What head coach Trent Bray said at Oregon State football’s first fall practice

Published 4:04 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2025

The Oregon State Beavers kicked off football season with their first fall practice Wednesday morning.

The start of camp ushers in year two of head coach Trent Bray’s tenure at the helm of his alma mater. Bray’s inaugural year was defined by inconsistent quarterback play and marred by injuries, missing the cut on bowl eligibility in 2024 and finishing with a 5-7 record.

The Beavers’ roster got a face lift in a number of areas heading into 2025 despite the struggles, adding pieces like quarterback Maalik Murphy and edge rusher Kai Wallen in the transfer portal. Bray and his staff also signed the No. 66 high school recruiting class in the nation this offseason, the top-ranked group of newcomers in the overhauled Pac-12 conference.

With one month before their week one matchup against the Cal Golden Bears at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, here’s everything Bray said about day one. Questions have been shortened for brevity and clarity.

Question: How was the first day back?

Trent Bray: “It was good. 
I mean, the energy’s good. From a knowledge standpoint, (we’re) way ahead (0f) where we were, especially last time this year. And then I think we’re building off where we left off in the spring, not starting over, so I’m being pleased with that.”

Q: Wheres the biggest area you think you’ve grown as a coach since last year?

“Yeah, I just think knowledge, you know, knowing how things are operating, what I need to do, where my time needs to be spent, what I can delegate, what I got to take on. So a lot of stuff like that.”

Q: How was the team buy-in for summer workouts?

“it was excellent. And the numbers of the physical change that took place with our team was pretty remarkable. 
So they did a great job of buying in and our strength staff, they did a great job working.

Q: You have a number of starters to replace along the offensive line, what are your early impressions of that group?

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing Jacob (Strand) and Tyler (Morano), and those guys. (Center Van Wells) being back, I think that’s gonna definitely help our depth, no doubt. And then getting those guys back (that) have starting experience and playing experience will be huge for the young guys that are still learning.”

Q: What does the injury report look like?

“Nothing new.”

Q: What is it like coming in knowing the conference situation is settled?

“There’s no question, it’s definitely more comforting. 
One, we love our schedule. The strength of our schedule, who we’re playing, we’re excited about that. But then also knowing our future in the Pac-12 moving forward is exciting for our guys, and it gives us stability recruiting and retaining our own guys.”

Q: How is the team’s chemistry being developed?

They’ve come along nicely, but there’s a lot of work still have to do, and this fall camp’s going to be big for that, especially nowadays we’re faces change, like you said, so much on so many different teams. 
So that part of it’s big.

Q: What are your early goals for camp?

“Yeah, it’s really about fundamentals and the details of their assignment. We’re not in pads for the first couple of days. It’s really a lot of (independent positional practice) time, so really drilling down on those techniques.

Q: What’s next in Maalik Murphy’s development?

“I think he’s way more comfortable with the offense having gone through spring. And really, that’s what it is for him. 
He’s got all the physical ability to get it done. Now it’s just running those plays over and over, doing those reads over and over, so that he’s sharp by the time we line up against Cal.

Q: How and where have you seen Murphy’s leadership develop?

“Really all summer. 
He’s just got great leadership skills. He’s vocal, guys like him and gets along with everyone on the team. He does the work (and) he’s not afraid to work, either. So I think he’s got great leadership, not only from a vocal standpoint, but from a visual standpoint. (His teammates)  can see him doing it.

Q: How have you and your staff navigated the NCAA’s new roster limitations and having only 105 players on the roster?

“Yeah, that kind of came about all of a sudden in July. (I’m) just working with everyone on our staff (to see) how we’re going to navigate through that. We still are working through it because we don’t have to set that final roster until, you know, the first game. So there’ll be conversations throughout fall camp about what that looks like.

Q: What does adding a guy like on the edge like Kai Wallen do for you?

