Gundy is back at OSU, this time to run the offensive show

Offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson says he will take the challenge of the Beavers’ 2024 season “one game at a time” (courtesy OSU sports communications)

Oregon State football is nothing new to Ryan Gunderson.

OSU’s new offensive coordinator was a reserve quarterback for Mike Riley from 2004-07, then served on Riley’s staff as a grad assistant, assistant director of player personnel and director of player personnel. He spent a decade living in Corvallis.

“It has been good being back,” Gunderson told me Monday in a phone conversation from Corvallis. “Some stuff with the city is totally different, and some stuff is exactly the same. My wife and I are getting used to it again.”

The family includes wife Hilary and children Cooper (five) and Camryn (one). Hilary is familiar with the place, too. As Hilary O’Bryan, she served as a student receptionist for the football office at OSU, then worked as Riley’s special assistant. When Riley left for Nebraska in 2015, the Gundersons went with him — Ryan as director of player personnel, Hilary as assistant director of football operations.

When I ask “Gundy” for memories of his time as a student-athlete at Oregon State, he cites mostly off-field moments.

“It’s the people, relationships and experiences, and those people I am still in touch with who helped me a ton along the way,” he says. “That’s what most comes to mind. That’s part of the fun being back here. You are with some of those people you share those memories with. There are a lot of old stories tossed around.”

During his college career, Gunderson’s path to getting on the field was blocked by big-time competition. Through four years, he backed up future NFL quarterbacks Derek Anderson, Matt Moore and Sean Canfield along with Lyle Moevao.

Gundy played sparingly, but he was so well-respected, he was selected by teammates as one of the team captains as a senior. An outstanding student and a two-time All-Pac-10 Academic Team selection, he earned a degree in engineering. Coaching football, though, was his future.

“I knew he was going to be a coach — and a good one,” Riley told me not long ago.

After a year as a grad assistant, Gunderson served an administrative role for Riley from 2009-14 at OSU, then in 2015 and ’16 at Nebraska. The focus was on recruiting, social media and other non-coaching duties. It was good preparation, but Gunderson wanted to get on the field, so he left in 2017 to join the staff of former Beaver assistant coach Brent Brennan as quarterbacks coach at San Jose State.

Gunderson spent four seasons there, then moved to UCLA in the same position under Chip Kelly from 2021-23. When Jonathan Smith departed and Trent Bray was hired at Oregon State, Ryan immediately reached out to his former OSU teammate with interest in the job. It wasn’t simply a matter of wanting to return to his alma mater.

“I want to call (the offense),” Gunderson says. “I want to run an offense the way I like to run it. That was part of it. Also, I believe in Trent. He is an elite teacher and leader. That was another part of it. Also, I was on the outside watching what was happening at Oregon State. I want to get in the fight and be involved in it and help. I want to attack it and do it with a group of people I believe in.

“It was a pretty easy decision for me, but also one that I knew that comes with a lot of responsibility at a pretty critical time.”

Riley, Brennan and Kelly have all served as mentors to Gunderson, who turns 40 on September 22. How have each of them influenced him and his coaching philosophy?

“My time with Mike was during my formative years of learning football, coaching and working with people,” Gunderson says. “He was awesome for me. He gave me opportunities. We were exposed to a lot of different types of football, especially in the passing game. I learned a ton of stuff from him. Brent was really good at coaching his coaches and giving feedback often in ways of doing things. As a young coach, I needed that. He did a fantastic job of giving input and helping get me to where I want to be in terms of how I run my room and interact with players at practice. With Chip, it was a different way of thinking about offensive football. I won’t be a spitting image of Chip, but I learned a different way of looking at it and attacking defenses.

“All three guys have had a pretty big impact on me. I wouldn’t say I will be most like any of them. I believe the coaches who are really good are really good at being themselves. They do what fits them and their personality. I have to do it the way that fits me. But you certainly draw from those people who have helped you along the way.”

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Six months into the job, Gunderson is realistic about the travails involved with putting in a new offensive system with a group of players unfamiliar with what he is trying to do.

“It’s a process,” he says, slipping into coachspeak for an instant. “There are days when it hasn’t looked the way I want it to look. It is about taking your lumps, about getting stuff on (video) and teaching and developing and getting our guys a little better at what they’re doing every day.

