00):
out from an election, it's hardfor any of us, even the adults
in the room, to focus withall the noise, just because everything feels
so help so heavy. So withthat said, I know you've talked about,
you know, making space for theseconversations with the young men on your
team around all the issues. Butwhat has it been like for you to
try to lead them through it?What have you tried to do as the

(03:20):
head coach of this program? Yeah, you know, it's as you try
to create a safe space where peoplecan communicate. Not trying to say I
got all the answers, because Idon't know if anybody does. I think
that you know when you say opinionsand experiences count, and they mean something,
and everyone has individual experiences that aredifferent, but everyone's got an opportunity

(03:43):
to voice those and be heard.And I tried to create that as a
leader, and I think along withour coaching staff of mentoring these eighteen to
twenty two year olds and let themknow that we're here to support them and
let them know that if they knewneed some help, especially on the mental
health. It's another topic that's beenreally important to us as we've gone along,

(04:03):
and Guy's been dealing with it,and so just creating a space where
everyone feels supported and we're here foreach other. You've seen so many different
football environments in your careers, right, and this has been a rebuild.
Last year, you guys had somany painful losses that I know just gutted
you, let alone those watching it. What is the one if there is

(04:23):
one thing that you need your teamto develop during this proverbial training camp so
those tight losses become tight wins.Yeah, I think that the ability to
finish and recognize that, you know, throughout the game. Oftentimes these games
come down to four to six plays. Could be in the first quarter,
obviously, could be in the fourthquarter, but you know, striving to

(04:46):
continue to improve from quarter one toquarter four and really from game one to
game well, thats you know,six or seven. Now with this season,
I think if we focus on thatimproving and season the moment on these
four to six plays, they'll changethe game. We will get over that
home, you know, like alot of packed twelve coaches. You'll be
naming a new starting quarterback, TristanJebber. We saw some of what he
had to offer last year. Canyou give us just some insight around him

(05:09):
what that position group as a wholeis looking like right now as we sit
here a month Yeah from the opener. Yeah, I think Tristan definitely took
advantage of last season prepared like astarter weekend and week out and really feels
comfortable with the scheme going into thisfall camp because of that experience. You
know, he came out of ourminimal spring practice we had as a leader

(05:30):
in the clubhouse. But we're allabout opportunity and competition, and then we'll
do that in fall camp as well. Brought in a couple of quarterbacks,
Ben Goldbertson and Chanson Nolan, andthose guys will get the opportunity in spring
ball to first season fall camp tocompete along with Nick Moore. Nick Morris
been here a couple of years,his brother played for the Bees, and
you know, we've been in theNFL for a while, and so the
four of them will compete at itthrough a couple of weeks. We'll probably

(05:54):
narrow it at that point and makea decision where we're ready to make a
decision. I think anybody who watchedyou guys an easy decision as to say,
Yeah, Jamar Jefferson is one ofthe best players in the country.
I read an article last week howhe's transformed his body. You know,
have you noticed something different with hisbody, let alone his psyche entering a
year where he is draft eligible.Yeah, he looks good. He's worked

(06:14):
hard at it UM, you know, and because he did, he had
the monster freshman year his first year, and then you know, last year
dealt with some injuries and that Ithink added to his motivation to get into
great shape so we can carry theload and he can be a really a
special player. I think we wantto continue to feature him other than just
handing him the ball. He caughtthe ball a few times last year.

(06:35):
I think we're going to add tothat. But then we got we gotta
running back a room with some otherguys, b J Baylor being then another
guy coming back, had some hugecarries for us last year. Going to
count on him in a big waynow that Ap has gone. So you
always want to have more than morethan one. But we're but we're looking
forward to watching Jamar now that he'sin this great shape. I know another

(06:56):
guy that Bees fans are excited tosee back on the field as Hammockers.
He led the pack twelve with twentytwo and a half tackles for a loss
last year and was just an absolutemachine. Your linebacking corp in general,
I mean it took some major stepslast year. What have you seen and
what do you hope to see thenext iteration of your defense in twenty twenty.
Yeah, I'm with you in regardsto the strides that we made last
year, and we got to continuethat. There's a group that I'm confident

(07:20):
about coming back as our linebacker crewbecause we got a lot of experience there,
starting with ham with the unbelievable yearhe had really impressed with him going
through the process on deciding to comeback or not. Took his time,
got all his information and felt likehe had more to show on tape.
We're anxious to see it. Butyou know, Avery Roberts comes back inside

(07:40):
back or led our team and tacklesall our space. True freshman last year
did a lot of great things.So we've got some real depth there and
in counting on our defense making anotherhuge step in year three, I want
to double down on Hammock Rashid Junior. He's clearly one of the most productive
players in the country, and we'veseen a lot of productive, productive players

(08:01):
opt out for the draft in shortenedseasons. Why is he if he has
communicated to you a desire to staywhen he knows he's going to be a
draft pick, when he chooses tomake that call. Yeah, yeah,
I think there's a few things andlived in my conversations with them. One
he thinks he can play better andchange his body a little bit, added
some weight, which he's done,and he wants to play it that way
and show that off on tape.I think he really enjoys it here and