“Yeah, I just really like what he’s done. He had a great (showing in) spring ball, and then he followed up with a really good summer of putting on mass. Weight, but good weight, muscle mass. He just gives us a long, athletic body on the edge that can rush the passer, which is something (we) need to improve on from a year ago.

Q: What do you like about freshman quarterback Tristian T’ia, who wasn’t here in the spring but is now for fall camp?

“Excited about him. From a physical standpoint, he’s got the tools, he’s extremely athletic, but he is very intelligent. He’s up in (offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson’s) office all summer drawing up every play from every script. So, he works extremely hard at it (and we’re) excited to see what he does.

Q: Running back was a very thin position this spring, but you have some new depth now. What can you tell us about those additions?

“Starting with (Marquis Crosby), who transferred in for us after spring (from Louisiana Tech), (we) really liked his skill set. (He) had some real production at La Tech. Then what we’ve seen from him this summer, (we’re) excited to see what he can do for us here. Then the two freshmen that have come in, Skyler (Jackson) and (Kourdey Glass), you know, it’s yet to be seen. But from what we knew when we recruited them, I’m looking forward to seeing their development.”

Q: How are you and the staff navigating the new revenue sharing model for college football and do you plan on hiring a General Manager to help oversee the program?

‘We’ve hired people in administration level that help with that, then we’ve got people on our staff as well. (Will) we ever hire a true football GM? 
We’ll see how that comes to play out. But as far as hiring new people that are helping with that kind of world, we have those people in place.

Q: You face Cal, Fresno State, Texas Tech and Oregon all within the first month of the season, how do you approach such a tough schedule out of the gate?

“It’s really the urgency to get it right. Because we don’t have a game where we can kind of ease into it, we’ve got to be ready (from the) first snap when we play. We’ve got four really tough games to start the season, so I think it’s a motivator for those guys to get it right and to work to get it where it needs to be by that time.

Q: How are you approaching improving the defensive line?

“It’s definitely it starts with the personnel changes, but then there’ll be stuff as we kind of learn who does what well, and put those guys in the right positions to do what they do well.”

Q: Serving as head coach and defensive coordinator, how have you changed how you approach the day-to-day of your job?

“I don’t know if it changes the approach much. 
We’ve hired two new people, (Special assistant to the head coach Robb Akey and defensive quality control coach Mark Criner), to kind of help. (But) it’s really delegating when I’m spending time on the defensive side of it and when I’m spending time on the head coaching side of it… That’s probably the biggest thing is not trying to do too much and not being afraid to delegate some stuff so I can focus on the task at hand.”

Q: How do you feel like the roster has evolved from last year?

“Yeah, I think starting up front from a size and length (perspective) we’ve improved on the physical side of it. I think (of) our inside backers, look at Dexter Foster. (He was) 210 pounds last year, is 236 now and moving better than he did last year. 
Just that size makes a big difference when you talk about a one yard gain versus a three or four yard gain.

“So I think what they’ve done in the weight room and putting on the size and strength that they need to compete at the Power 5 level. I think they did that this summer.”

Who else has transformed their bodies like Foster?

“I look at (interior defensive lineman) Tevita Pome’e. He kind of went the other way (and) was too heavy last year, but he’s got himself down to 310 and he’s moving and doing really well. 
So there were guys that needed to gain weight (and) there were guys that needed to lose weight to be more effective. They did that, so I’m excited to see — and see them see — how that’s made them better.”

Q: There have been accusations made against sophomore defensive back Exodus Ayers’ alleged involvement in a physical altercation with a woman that was caught on video and posted to social media in recent days. We saw he practiced today, is it safe to assume he has not been suspended or anything like that?

“We put out a statement, so refer to the statement on that one.”

The statement from Bray reads as follows:

“We are aware of the video circulating on social media and take these matters very seriously. The University respects and adheres to federal privacy laws involving individual students. Therefore, we will not be commenting further on this pending matter at this time.”