Oregon
New structure, experience provide potential boons for Oregon State defensive line
CORVALLIS — It can only go up from here.
Last season, the Oregon State defensive line ranked 133rd — dead last in FBS — in sacks with just seven all year. The Beavers were 130th in tackles for loss (45) and 107th in rushing defense.
Injuries hammered OSU, particularly on the interior, forcing inexperienced players to shoulder heavy snap counts. But working their way back to health, restructuring the coaching staff and adding experience has the defensive line group optimistic this spring about a potential big leap ahead.
“By the time we get to fall camp, we’ll be a full go,” defensive line coach Ilaisa Tuiaki said. “With the injured guys, there are still a couple of guys we’re missing because of injuries last year. The improvement this year has been good. We played a lot of young kids last year. D-tackles took some lumps that way. But it will pay dividends for us this year.”
Among those who aren’t participating this spring, but could return to action this season are senior Nick Norris and redshirt sophomore Kelze Howard. Both missed the entire 2024 season with knee injuries.
Head coach Trent Bray has taken over play-calling duties for the Beavers defense, and Tuiaki will split his work with Kharyee Marshall — with Tuiaki leading the interior defensive linemen, and Marshall the edge rushers.
These structural changes allow for a more individualized approach in coaching up a group that, while a year older, still has young contributors. Meetings for defensive tackles and edges are separate, and for the most part they practice as separate position groups.
“This is the first time I’ve experienced that in my career being on the defensive side of the ball, and I think it’s huge,” Tuiaki said. “It’s allowed me to be a bit more detailed in the nuanced play of the D-tackles. You have some teams that will put corners and safeties in the same room, but they always have an assistant helping them out.
“There’s benefits to doing it this way and benefits to having the D-linemen all in one room, but the system we play and all the different things the edges do, they are totally different positions.”
OSU added veteran Tah-Jae Mullix along the interior defensive line via transfer from Western Carolina. While he too has been banged up in the spring, Mullix is expected to return to full participation next week.
Coming back are players like defensive tackle Tevita Pome’e and star edge rusher Nikko Taylor; he gained an extra year of eligibility thanks to the waiver for former junior college players brought on by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.
Pome’e, a former Oregon transfer, said the year of experience — while a trial by fire — was valuable for himself and the other young defensive linemen thrust into key roles. Primarily off the field, he said, even as the results on the field came up short.
“I feel like for me, personally, it’s the connection,” Pome’e said. “Now we have that connection with every single one. We get to know each other. Before, I didn’t really know them because I just got in. But I feel like now we have that connection, that bonding that I was looking for. Now we just get going, and everything clicks.”
Taylor will have a central role in remedying OSU’s dead-last pass rush — having amassed a team-high 2.5 sacks last season to go along with 46 total tackles and eight quarterback hurries.
“I felt like I had a great year, but there’s a lot of things I needed to improve on,” Taylor said. “One of the things was being a better pass-rusher. Coming back and being able to rush the passer more efficiently would really help.”
— Ryan Clarke covers college sports for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at RClarke@Oregonian.com or on Twitter/X: @RyanTClarke. Find him on Bluesky: @ryantclarke.bsky.social.
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Entertain This!
The Aviation American Gin Distillery and visitor center in Portland, Oregon, has closed its doors as the company behind the celebrity-backed spirits brand shifts its production strategy, according to multiple reports.
Diageo, the global spirits company that acquired Aviation American Gin in 2020, confirmed the closure to local TV stations KGW and KOIN, saying the decision was made because of changing business needs.
“This decision reflects evolving business needs, as we continue to support growth ambitions for our Aviation American Gin brand,” Diageo’s statement reads. “Aviation American Gin remains an important part of Diageo’s portfolio and we are committed to the brand, our customers and consumers.”
USA TODAY contacted Diageo on July 9 for comment and additional information regarding the closure.
The nearly 33,000-square-foot facility opened in September 2022 in northwest Portland, offering visitors a cocktail bar, tasting room, gift shop and tours highlighting the gin-making process, including distillation and bottling operations.
Portland’s House Spirits Distillery founded Aviation American Gin in the early 2000s and later became associated with Emmy Award-winning actor Ryan Reynolds, who acquired a stake in the company in 2018.
“A little over two years ago, I became an owner of Aviation Gin because I love the taste of Aviation more than any other spirit,” Reynoalds said in a statement in 2020 after Diageo acquired the company. “What I didn’t expect was the sheer creative joy learning a new industry would bring. Growing the brand with my company, Maximum Effort Marketing, has been among the most fulfilling projects I’ve ever been involved with.”
Is Ryan Reynolds still a co-owner of Aviation Gin?
