Aug. 25, 2010

With the final night practice of Fall Camp scheduled for tonight, the Oregon State football team is on the verge of completing the double day portion of fall camp. The end of two-a-days is yet another signal that we are edging closer to the Sept. 4 kickoff at Cowboys Stadium against TCU.

Wednesday morning it was Darrell Catchings, who has missed considerable time in camp due to a groin injury, turning heads and making plays and indicating he's back to full speed - and has moved over to flanker.

"The neat thing about Darrell is that he's capable of playing every (wide receiver) position," head coach Mike Riley said. "He's very intelligent. He had a lot of work in the stadium (Tuesday's scrimmage) in the heat yesterday so to see him come back today and make a lot of plays and look comfortable was exciting."

Sophomore quarterback Ryan Katz, who is preparing for his first start, continues to improve each day and also garnered Riley's praise.

"I think he's throwing with a lot of intelligence as far as trajectory and speed. That's one of the greatest things to learn as a quarterback is the different kinds of balls you have to be able to throw to execute the offense."

Following practice, popular former Oregon State assistant coach Bob Zelinka was on hand to meet the team and gave a short pep talk.

In other news Wednesday, Rivals.com continues its preseason power rankings at each position and today Stephen Paea was at the top of the defensive tackle chart.

Highlights from Wednesday morning's action included:
• Ryan Katz connected with Joe Halahuni in the middle of the field. Halahuni made a nice adjustment to the ball at his knees and made the diving, rolling catch.
• John Reese made a great catch on a ball thrown by Jack Lomax. Reese made the over-the-shoulder grab and hung on despite Dax Dilbeck having and arm inside of Reese's grasp.
• Katz hit Halahuni late in practice with a bullet that "The Tank" went low to grab off of his shoestrings.
• Cody Vaz delivered a perfect over the shoulder pass to Jordan Bishop.
• Sean Mannion found Micah Hatfield on a deep out that Hatfield snared as he tumbled at the sideline.

Wednesday's media crowd included Paul Buker and Lindsay Schnell from The Oregonian, Cliff Kirkpatrick of the Corvallis Gazette-Times, Simon Apter of Sports Illustrated and Bryan Salmond from KEZI-TV. Buker is working on a piece about Jacquizz Rodgers, while Schnell talked to Ryan Katz and Aaron Nichols. Kirkpatrick cornered the coordinators today and KEZI spoke with Katz. Stephen Paea spent time on the phone talking to Sporting News.

Wide receivers Kevin Cummings (oblique) and Geno Munoz (hamstring) remain out of practice. Safety Cameron Collins returned to practice and continues to take more reps as he recovers from a groin injury. Sophomore tailback Jovan Stevenson was also back at Prothro Field with his shoulder in a sling following surgery.

"(The doctors) have already checked his range of motion and everything and they're very pleased. I think he's doing great," Riley said.

The Beavers return to practice Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. for the second half of their final double day. Thursday's practice will return to the more customary 2-5 p.m. time slot.

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