“I can tell you, I have enjoyed it. I am learning a lot being around some really good people who I work with daily. We talk a lot, and I try to listen a lot. It is going well, but that will all show with the results we get this fall.”

Spring practice ended on April 19. Gunderson does some mental math before answering how much of his offense he got installed during the 15 practice sessions.

“I would say 70 percent is probably a good number,” he says finally. “We have in the foundation, the base, the starting point for the stuff we will run in the fall. Those are building blocks to the more exotic stuff you may run during the season.”

If Gunderson is not satisfied with his first spring, he is not unhappy, either.

“The guys are learning,” he says. “You want them to know it all immediately, to understand it the way you do right away, but it doesn’t work like that. It is about getting to the point where they can start giving you the information back, or they know what they’re doing but don’t yet have confidence that they know what they’re doing.

“Do they start second-guessing themselves when you ask a question? That’s the process as we moved along through spring ball. But looking at (video) from the first day of spring ball to the spring game, we certainly got a lot better.”

In the almost two months since then, the coaches have had two hours of football meetings with the players a week. (NCAA rules allow for six hours a week of supervised strength and conditioning. Players are also allowed to work out together on their own, without the coaches being involved.)

“Last week, we took what we did in the spring, condensed it and reinstalled (the offense) to the group,” Gunderson says. “We will do it the exact same thing again before fall camp.” (College coaches always call it “fall camp,” even though it occurs well before fall. The Beavers begin preseason practice on July 30. The season opener is Aug. 31 against Idaho State at Reser Stadium.)

“We are continually feeding it to them, teaching it in different ways,” Gunderson says. “We are still establishing a base and foundation for the system. At this point, it’s there; it just needs to be reinforced.”

How much will Oregon State’s offense in 2024 differ from what Beaver fans saw from Jonathan Smith’s team in ’23?

“It will appear different, though in college football, teams do a lot of the same things,” Gunderson says. “It is just dressed up differently, done with different players at different speeds in different formations. We will do some stuff that is similar, calling it something different.”

One thing that will be different for Gunderson will be play-calling. He scripted and called some plays at practice at UCLA and got some experience calling plays at San Jose State under O-coordinator Kevin McGiven — yes, the same guy who served the same position under Gary Andersen at OSU. But this season it will be full-time for the first time.

“I am excited about it,” Gunderson says. “But I don’t look at it as my offense; this is our offense. It is built together and I want everybody in it working together. I am not a cowboy, mavericking and doing whatever. It will be thought-out.

“You try to prepare yourself so well, the game calls itself. The work you do during the week gets you ready, and then the adjustments during the game are the fun part of football.”

Gunderson’s staff on the offensive side includes Jon Boyer (tight ends), Kefense Hynson (receivers), Kyle Devan (linemen) and Thomas Ford (running backs).

As a former quarterback, Gunderson will place special emphasis on working with Beaver QBs. He will get particular help from a couple of places — offensive grad assistant Tristan Gebbia and Boyer. Gebbia, 26, is the former OSU QB who ended his career as a grad senior last season at Ohio State. Boyer is in his seventh year at OSU, having worked as “senior advisor/quarterbacks” the previous six. He played quarterback at North Carolina and was previously offensive coordinator at Northern Colorado.

“Tristan is a young guy who relates well to the players,” Gunderson says. “He has a super sharp football mind and is impressive the way he understands the game. Jon has experience in coordinating offenses and has been an incredible help for me.

“It is awesome to have a bunch of different lenses. I like hearing how other people think or do things. I am open to a lot of different stuff and to trying some things they like.”

In his initial press conference after being hired as Oregon State’s head coach, Bray talked about being more “explosive” and “creative” in the passing game than the Beavers were last year. What will that look like? Will Gunderson be looking to go vertical more?

“The goal is to be explosive as an offense,” he says. “The longer you are on the field, the more chance there is of potentially having a negative play happen. Creating ‘explosives’ is the best way to score points quickly and get off the field.

“We want to push the ball vertically, but that doesn’t mean we are going to be a spread offense and throwing vertical shots every down. It will be calculated. There are ways to be explosive in the passing game without just throwing vertical. We will use some high-percentage throws and get the ball to guys in space and let them make plays.”

