Beavers, Smith head to Washington
When Oregon State hired Jonathan Smith as its coach last winter, it meant bringing home the former Beavers quarterback to the place where he shined as a player.
Now they have another reunion on the docket, this one with the team that Smith coached with for the previous four years.
“This place, I’ve got a ton of respect for, coaches and players,” Smith said of Washington, his former employer and Oregon State’s opponent on Saturday in Seattle. The Beavers (2-8, 1-6 Pac-12) and Huskies (7-3, 5-2) will kick off at 1:30 p.m. PT.
Smith served as Washington’s offensive coordinator from 2014-17 under head coach Chris Petersen, and before that he spent two years as Petersen’s quarterbacks coach at Boise State. He credits Petersen for helping prepare him for being a head coach, particularly how to outline things for the long term.
“I learned a lot about, just direction and how you treat people,” Smith said of Petersen. “Mapping out a plan and staying consistent with it.”
That’s a mantra Smith has stuck to throughout his first season, one that hasn’t gone well in terms of overall results. Saturday’s 48-17 loss at Stanford was Oregon State’s seventh this fall by double digits.
“I hope to see continued improvement on the individual side,” Smith said. “I’ve got a long-term approach to improvement. The best way to do that is through day-to-day improvement.”
Smith is downplaying his return to Husky Stadium, “a great place to play a football game,” because such homecomings are common in college football with the constant changing of jobs. He said it’s no different than when OSU played last month at Colorado, where Beavers offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren coached from 2013-17.
“This thing takes place quite a bit,” Smith said.
That being said, Smith should have a strong familiarity of Washington’s offensive players since most were there last season when he was calling the plays. That includes senior quarterback Jake Browning, the school’s career passing leader.
“What I’ve seen on tape, the guy has found a bunch of ways to make plays for them,” he said.
