Rebuild Begins in Corvallis: Shephard Inherits a 2-10 Beavers Team Betting on Its Front
Oregon State bottomed out at 2-10 in 2025, a second straight lost season in the wreckage of the old Pac-12, and the response was a full reset. JaMarcus Shephard arrives in Corvallis for his first year as a head coach, bringing Washington and Alabama pedigree and a reputation as a relentless recruiter and motivator. He inherits a roster thin on continuity and stocked with transfers, and the early verdict around the league is that the Beavers face an uphill battle on talent even as the new man raises the floor on culture.
Shephard hired Mitch Dahlen as offensive coordinator, another product of the DeBoer coaching tree who helped run Washington's prolific 2023 passing attack and Alabama's offense the past two years. The rebuild leans on him to modernize a unit that finished near the bottom of the league in scoring.
Offense
Maalik Murphy is the headliner and, for one source, the projected Week 1 starter. A former four-star recruit and one of the top-rated passers in the 2022 class, the 6-5, 239-pound senior flashed real upside at Duke in 2024, when he threw for 2,933 yards, then battled injuries through 2025 and finished 161 of 277 for 1,805 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. There is disagreement on how settled the job is: one account frames Murphy as the starter, while another describes an open competition into mid-August involving FCS transfer Braden Atkinson (Mercer) and Brady Jones (Western Michigan), with Shephard declining to name a QB1 this spring. Either way, Murphy's ceiling is the reason this is a job worth winning.
Whoever wins the job throws to a rebuilt, largely imported group. Xavyion Noland is the intriguing piece, a small (5-6) but explosive wideout who broke out at FCS UT Rio Grande Valley, averaging 22.5 yards on 37 catches, and who also handles return duties. Alabama transfer Aeryn Hampton and sophomore Eddie Freauff round out the top of the rotation. At tight end, Utah Tech transfer Eric Olsen arrives as a proven target after finishing second among all FCS tight ends in receiving with 583 yards on 52 catches, and he projects as a matchup weapon in Dahlen's scheme.
Cornell Hatcher Jr. takes over as the lead back after a promising redshirt-freshman look. The sophomore averaged a stout 5.6 yards per carry in limited work while sharing the backfield with a 1,000-yard rusher, and he is the Beavers' top returning ballcarrier. Depth behind him is unproven, so his early production may set the tone for how balanced this offense can be.
The front is another transfer project. Tackles Teko Shoats and Kwan Johnson both logged heavy snaps at the FCS level in 2025 and are asked to anchor the edges. Veteran Nathan Elu gives the interior a big, experienced body, and Tyler Voltin is a key piece at guard, though he missed spring practice. There is some question over the exact interior alignment, but the group's success hinges on how quickly a patchwork unit gels, an uncertainty that will shape everything else on offense.
Defense
The line is where opinions on this team split hardest. One evaluation calls the defensive front six a genuine strength, citing a rare-for-the-league blend of size, experience and talent; another came away from spring worried that the group looked undersized. Senior Takari Hickle is the swing factor: an edge who fought injuries for much of his career before a healthy 2025, he was described by Shephard as "unblockable" this spring, a line that will either mark his breakout or expose the blockers in front of him. Inside, 360-pound Jacob Schuster is a true space-eater and Tygee Hill offers pass-rush juice up the middle, with Ish Findlayter adding length off the edge.
This is the most stable spot on the roster. Aiden Sullivan, the team's second-leading tackler a year ago, is a rangy, aggressive playmaker who piled up 72 tackles, seven for loss and three forced fumbles. FCS Idaho transfer Dylan Layne pairs with him inside, and the return of USC transfer Raesjon Davis from injury gives the group a third experienced option. If the front holds up, this level should be a strength.
Coordinator Mike MacIntyre, who once led Colorado to a conference title game, has some pieces to build around. Trey Glasper broke out as a freshman with five pass breakups and an interception and is a corner worth keeping for the long haul. TJ Crandall missed 2025 with injury but flashed enough in spring to look like a cornerstone, and Sailasa Vadrawale III mans the nickel. The unit is young but returns useful production for a defense that improved as last season wore on.
Special teams were a genuine disaster in 2025, undone by a run of long-snapper injuries, so stability is the offseason goal. Punter AJ Winsor is the clear bright spot, averaging nearly 45 yards on 62 attempts with 13 kicks dropped inside the 20 and four boots over 60 yards. The place-kicking picture is unsettled: one source has holdover Caleb Ojeda back for the job, another installs Syracuse transfer Jadyn Oh, and either way a pair of new snappers has been brought in to steady the operation.
Overview and Prediction
The schedule offers no easing-in period. Oregon State opens at Houston and then hosts Texas Tech, a brutal September that could bury an inexperienced team before the new Pac-12 slate even heats up. The preseason consensus slots the Beavers eighth in the reshaped league, and nationally this is viewed as one of the weaker Power-conference rosters.
The math is straightforward: the defense, led by its linebackers and a boom-or-bust front, is talented enough to keep games close, but the offense has to come together fast around Murphy and a wave of FCS imports. It is hard to be worse than 2-10, and simply reaching bowl eligibility would count as a clear win in Year 1. Expect measurable progress on the culture and in the trenches, with the record improving only modestly given the brutal early slate. The make-or-break is Murphy: if the flashes from Duke become a full season, this rebuild accelerates; if not, another long fall looms.