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Three players will vie for the starting QB role during August training camp — 6-3, 215-pound junior Ben Gulbranson, 6-foot, 180-pound junior Gevani McCoy and 5-11, 190-pound redshirt freshman Gabarri Johnson. Gulbranson was the starter for the Beavers in 2022. McCoy, a transfer from Idaho, was a two-year starter for the Vandals and earned the Jerry Rice Award as the outstanding freshman in FCS football in 2022. Gunderson had recruited McCoy out of high school when he was coaching at San Jose State. Johnson redshirted last season at Missouri.

Gulbranson and Johnson both sat out most of spring ball with leg injuries. Gulbranson watched the spring game with a boot on his foot. Gulbranson is more the pro-style, drop-back quarterback while McCoy and Johnson are more dual-threat QBs.

“They are all different styles, which is good,” Gunderson says. “Gevani and Ben have both started games in college football. They all offer something a little bit different.”

Gunderson calls himself a “quarterback-friendly play-caller.”

“We will tailor our system around the guy who gives us the best chance to win games,” he says. “It’s not, ‘This is what we do, so you have to fit into it.’ We are going to ask those guys to do things they are confident in and do well.”

While Gunderson was at San Jose State, Gunderson had quarterbacks Montel Aaron, Josh Love and Nick Starkel, who were passers more than runners. At UCLA, Dorian Thompson-Robinson was one of the nation’s premier dual-threat QBs. In Ryan Gunderson’s offense, how important will mobility and running ability at QB be?

“It’s a sliding scale,” he says. “There are minimums. You have to meet a minimum as an athlete and as thrower. If you are not the best athlete in the world, you had better be a good thrower. If you are not the best thrower, you had better be able to do things with your legs.

“Ben is actually a pretty good athlete. I am not going to ask him to do what Dorian did, but if there is space in front of him, he will get you 10 yards and a first down. He is certainly a better athlete than I was.”

Gunderson says it will be an open competition during training camp.

“Gevani and Ben are ahead in the experience area, but Gabarri offers things he can do that are different,” he says. “I don’t think anybody is necessarily ahead of anyone else.”

Oregon State also signed a promising freshman QB in Wilsonville’s Kallen Gutridge. The 6-3, 185-pound southpaw passed for 3,773 yards and 57 touchdowns and rushed for 670 yards and six TDs in 13 games, leading the Wildcats to the state 5A championship last fall. He threw for 22 of the scores in four playoff games. Gutridge, also a star guard in basketball while helping Wilsonville to a pair of state 5A titles, will likely redshirt during the upcoming season.

“The kid is a really good athlete and a super productive football player,” Gunderson says. “He has good size and some toughness, and he’s a (sports) junkie. I like the way he is wired. He is such a savvy athlete. Watching him play basketball was impressive. He has a bright future. I am excited to see how he develops.”

With the transfers of Damien Martinez and Isaiah Newell, the running back position was thinned to transfers Anthony Hankerson (Colorado) and Jam Griffin (Mississippi). The 5-10, 210-pound Griffin, a senior, played at OSU in 2022. The 5-9, 205-pound Hankerson is a junior in eligibility.

Senior running back Jam Griffin should get plenty of carries for the Beavers next season (courtesy OSU sports communications/KarlMaasdam)

“They are both really good players and are going to play a lot,” Gunderson says. “We need both of them. They are good three-down backs who can block, are good with the ball in space and can catch the ball well. Who is out there for the first snap, I don’t know that. I don’t know that it will matter.”

Adding to the running back room are standout freshmen Cornell Hatcher and Salahadin Allah. The 6-foot, 190-pound Hatcher — nephew of former OSU safety Armon Hatcher — rushed for 2,257 yards and 42 touchdowns in 12 games as a prep senior at Corona, Calif. He was a second-team MaxPrep All-American, the LA Times Back of the Year and SBLive South Section Player of the Year last fall.  Allah, 6-foot and 205 pounds out of La Marque, Texas, rushed for 650 yards and 11 TDs as a senior.

Oregon State has had a history of giving true freshmen a chance to play right away at running back — Ken Simonton, Jacquizz Rodgers, Jermar Jefferson and Martinez come to mind. Might Hatcher and Allah follow suit?

