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Pamplin Media Group
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Civil War 2012
A3
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Michael Balfour, Sherwood
The 5-8, 235-pound redshirt freshman full-
back is a walk-on at Oregon State. Balfour has
been a member of some special-team units this
season. And he played much of the second half
at fullback of last Saturday’s 62-14 victory over
California after an injury to starter Tyler An-
derson.
“Michael did a pretty good job on his assign-
ments and made a couple of good blocks,” OSU
coach Mike Riley said. “He’s a great kid.”
n
Micah Hatfield, Lake Oswego
A 6-1, 180-pound junior receiver, ex-Laker
Hatfield was thrust into action in the Cal game
after an injury to Brandin Cooks. Hatfield
hauled in four passes for 35 yards, including a
6-yard touchdown. Hatfield has five receptions
for 38 yards this season.
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Keith Kostol, Tigard
Kostol is the Beavers’ 6-3, 180-pound sopho-
more punter. The former Tiger also is a walk-
on. Kostol ranks ninth in the Pac-12 Conference
with a 41.9-yard average in his first season as
the Beavers’ punter.
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Joe Lopez, Central Catholic
Lopez is a 6-0, 275-pound redshirt freshman
defensive tackle from the Rams of Southeast
Portland. A walk-on, Lopez has been a member
of the regular Oregon State rotation. He has
made four tackles in 2012, including one tackle-
for-loss.
By KERRY EGGERS
The Tribune
CORVALLIS —
F
or much of the Mike Ri-
ley/Dennis Erickson era
at Oregon State, the
school was known as
“Linebacker UWest” — a play
on the tradition established at
Penn State in an earlier time.
During an eight-year period,
OSU sent James Allen, Nick
Barnett, Richard Seigler, Keith
Ellison, Joey LaRocque and Ke-
aton Kristick to the NFL.
But strong linebacker play
was missing as the Beavers suf-
fered through losing seasons in
2010 and ‘11.
Linebackers have made a re-
surgence this year as Michael
Doctor, D.J. Alexander and Feti
Unga have formed one of the
better units in the Pac-12.
Unga, a 6-1, 250-pound senior
from Rochester, Calif., who has
44 tackles, fortifies the middle.
But the real key has been the
emergence of outside ‘backers
Doctor and Alexander.
“They’ve been productive,”
says OSU’s first-year lineback-
ers coach, Trent Bray. “They’ve
done a good job against the run,
fitting in where they’re sup-
posed to, and they’ve made
plays.”
Doctor, a junior in his second
season as a starter, goes into the
Civil War game ranked second
on the team in tackles with 61
and in tackles-for-loss with 7.5.
Alexander, a sophomore in his
first year as a starter, has 37
tackles and 5 1/2 tackles-for-
loss. They’ve been key compo-
nents as the Beavers have im-
proved from 101st nationally
against the run in 2011 to the top
10 this fall.
Bray — an all-Pac-10 middle
linebacker during his senior
year at OSU in 2005 — says one
of the problems in recent years
is the Beavers have been forced
to go with inexperienced ‘back-
ers.
“In the years when I played,
we learned from the guys in
front of us,” Bray says. “I played
behind Seigler and learned the
position from him. Nick learned
from the guy in front of him. All
of a sudden, the guys being used
were forced to play young and
weren’t quite ready for the chal-
lenge.”
Another component is speed.
Doctor and Alexander — who
both run the 40 in the 4.4 range
— have large doses of it.
“They’re in the mold of the
Barnetts and Ellisons,” Bray
says.
“Our defensive system is built
on speed,” says Doctor, a Tulsa,
Okla., native. “We have a lot of
players who can fly around and
make plays in open space.”
“We have a
lot of speed on
the defense
this year, not
just at line-
backer but also
with guys like
Ryan Murphy
and Jordan
Poyer” in the
secondary,
says Alexan-
der, who hails
from Palm
Desert, Calif.
“It’s good be-
cause we can
cover ground
fast, fly to the
football and
make plays.”
In Oregon
State’s 4-3 de-
fensive system,
speed at out-
side linebacker
is critical.
“They’re the
guys who have
to be able to
play the fastest
in what we do,”
Bray says. “We
like to spill the
ball to the edge
and blow up pulling linemen
and take guys out. Their ability
to see and react quickly and
use their speed to get in the
backfield and disrupt plays is
very important for us.”
Doctor and Alexander were
both undersized — at about 190
pounds —when they arrived on
campus as freshman. The 6-foot
Doctor nowweighs in at 225, the
6-2 Alexander coming in at 220.
“We’re a lot bigger and stron-
ger, but size doesn’t matter,”
Doctor says. “As long you’re out
there making plays and doing
your job, that’s what matters.
“College teams are moving
more toward the spread offens-
es, and you need more speed to
combat that. You have to be able
to tackle well in space.”
Doctor was a star running
back at Booker T. Washington
High, rushing for 1,299 yards
and scoring 28 touchdowns as a
senior. He thought he would
play the same position at OSU.
“But when I got here, coaches
told me I’d get a chance to play
sooner on defense,” he says. “I
played safety in high school, so
that was fine with me. And I got
to play some my first year.”
“Michael has done a lot of
things well this season,” Bray
says. “He has taken over mak-
ing calls when we’re in the nick-
el and dime (defenses). The
mental part of his game is the
biggest difference from last
year. He has done a great job of
seeing his line keys and being
where he’s supposed to be.”
Alexander played linebacker,
tight end and receiver in high
school.
“I came in open-minded,” he
says. “I didn’t care where they
played me. I’d have played safe-
ty or anything as long as I got
the chance to play.”
“D.J. has done a much better
job of understanding the de-
fense,” Bray says. “That’s what
kept him off the field last year.
He has worked very hard at
studying and knowing where he
as to be on a certain play. And
he has a ton of upside as he
gains more experience in the fu-
ture.”
The contributions of Bray,
too, should not be overlooked.
“He’s a tremendous coach,”
Doctor says. “He was a great
player here and we run the
same (defenses) as when he
played — just different forma-
tions. He can relate to us, he
teaches the keys he knew. He
has been a great help to the Bea-
ver defense.”
Doctor and Alexander have
grown close on and off the field.
“We’re brothers now,” Alex-
ander says.
The only question is, which
one is faster?
“I think I’m faster than D.J.,
but he’s pretty fast, too,” Doctor
says. “We joke around about it
every day. We’re supposed to
settle things in the spring. Until
then, there will always be some
controversy about it.”
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BETH BUGLIONE
Oregon State linebacker Feti Unga levels a hit on Wisconsin wide receiver Jared Abbrederis as the Beavers open the 2012 season with a 10-7 home victory en route to a 6-0 start.
TRIBUNE PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER ONSOTT
Michael Doctor, Oregon State linebacker, returns an interception against Utah as the Beavers win their
homecoming game 21-7.
n
‘Backer U West cranks up
tradition after down years
DOCTOR
UNGA
ALExANDER
New linebackers
just what Beavers
ordered
Portland-area Beavers