CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State’s football momentum has turned into something hard to ignore, and the Beavers are rolling into their meeting with Washington State with a roster that looks lively, deep and built around a few fast-rising stars.
The buzz starts with JaMarcus Shephard, whose arrival last November gave Oregon State a new face and a new edge. He came in after two seasons as Alabama’s co-offensive coordinator under Kalen DeBoer, following DeBoer from Washington in 2024.
Shephard also knows this week’s opponent from his time at Washington State under the late Mike Leach, where he spent one season working with River Cracraft. At Oregon State, his presence has already taken hold.
“Every single player on our team is important,” Shephard told reporters Saturday after the Beavers’ win over San Diego State.
That win was another sign of how much is clicking. Oregon State has been building quietly for months, not just with a head-coaching hire, but with line depth and a group of young playmakers on both sides of the ball. The result has been a team that looks energized from top to bottom.
Even Chad Johnson came back around last week, reuniting with his old team at practice for the first time since he played for the Beavers in 2000. He is expected back again this weekend for Oregon State’s game against Washington State on Saturday.
But the biggest spark right now belongs to Jesse Legree, who is putting together a freshman season that has turned heads nationally. The Baltimore native was a cornerback as a senior at St. Frances Academy, yet he now sits atop all of NCAA football in receiving production.
Against San Diego State, Legree caught 10 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns, both a career high in receptions and a huge step in an already electric run. He also set a program record with six straight 100-yard receiving games, breaking the previous mark of five held by Mike Hass in 2005 and Brandin Cooks in 2013.
Through 38 catches, Legree has piled up 932 yards and 12 touchdowns, and the way he attacks all three levels of the field has put him in the middle of growing Heisman Trophy chatter. After his 71-yard touchdown grab Saturday, he struck the famous pose made famous by Desmond Howard in the end zone.
“It’s because I am making history every week,” Legree told reporters after the game Saturday. “You haven’t seen freshmen do this.”
On the other side of the ball, Oregon State is also getting real production from Takari Hickle, a Tenino, Wash., native and small-school product who is having a breakout 2026 season. Health has been a big part of that jump, and Hickle has become a key piece of the defensive front Shephard wanted to create.
Hickle leads the Beavers with 3.5 sacks and ranks second on the team with 30 tackles, a strong showing off the edge for a player who has settled in quickly under the new staff.
“It feels different - but different in all the right ways,” Hickle told reporters after a recent game. “It’s a positive change.”
In Other News...
Washington State Just Made The Change Its Offense Desperately Needed
Washington State is making a quarterback change heading into its next game, with head coach Kirby Moore turning to redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman after reviewing the recent film and weighing Caden Pinnicks uneven play. The move signals a clear attempt to shake the offense out of its current rhythm, and it puts Eshelman in position to make his collegiate starting debut against Oregon State.
For the Cougars, the timing matters because the offense has been searching for steadier execution, and the latest stretch of inconsistency left the staff looking for a different answer. Eshelman now gets the first crack at settling things down, while Pinnick steps aside after handling the job for the opening stretch of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Boise States Pac-12 Title Path Is Starting To Feel Very Real
At the midpoint of the 2026 college football season, Boise State and Oregon State have separated themselves from the rest of the Pac-12, and the league table is starting to look a lot more like a two-team race. Boise State helped sharpen that picture with a narrow road win at Fresno State, while Oregon State backed up its standing with a lopsided home victory over San Diego State, giving both programs a firm grip on the top of the conference race heading into the fall stretch.
The bigger picture now points to Nov. 14, when those two teams meet in a matchup that could help decide not just the standings, but also who gets the edge for home field in the Pac-12 championship game. For everyone else in the league, including Washington State, the job is simple enough but not easy: keep winning, keep pressure on the front-runners, and hope the path to the title game does not get narrowed much more before November arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Washington States Quarterback Search May Already Be Looking To 2027
Washington States quarterback picture has already become one of the more pressing storyline to watch, and not just because of the struggles around the current starter, Caden Pinnick. With the Cougars taking a hard look at what comes next, the conversation has widened beyond the present season and into future roster planning, where every viable arm matters and every possible bridge to stability is worth tracking.
One name that fits that broader search is Joshua Wood, whose production at the FCS level has kept him on the radar as a potential long-term answer. Wood has shown enough in his current stop to make him an intriguing option if Washington State is thinking beyond immediate fixes, and his path back toward major-college football makes him a player worth monitoring as the Cougars sort through what their quarterback room could look like in the seasons ahead. [Read more 🡒]