Bill Oram: Trent Bray gives Oregon State Beavers best chance at building on Jonathan Smith’s success

Trent Bray was recruited to Oregon State by Dennis Erickson, played for Mike Riley and coached with Jonathan Smith.

In fact, the only Beavers coach of the last quarter century Bray doesn’t have ties to is Gary Andersen.

Check, check, check and, uh, yeah, definitely check.

If there was one person who could reassure the fanbase and stanch the panic of Jonathan Smith’s clumsy exit to Michigan State , it’s Bray, who has built the Beavers into one of the Pac-12′s top defensive teams each of the last two seasons.

He represents continuity at a time of unprecedented disruption. And offers a through line to the great teams of Oregon State’s history.

I’ve written before about Bray’s childhood lugging cables on the sidelines of Washington State’s Martin Stadium. His dad, Craig, then a Cougars assistant and later Oregon State’s defensive coordinator for the Fiesta Bowl run, would host team dinners at the family home.

Trent Bray grew up in this world.

Earlier this week, I reached out to former Oregon State baseball coach Pat Casey. The three-time national champion has been in Corvallis for the better part of three decades.

He’s seen a lot of change and gotten to know a lot of coaches. Smith would drop by Casey’s house near campus and, over a beer, the two would talk about life and coaching and family. Casey, who first met Smith as a high schooler who was considering playing two sports at Oregon State, offered a healthy dose of perspective for Beavers fans.

“I’ve seen this happen before,” Casey said. “‘Hey, a guy’s gonna leave and it’s over. Shoot, when Dennis (Erickson) left, you know, the program was going to go right back to the 28 losing seasons.”

Didn’t happen that way.

This is, of course, a different situation. Oregon State wasn’t facing the college football equivalent of relegation when Erickson left. Nor was the athletic department bracing for a dramatic cratering of its operating budget.

Bray has his work cut out for him as a first-time head coach to steer this program through the fog. He is young, smart and high-energy. If he wasn’t going to be the head coach here, he would have been the most in-demand defensive coordinator in the country, with USC reportedly interested.

Maybe his inexperience makes him a riskier hire in Corvallis than reported candidates such as former Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst and ex-BYU and Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall — who both have OSU roots, as well.

But in this moment for Oregon State, experience might not be the key ingredient.

Smith pulled off a near miracle rebuilding the Beavers’ culture and imbuing the program with a winning mentality. No matter how many bruises he left behind with his heavily telegraphed departure barely 12 hours after getting hammered by Oregon, Smith’s six years in Corvallis go down as one of the most impressive coaching jobs we’ve seen anywhere.

Athletic director Scott Barnes understood the Beavers couldn’t lose that momentum. Starting over wasn’t an option. Not with Oregon State’s realignment fate still unsettled, next year’s schedule yet to be released and the transfer portal days away from opening.

Still, this is a big step up for Bray. He will inherit higher expectations than any first-year Oregon State coach — ever.

This is one of the most important hires the Beavers have ever had to make . Get it wrong, at this moment, and the Beavers are at risk of sliding out of college football relevance, with a much tougher climb back to the mountaintop.

The Beavers have reached bowl eligibility in each of their last three seasons, with a 10-win season sandwiched in the middle. The pledge of All-America running back Damien Martinez to return to Oregon State next season — despite opportunities to certainly earn more in NIL money elsewhere — sets an impressive standard for the Beavers.

DJ Uiagalelei has not announced what he intends to do next season. Nor has freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles, who before Smith left was seen as the quarterback of the future in Corvallis and still could be, if he doesn’t join Smith in East Lansing or jump elsewhere.

Bray is a well-liked leader among players. Earlier this season, Uiagalelei compared him to former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who is now the head coach at Oklahoma.

“He’s out there full speed with the players, yelling, running, (getting) into guys’ face. (If you) did something wrong, he’s right there,” Uiagalelei said.

Players respect the hustle. And for whatever he lacks in experience, Bray will have a vast network of experienced coaches in his corner.

Erickson. Riley. His dad. Don’t be shocked if Riley finds his was back into the fold at OSU in some kind of advisory role, much as he did when Smith was in his first season.

Under different circumstances, the Beavers might have been smart to go for a bigger name or a more established hire. Someone like Chryst would have checked those boxes.

But the theme of the last several months in Corvallis, since the disintegration of the Pac-12, has been the fear of losing all that has been built.

Choosing Bray to succeed Smith gives Oregon State its best hope of keeping it going.

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