As of July 9, Reynolds remains an owner of Aviation Gin, according to his social media accounts. His Instagram says he owns Aviation Gin, Mint Mobile, Maxixum Effort and the Wrexham A.F.C. soccer club.
When Diageo acquired Aviation Gin, the acquisition agreement valued the deal at up to $610 million, including an initial payment of $335 million and a potential additional payment of up to $275 million based on the company’s performance over a 10-year period, according to a 2020 news release.
Diageo, one of the world’s largest spirits companies, also owns other alcohol brands including Captain Morgan, Crown Royal and Smirnoff.
What’s next for Aviation, Diageo?
Diageo said it had already begun moving Aviation’s production from Portland to other facilities in 2025 as part of an effort to improve efficiency and strengthen its North American operations, KGW reported.
Diageo also said Aviation American Gin will remain part of its portfolio despite the closure of the Oregon visitor center and distillery.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT
The man wanted in connection with two Pierce County homicides was shot and killed by police in Seaside, Oregon, Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank announced on X Wednesday night.
Hayes McCloud, 24, was identified earlier in the day by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) as a person of interest in two killings — the first in Puyallup around 2:40 a.m. and the second in Tacoma shortly after 3 a.m.
On Wednesday night, authorities referred to him as a suspect.
“The suspect has been contacted by police in Seaside, Oregon,” PCSO said in a Facebook post. “We are no longer looking for the suspect and details of the contact and major incident that transpired in Oregon will be available once the investigation is concluded.”
After that announcement, Swank posted an update on X.
“After he killed the person in Tacoma, he drove away. We didn’t know where he went, but he was picked up by a Flock camera in Lewis County around 4 a.m. So we knew he was headed southbound at that point,” Swank’s post said. “The suspect was shot and killed by police in Seaside, Oregon. No cops were hurt. I’m glad he was stopped before he killed anyone else. Great police work!”
The murder suspect from the homicide on Woodland Avenue also shot and killed a person in Tacoma.
After he killed the person in Tacoma, he drove away. We didn’t know where he went, but he was picked up by a flock camera in Lewis County around 4:00 AM. So we knew he was headed…
— Sheriff Keith Swank (@SaveOurSheriff) July 9, 2026
35-year-old killed in Puyallup home early Wednesday
At 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, deputies responded to the 12500 block of Woodland Avenue E. in Puyallup after receiving reports that a man was found dead in a home. Two homeowners were at the scene when deputies arrived.
“The preliminary investigation indicates there was homicidal violence in a bedroom that eventually led outside the home,” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reported. “The 35-year-old male was located inside the home with multiple deadly injuries. We have no suspect in custody at this time.”
Second homicide in Tacoma less than 30 minutes later
Just after 3 a.m., police responded to the 6900 block of E. D Street in Tacoma’s Hillsdale neighborhood after multiple people reported hearing gunfire. When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
Officers began lifesaving measures, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
The Oregon Country Fair is right around the corner and got an up-close preview of the annual event with generations of revelers expected to return yet again.
Vendors and construction teams were busy setting the venue up on Wednesday. It opens to the public on Friday, and organizers are expecting a big turnout.
For over fifty years, people have come together to enjoy live music, art, food and community at the event in Veneta.
“It has definitely changed and evolved and it’s definitely still holding true to the magic that has started the fair,” said fair attendee Jill Carter.
Carter has been going to the fair for about forty years, but throughout her time there, there’s always one thing on her mind.
“I’ve had a lifelong dream to do the poster, and I’ve been working on applying for a long time, and I got to do it and I’m so excited!”
Carter says over the years, she’s fine-tuned her design proposal to accurately capture the whimsey of the fair.
“In our day-to-day world, we really don’t get to connect on this kind of level of art and whimsey.”
This curated space of art and whimsey is what keeps generations returning to the fair.
“I was at a meeting the other day and somebody was a third generation Oregon Country fairgoer. Their parents were babies here. They were babies here. Now, they’re on crews that help manage the safety of this community,” says Kate Gillespie, the White Bird Rock Medicine crew coordinator.
Gillespie has been working within medical response at the fair for sixteen years.
Before fair goers even arrive, White Bird Rock Medicine works on setting up for the two hospitals provided on site as well as staffing medical crew – which consists of almost 300 medical professionals and mental health crisis workers.
“We are prepared to deal with first aid things like scrapes, bumps, bruises; injured feet are a big thing that we see – all the way up to things like cardiac events and strokes,” Gillespie explains.
And for the attendees they serve, the event is a yearly tradition that is more than just a fair – it’s a chance to catch up with old friends and make new memories.
“I think it’s really like a reunion for a lot of the people that are out here on this property,” says Gillespie.
The Oregon Country Fair runs Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the intersection of Suttle Road and Bus Road in Veneta.
For more information, visit the fair website.
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