Oregon State Fall Football Camp - Day 1

Quite a bit has transpired for the Beavers as they gear up for the 12-game regular season in what expects to be a record setting year.

It was anything but “fall” after experiencing the temperature on the Tommy Prothro Football Complex for the first official practice of the 2014 season. Photo Courtesy: Oregon State Athletics

(CORVALLIS, Ore. ) - It was anything but “fall” after experiencing the temperature on the Tommy Prothro Football Complex for the first official practice of the 2014 season.

It was time to welcome back a host of returnees mixed in with some newcomers, who sported some eye-opening looks as the workouts began.

While you were away from the end of spring ball, quite a bit has transpired for the Beavers as they gear up for the 12-game regular season in what expects to be a record setting year.

Records? Quarterback Sean Mannion already has a bunch of those, but the big one on the horizon is the Pac-12 career passing yards mark. He needs 1,839 yards to catch former USC Trojan Matt Barkley – the current owner of that prestigious record with 12,274 yards. In the process Mannion will pass in order Rudy Carpenter, Andrew Walter, Matt Leinart, Cade McNown, Steve Stenstrom, Alex Brink, Derek Anderson, Carson Palmer and Barkley. Pretty impressive!

During the offseason Mannion has been associated with being a Heisman Trophy candidate and is on just about everybody’s preseason “watch” lists for the Walter Camp All-America Team, the Maxwell Award (top player in the nation), Davey O’Brien Award (top QB) and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He has done interviews with a host of national media personalities, including Jim Rome. And, oh by the way, he took down the other major quarterbacks in the nation by winning the Elite 11 Counselors’ Challenge and the Manning Passing Academy Air-It-Out Challenge in Louisiana.

You still aren’t sold on the senior quarterback or maybe you are, but the thirst for information is overwhelming. How about no Beaver has ever been a team captain for three seasons – well not until this year! Mannion also has a chance to be only the second quarterback in Pac-12 history to be named the league’s offensive player of the week in four different seasons.

It isn’t all about Mannion though, as a wealth of returning talent has some experts keeping a close eye on the Beavers as a threat to the so-called favorites. OSU is well represented in other preseason national awards lists by Isaac Seumalo, Connor Hamlett, Victor Bolden, Michael Doctor, Richard Mullaney and Steven Nelson.

Day one is typically pretty quiet when it comes to on-field events for Mike Riley’s crew during the NCAA acclimatization period. Pads don’t appear until later this week. But the excitement was there and the OSU video team was there to capture it.

Monday brought roster tinkering. Rahmel Dockery officially joined the program and participated fully in practice. Dockery, who is transferring from Washington State by way of Tacoma CC, lined up at flanker behind Victor Bolden on his first day of fall camp. He is a redshirt sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining. Also junior safety Micah Audiss opted to leave the program.

Source: Oregon State Athletics