“You want to see what they can do — how they handle it physically and mentally and if they’re ready to go,” Gunderson says. “If they give you better talent on the field, they will play. We are super high on both of them. They were steals in the recruiting game. We upgraded that position with those two guys.”

(Gutridge, Hatcher and Allah did not graduate from high school early to enroll for spring term at OSU. They are expected to report to Corvallis June 24 for the start of the school’s Bridge Program for incoming freshmen.)

The receiver position is thin on experience with the loss of burners Anthony Gould to the NFL and Silas Bolden to Texas. Returnees include 6-2, 195-pound junior Jimmy Valsin (11 receptions for 154 yards and two TDs in 2023), 6-2, 190-pound junior Jeremiah Noga (eight receptions for 113 years and one TD) and 5-9, 155-pound redshirt freshman Zachary Card (five receptions for 35 yards). Darius Clemens, a touted 6-3, 215-pound junior transfer from Michigan, missed spring practice with an injury, “but I expect him to be ready to rock” by August, Gunderson says.

Also in the mix are 6-2, 195-pound junior and Beaverton High grad Trent Walker, who was put on scholarship during the spring; 6-1, 180-pound redshirt freshman David Wells and 5-10, 165-pound junior Jailen Holmes.

“I like our (receivers) room,” Gunderson says. “Last year they had a couple of smaller guys who could really run, but we have a group of guys of different sizes and speeds who are complementary to one another. ‘Fence’ (Hynson) has been real good getting that group in tune. We should have five or six guys who will roll through there and play a lot.”

The starting tight end will be 6-4, 250-pound senior Jermaine Terry, who Gunderson considers one of the leaders on the offensive side.

“Jermaine has done a fantastic job preparing himself for his final season,” Gunderson says. “We need him to be really good.”

Gunderson also likes 6-4, 230-pound junior and Lakeridge High grad Bryce Caufield, who was placed on scholarship during the spring. He will play when the Beavers go to double tights or perhaps some at an H-back.

The offensive line has only one returning starter — 6-4, 305-pound senior guard Josh Gray, though 6-4, 290-pound junior Grant Starck also started some games. A pair of transfers from Colorado — 6-2, 305-pound junior center Van Wells and 6-10, 320-pound senior tackle Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan — are also expected to earn starting nods.

“We call (Christian-Lichtenhan) ‘Tank,’ ” Gunderson says with a laugh. “He has started a lot of games (for Colorado) in his career.”

Gunderson also mentions 6-4, 370-pound junior Tyler Voltin, 6-5, 315-pound sophomore Nate Elu, 6-5, 285-pound sophomore Jacob Strand and 6-5, 315-pound senior Flavio Gonzalez. One of them is likely to earn a starting role, but “those guys will all play for us this season,” Gunderson says. “Kyle has done a great job blending the teachings of the past staff to make a good transition to what we want to do. I feel good about our top 10 (offensive linemen).”

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Gunderson grew up watching and played in the Pac-10 and coached in the Pac-12. He laments its demise as the Beavers move on to a schedule loaded with Mountain West competition.

“It’s a bummer,” he says. “I loved a lot of those rivalries. We will all miss those experiences. But I approach it with the mindset, the only thing I can do to help is call good games, teach the kids, try to score points and win games and let the chips fall as they may. 

“College football is an ever-changing landscape. I don’t see the glass as half-empty or half-full. I like the idea that I’ve got a glass, and we’re pushing forward. There is an opportunity for something good to come out of it.”

OSU coaches were on the road recruiting through most of May. They took official visits from recruits every weekend of the month except Memorial Day weekend. Through June, they will be on the road doing youth camps, together as a staff. In July, coaches will get some time off. The Gundersons will likely head to their vacation home in Sisters for some R&R. Soon enough, Ryan will be back to the grind.

During Bray’s initial press conference, he talked openly about the Beavers making the 12-team CFP playoffs next season. What does Gunderson consider a feasible goal?

“First off, my goal is for us to get better in (training) camp,” he says. “I am not ready to worry about anything like (the CFP playoffs). If my mindset drifts off to that, I am not focused on the right stuff.

“Do I think we have talent and players who can score points and get us in good position to win a lot of games? Yeah. But it will be one game at a time.”

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