Oregon State’s run defense has a clear area to clean up heading into 2026. In 2025, the Beavers allowed 4.6 yards per carry and gave up 17 rushing touchdowns on the ground, and that kind of production won’t cut it in JaMarcus Shephard’s first year at the helm.
The challenge gets real quickly in the new Pac-12, where Oregon State will line up against a deep group of backs. Here are five runners the Beavers will have to deal with next season.
Utah State’s Jacobs is the kind of back who forces defensive coordinators to work overtime. He brings real versatility, pairing 6.6 yards per carry on 65 rushing attempts with 43 catches and nearly 4,000 receiving yards.
The style comparison here is former Washington Commander Chris Thompson, who finished his NFL career with nearly 2,000 receiving yards as a halfback. With Miles Davis gone after signing with the Carolina Panthers, Jacobs could step into a larger role for the Aggies in 2026 and become an even bigger piece of that offense.
Montana’s Gillman is one of those players plenty of fans may not know yet, but opposing defenses certainly should. He’s put together a dominant FCS career and stayed in Missoula despite having chances to move up to the FBS level.
In 2025, he ran for more than 1,500 yards and scored 21 touchdowns, earning Big Sky offensive player of the year honors. There’s even a chance his name comes up in the NFL draft when the season is over.
Montana will bring real firepower to Corvallis on September 19th.
Sutton was a major offseason win for San Diego State, with the coaching staff managing to keep its Doak Walker award semifinalist in town. He’s a bruising back at more than 200 pounds, but there’s more juice to his game than just power.
Sutton combines that physicality with deceptive burst and quickness, which makes him tough to corral. He rushed for nearly 1,300 yards in 2025 and had a 150-yard outing in the Aztecs’ big win over Boise State.
He’s already a preseason All Pac-12 selection and could be on an NFL path after his senior season.
Texas Tech’s Dickey has slipped a bit under the radar, but not inside the building. He was a key part of the Red Raiders’ 2025 College Football Playoff run and returns as one of the team’s important offensive pieces alongside wide receiver Coy Eakin.
Texas Tech enters the year ranked in the top 15 in preseason polls, and Dickey is coming off a season in which he averaged more than five yards per carry and scored 16 total touchdowns. As an upperclassman, he looks like a player who could break out on the national stage.
Then there’s Hughes, the Tulane transfer who didn’t get much of a chance at Oregon because of the Ducks’ crowded backfield. That doesn’t change what he showed with the Green Wave in 2024.
Hughes rushed for 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns, and 70% of those yards came after contact. That’s the kind of profile that makes him a problem to bring down once he gets moving.
The Birmingham, AL native could be one of the best backs in the Big 12 this season.
In Other News...
Oregon State Could Be The First Test Oklahoma State Can't Afford To Fail
Oklahoma State did not crack the preseason Coaches Poll, but it did land on the fringe of the conversation, showing up in the "others receiving votes" group with 22 points. That left the Cowboys unofficially 37th and projected to finish seventh in the Big 12, a reminder that there is still plenty of skepticism around a team that last appeared in the poll during Week 5 of 2024 at No. 20.
The schedule does not offer much room to ease into proving that projection wrong. With ranked matchups ahead against Oregon, Houston, and Texas Tech, Oklahoma State is about to find out quickly whether it belongs in the top half of the league race or is still fighting to earn back national attention. For a program trying to climb, the early test at Oregon State feels like the sort of game it cannot afford to let slip. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon State Icon Adley Rutschman Is Suddenly At Center Of MLB Shock
Adley Rutschmans name still carries a different kind of weight in Corvallis, where he remains one of the defining stars of the Oregon State run that helped put him on the national map. Now the longtime Baltimore catcher is headed to Boston, a stunning shift for one of baseballs most recognizable backstops and a three-time All-Star who had become the face of the Orioles young core.
The deal sends Rutschman into a new spot in a demanding market, with wrist inflammation already part of the backdrop as he prepares for his next chapter. Baltimore, meanwhile, reshaped its catching depth and added a package of prospects, but for Beavers fans the bigger storyline is the one they know best: a program icon suddenly at the center of one of the sports loudest moves. [Read more 🡒]
Former Beavers Are Making Their Mark All Over MLB
A familiar Oregon State pipeline has been showing up all over big-league box scores lately. Former Beavers pitchers Matt Boyd and Drew Rasmussen each turned in seven-inning shutouts in recent MLB action, a reminder of how consistently that program keeps sending polished arms into the majors. Boyd has looked sharp since returning from injury, while Rasmussen has been rolling through his latest stretch with very little traffic on the scoreboard.
The production has not been limited to the mound, either. Wade Meckler and Trevor Larnach both went deep with solo homers over the weekend, adding to a run of Beaver alumni making impact plays in different places at the same time. Even as the list keeps growing, there is still plenty of room for Oregon State followers to keep an eye on how far this group can carry its momentum. [Read more 🡒]