By Mark Pszonak
Oregon State and Washington State have gone through a great deal in the last few months, so this is not meant to further pile on, but instead that another reality check is quickly approaching when the transfer portal re-opens to all FBS and FCS players on December 4th.
The first day of the transfer portal window is nerve wracking for most programs, but for the Beavers and Cougars it could potentially gut their rosters if some major decisions are not made official in the next month. The last thing both programs need is to go into an open portal window with no conference affiliation and only a skeleton of a schedule for the 2024 season.
As all the other current PAC-12 schools have seen their future schedules recently pieced together in the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12, Oregon State and Washington State are on the outside looking in. At this point, the Beavers only have Idaho State, Boise State and Purdue on their schedule, while the Cougars have games against Portland State, San Diego State and San Jose State. So, both programs still need nine games and that is where the chaos begins.
If there isn’t a firm answer to the 2024 schedule by December 4th, how will both programs keep current players from transferring to more stable options while also finding quality replacements through the transfer portal? That will very likely be an impossible sell to any player who has other viable options.
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And from looking at both rosters, you can be sure that plenty of outside programs have already done their due diligence to identify potential targets, which are plentiful. While many players would create buzz in the portal if they entered, two specifically would create chaos if they chose to, and they are both from Oregon State. These two are running back Damien Martinez and tight end Jack Velling, who are both sophomores which makes them ineligible for the 2024 NFL Draft. Martinez has rushed for 1,745 yards and 10 touchdowns during his time in Corvallis, while Velling has accumulated 37 receptions for 575 yards and 11 touchdowns. Trying to convince either to stay at Oregon State for their likely final collegiate season instead of playing in a more stable environment will be a tall order.
So, what should Oregon State and Washington State do in the next month? Both are currently legally tangling with the 10 departing schools to obtain complete control of the PAC-12 conference board. While important, more efforts and focus should be placed on the immediate future, because without that the extended future will be in tatters.
Discussions have been held with the Mountain West Conference regarding a scheduling alliance, but for now it looks likely that Oregon State and Washington State will continue as a two-school conference until more concrete decisions are made. Playing against MWC competition next season, either as part of the conference or as out-of-conference opponents, would be a positive step. It’s not necessarily a great step, but it is a step that shows some direction. And that direction needs to be decided publicly before December 4th or the two schools could very well be playing their 2024 schedule, whatever it ends up being, with a shell of the roster that they currently have.