(08:24):
playing with his teammates and wanted todo that again. And so this was
another scenario waiting for a schedule tocome out and kind of see exactly what
this entailed. He took his time, sees that this schedule has planned to
play out well for an NFL prospect, and it's going to finish the end
of December, and then he's gotplenty of time if he wants to go
train and get ready for the league. So went through the process and felt

(08:46):
like the best best decision for himwas to play, you know, in
him a Cobviously this whole name foranyone who falls to Pack twelve. I
know Oregon State fans listening to andwatching this interviewer are going to want some
insight though from you, coach onmaybe one or two guys that we don't
quite know about yet that we willbe talking about when all of a sudden
done at the end of this season. So anybody you're willing to single out

(09:07):
and say, hey, pay attentionto these guys. Yeah, you know,
it's still a tough getting Before trainingcamps, Starts were definitely excited about
a few of our newcomers. RanBeasons of receiver Texas that had four days
of practice with us in the springand showed some great things. Wouldn't be
shocked for him to play as atrue freshman, Alton Julian, it's safety,

(09:28):
three year player at the junior college. We're excited to add to that
depth that we that we needed toin the secondary. And those two guys
stand out. But you hit meup in a couple of weeks after a
few more practices, they'll let youknow some more. But you've always said
said one of my favorite quotes,which is we do common things and uncommon
ways. I think you've built andrebuilt this program up doing that. Where

(09:50):
do you think you are right nowwith this team and how you've built it,
what the culture is, how you'veadded it creatively with so many players
that will be hopefully productive for youin a couple of weeks. Yeah,
we feel like we're in a great, great place, especially after compared to
year one to your two. Buildingon that, I think we've added depth.
I think we're more talented. Ithink we're more physical and stronger.

(10:13):
I think we've got some skill atthe skill positions that we haven't had in
regards to just speed and explosiveness.You know, I think we're in a
good place in regards to our coachingand continuity. You know, we've you
know, again ten of ten assistantcoaches back from last year and really we
went nine of ten and after yearone to year two, so a majority
of this staff has been together nowand going into our third year. So

(10:35):
I think all of that benefits usand going back to feeling like we're in
a great place to be able toreally compete and win a bunch of games,
you know, coach. Last thingfor me, I think the thing
obviously on the forefront of everyone's mindright now is not just how you can
navigate the football season, but howyou can navigate everything that comes with trying
to play in a global pandemic.It just came out earlier today that Kevin
Sumone, had coach at Arizona,has tested positive for COVID nineteen. Just

(11:00):
what was your reaction when you foundout that news and have you had a
chance to reach out to him?You know, I was disappointed for him,
you know, getting close to hisseason now and then having to come
up with that. I know he'llbounce back. He's one of my favorites
in this league. He's been ablast on the Zoom meetings, all these
head coaches calls we've had every week, just a bunch of fun, good
football coach, and so our thoughtsare with him during this time, and

(11:26):
I know he'll be back strong asever. Appreciate that, coach, and
appreciate your time today November seventh atResearch Stadium against the Coogs. Can't wait
to watch. Best to luck witheverything moving forward and we'll see as soon.
Yeah, I appreciate it, guys. All right, Yogi. So

(11:50):
the Beeves twenty twenty, your threeunder Jonathan Smith, and we talked about
some of the strides that we sawthem take last year, especially on the
defensive side of the all. Butif we're looking at the schedule, seven
games, those they're going to beseven tough games. What's what's your feeling
right now on the Beam's head andinto this abridged version. I think I'm

(12:11):
crediting the right person. But Isay this quote a lot, and I
think Bobby Bowden said it. You'reone, you lose big, You're two,
you lose small, You're three,you win small, and you're four
you win big. Right. Ifyou look at the shelf life of a
head coach in college, traditionally it'sabout five years. Right. I think
Jonathan Smith is a steal for OregonState. I think he should be there
for the next twenty five if hechooses to. But with that said,

(12:31):
you look at last year the openerOklahoma State like kind of got away in
the second half. Maybe probably overmatchthere, but Hawaii they should have won,
lost by three. Stanford could havewon, lost by three. You
dub nineteen to seven. We're inthat ball game Wazoo. They lose by
one fifty four fifty three if youremember that one. And then I called
the Civil War outmatch, but stillmade it a game. And oh,

(12:52):
by the way, Jake Lewton wasa pre game scratch and Tristan Jeb was
the starter. Well, so Igo through those games like they're close,
right, They were five and sevenlast year there's a world where they're eight
and four, right, that's notlike out of this world. I'm the
most optimistic man in PAC twelve landlike that. That's just real. So

