Editor’s Note: This is a column and does not reflect the views or opinions of The Daily Barometer.

Year one is in the books for Oregon State football head coach Trent Bray, who was promoted from defensive coordinator on Nov. 28, 2023. 

As year two begins, how has Bray fared in his new shoes? 

After a year of turmoil, former Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith left the program for the head coaching job at Michigan State. This allowed Bray to take over the head coaching job. 

In the 2024 season, the team went 5-7. 

Bray’s first year overall was not as successful as you would’ve liked to see as an Oregon State fan. However, it left many signs of massive improvement to come, and showed early signs of what makes Bray an incredible coach. 

According to Bray, the current roster’s mindset is different from last years’.

“What they’ve shown me, they play the game how we want them to play it, and that’s where the confidence comes in,” Bray said at a press conference on Aug. 25.

Bray says his coaching additions have helped him with his play calling duties. “It starts with great help,” Bray said. “From game planning, in practice run, we’ve ran through it, on how it’s gonna look, and it’s been very seamless for me.” 

The team grew in the offseason, according to Bray. “Especially in this day in age in college football, the way they work together,” he said. 

OSU’s defense in 2024 had a “bend, don’t break” mentality with their style of play. They had a strong performance in the run game, allowing only 177 rushing yards per game. Most yardage gained against the Beavers came through the air and not the ground. 

The Beavers also had a stout third down defense, going 60 of 145 on third down stops, an impressive feat.

“That’s Beaver defensive football,” secondary coach A.J. Cooper said at a press conference on Aug. 27. “We run to the ball, we attack, we have a pressure oriented mindset, really it’s just guys honing in on the mindset.” 

However, there were some growing pains last year. The Beavers’ defense struggled against the pass, allowing nearly 240 passing yards a game last season. Thus, as alluded to earlier, most of the yardage allowed came from their pass defense, with it making up 3/4 of their average yards allowed per game.

The defense let the score get away in more games than not, with five games of 30 or more points allowed, and three games of 40 or more points allowed. 

Safety Skyler Thomas had positive things to say about OSU’s defense and the young talents development pre-season. “They’ve developed, they’ve matured, they have done a good job through spring, through fall, I think they have developed greatly,” Thomas said.

Bray’s leadership and culture building has also been a pillar of his coaching tenure so far. Many new, good looking recruits have come in, all having high praise of Bray’s leadership. 

This is what’s allowed Bray to take full advantage of his second full offseason as head coach, and has allowed him to build a better overall roster.

“We are excited about the team we got, the talent we have, the group of young men that are on this team, and we are excited to go out there and showcase it,” Bray said.