Oregon State football: 3 takeaways from the Beavers' spring game

Oregon State’s football team had its spring game on Saturday to wrap up spring practices.

There is much optimism surrounding the Beavers after they went 10-3 last season and beat Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The excitement and expectations are enhanced by the addition of key players both in the 2023 recruiting class as well as through the transfer portal.

Many of those additions were on display Saturday.

The next time Beavers football fans get to watch their team play on TV is Sept. 3 (a rare Sunday game), at San Jose State. The kickoff time is still to be determined.

Here are three takeaways from the Oregon State spring showcase.

1: DJ Uiagalelei sharp, but Aidan Chiles is a playmaker at quarterback

DJ Uiagalelei struggled with accuracy early, but then found his groove and was sharp.

Uiagalelei showed good mobility in the pocket, and hitting receivers while on the move.

He was connecting with receivers and running backs, getting multiple players involved.

Aidan Chiles took some shots down field, but wasn’t always helped by his receivers.

He also showed what he can do with his legs.

Chiles made a great play escaping pressure, and hitting Silas Bolden deep for a touchdown.

But he did struggle a bit with accuracy in the red zone.

He’s a dynamic player who definitely will start for the Beavers at some point. Will that be this season?

Uiagalelei seems like the safe bet right now to be the starter.

But Chiles is making it interesting.

Ben Gulbranson looked pretty much the same as last season. Certainly a quarterback who can win, but not a high ceiling.

2: Defense got pressure on the quarterback

Oregon State’s defense did a good job putting pressure on the Beavers’ quarterbacks, especially for a spring game.

It definitely seems to be a focus for defensive coordinator Trent Bray and his defensive coaches.

Early on, they put good pressure on Uiagalelei, Chiles and Gulbranson.

Newcomers Oluwaseyi Omotosho and Nikko Taylor were flying around and making plays, which is a great sign for the Beavers, who had the Pac-12’s top defense last season and hope to remain there this upcoming season.

3: Running game struggled

Jam Griffin scored a touchdown, and did well at catching short passes.

But the running game overall wasn’t as dynamic as we all expect it to be in the fall.

Spring games aren’t always a good indicator, especially when a team has a legitimate quarterback competition, like the Beavers have right now.

The real question this fall is will we see more passing from the Beavers with improved quarterback play?

Whoever emerges from the quarterback competition most assuredly will play better than the quarterbacks last season, even if it’s last season’s starter Gulbranson.

But the hallmark of Oregon State’s offense has been a stellar running game.

With Damien Martinez, Griffin and Deshaun Fenwick all returning, the running game almost certainly will be as prominent as in previous seasons.

Statesman Journal reporter Pete Martini covers college and high school sports. He can be reached at pmartini@StatesmanJournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon State football: 3 takeaways from the Beavers' spring game