March 15, 2010

Corvallis, Ore. -

It started with a huddle. Oregon State's running back Jacquizz Rodgers was at the center. Kids in Beaver gear, many sporting jerseys with Rodgers' No. 1, surrounded him. They pressed ballcaps and footballs and fat Sharpie pens into his hands. Parents formed the outer ring, raising cell phones and small cameras to snap photos.

"Can I get your autograph?" asked Ryan Terwilliger, 8, of Corvallis. He eased his shoulder under the pen as Rodgers' signed the back of Ryan's No. 1 jersey.

Head OSU football coach Mike Riley, his coaches and players gathered for the fifth annual OSU and Boys & Girls of Corvallis Club Youth Football Clinic. The event was free. However, donations supported Boys & Girls Club athletic scholarships. More than 300 third- to eighth-graders participated from Corvallis, Lebanon, Sweet Home and Albany - and parts further out. One boy traveled from Boise, Idaho; another came from Kennewick, Wash.

To read more of the Corvallis Gazette-Times’ recap by Cheryl Hatch follow this link….