(13:13):
this year or can they do that? And the challenge is you alluded to,
is their schedules just not easy.You know, there's there's nothing in
conference play in the North specifically rightnow where you're like, yeah, I
feel really good. So I thinkfor them, they get, as you
reference with him, two new headcoaches off the bat, that's as good
as you want. And I thinkeven the three because all of them are

(13:35):
going to have at least one newcoordinator. Right, you could argue all
of them are gonna have two newcoordinator, right. Washington State is a
new staff you dub it's Pete Wikowskitechnically a new coordinator. They bring in
John Donovan, cal new coordinators leastby title defensively. So if you're going
to set it up, it's nicefor them, but it's not gonna be
easy. But I do think thisteam has improved. I think they'll be

(13:56):
in every game, and they gotto find a way, as Jonathan ellaquently
said, to win the majority ofthose four to six snaps per game that
last year they lost and that's whythey lost some of those type ball games.
He also talked about, you know, he wouldn't commit to Tristan Jeba
being his guy. I think maybewe'd all probably be surprised if someone else
beat him out at this point.But what from your perspective, what you've
seen from Tristan, what you knowof him. Let's just say, if

(14:20):
he is going to be the guy, what will you expect from him?
What does he bring well? Ithink the one that he did references his
care factor. You know, Imean think of the Civil War. I
mean you're talking about a team thatwas going to the PACTOL title. I
believe Organ already clinched it last year, and he didn't flinch. He didn't
flinch against Cavon Thibodeau and Troy Dyeand Javon Holland. It wasn't easy for

(14:41):
him, but he didn't act likehe couldn't handle it. And I remember
him coming out of high school.I remember when he first went to the
initial school he signed with, andthen when he came like the consistencies for
him is that he's been a gamerand he loves the craft and what does
that do a quarterback? It elevateseverybody else. It elevates Taie John Lindsay
one of the top returning receivers.It elevates Champ Flemings, Trayvon Bradford,

(15:01):
It elevates the defense when you practicedagainst somebody like that. So I think,
and Jonathan probably wouldn't agree with this, but Tristan Jevy reminds me a
lot of Jonathan Smith as a player, as a gamer, as a gritty
dude that like he would get upand like swing at somebody after a late
hit. Not that I'm condoning that, but that type of moxie I think

(15:22):
he has that He's got that stuffin his neck. So if they can
run the ball, they'll be betteron defense. But they just gotta win
critical d and ds like I sayit at nausea third down, red zone,
backed up four minute situational football.If he can have master around it,
which we don't know. If hedoes, they'll then they'll have a
chance to win some of these games. Last thing, I want to get

(15:43):
your take on it. We couldyou know, do a deep dive in
this all afternoon, but Hammoka Rachet, it was interesting to hear what Jonathan
Smith had to say about how hesaid he went about the process of deciding
whether or not he was going toopt out and waited until he got as
much information as he possibly could andmade the decision. What I guess your
thoughts on what he brings and asyou listen to Jonathan answer that question about

(16:03):
him coming back, like what jumpedout to you? Well, I think
the biggest thing that jumped out tome from coach Smith was that this team
on the downlow has been the mostconsistent coaching staff you could argue in the
country. Right. They bring everybodyback and anyone that I've ever been around,
he's got a chance to go tothe league if things all of a
sudden get changed, a new coach, a new DC, a new position

(16:26):
coach, They're like, I'm out, I'm out. So I bet that
added to him wanting to stay growdeveloped. Tim Tibosar has been in the
NFL, he's been a coordinator forthe Chicago Bears. Like he's been around
the craft and I believe it,like he probably says, and I've talked
to Hammock a few times, likehe's got some stuff to him I bet
he's saying, you know, I'mgonna prove you wrong. I'm gonna prove
that I am a first round talentthat I can't play three or four backer

(16:49):
in the NFL, like I dohave that ability, and I want to
change his culture. I want tosee five and seven become You know it
won't be, but like fundamentally sevenand five, like, can you get
him to a postseason game? SoI was excited about that because a lot
of times I believe when players havechance to go to the NFL from teams
that aren't elite teams, they're saying, I'm gonna get paid. This guy

(17:11):
would have been drafted like he'd beplaying on Sundays right now. So great
awareness by him of recognizing you onlyget a rookie contract once and it is
dramatically different based on when you getdrafted than two half in the world.
All to be like, I reallyenjoy this experience, and even amid the
pandemic, because I thought he wouldhave been an opt out guy. He
said no, like I'm gonna comeback. It's a shortened season. You

(17:33):
know, ideally you stay healthy.Chance for injury in twelve thirteen games is
clearly minimized regarding the shortened season,So I'm I'm pumped for him, and
he's got every chance to become thedefensive player of the year in the conference
this season. Love that, andI know Oregon State fans would absolutely love
that. Effect came to fruition aswell. All Right, November seventh,

(17:55):
Oregon State hosting Washington State to kickoff a year that will be unlike any
other that we have seen in collegefootball. Reminder, you can listen to
our interviews with all twelve head footballcoaches right here at the Pactul Perspective podcast,
as well as pac dashtwelve dot com