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The Oregon State football team and head coach Trent Bray received great news on Saturday morning as outside linebacker Nikko Taylor announced he would return next season.

The 6-foot-5, 257-pounder was set to exhaust his eligibility after the 2024 campaign, but in the wake of the recent JUCO court ruling, he now has another season of eligibility and elected to return to Corvallis.

Previously, Taylor had declared for the NFL Draft; now, he’ll withdraw his name and return to OSU as the team’s most experienced and talented EDGE rusher.

He’s coming off a 2024 campaign in which he led the Beavers in tackles for loss (eight), sacks (2.5), forced fumbles (two), and fumbles recovered (two). He started all 12 games for the Beavers this past season…

With Taylor back in the fold, here’s a closer look at the Beavers’ scholarship numbers/breakdown at OLB

And stay up-to-date with everything Oregon State this offseason with our Offseason Movement Tracker

On Saturday at 3:24 a.m. an updated high wind warning was issued by the National Weather Service valid from 10 p.m. until Sunday 5 a.m. for South Central Oregon Coast and Curry County Coast.

The weather service states, “South winds 35 to 45 mph with gusts to 60 mph possible on the beaches, except gusts up to 75 mph at the headlands.”

“Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles,” states the weather service. “Remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Watch for falling debris and tree limbs. Use caution if you must drive.”

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.

The Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes will matchup in the Rose Bowl for a place in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi spoke on Friday about the challenges that this talented Ohio State team can cause and how his defense will approach playing the Buckeyes a second time. 

The Oregon Ducks beat the Ohio State Buckeyes played in a thrilling 32-31 game at Autzen Stadium in October. Ducks defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi was asked how his defense will be approaching round two. 

“The best thing we can do is strengthen the things we did well at and be curious about the things where we faulted, starting with me,” Lupoi said. “What can I do better as far as calling the game and putting our guys in the right situation…That might be manipulating a coverage, might be doing something a little different up front, or go back to what we did successfully and try to apply that again.”

The Buckeyes have one of the most talented offenses in the country with wide receivers Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and running backs Quinshon Judkins and Treveyon Henderson. Quarterback Will Howard had one of his best performances in their October matchup. Lupoi noted that practicing against the Oregon offense has helped prepare them for that. 

“They (Ohio State) got great skill players. We see great skill players every day,” Lupoi said. “Thankfully facing our offense, we get to see first rounders every day ourself.”

Ohio State is coming off a 42-17 win over Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Oregon meanwhile hasn’t played since the Big Ten championship on December 7th. How have the Ducks dealt with this layoff?

“We had an extremely physical practice last week,” Lupoi said. “It’s how we practice, how we prepare, and we got top continue that trend if we want to be successful come Wednesday.”

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Lupoi has seen major improvement with the Oregon defense as the season has progressed. What has been a key to this?

“The confidence of the system…When you get into the 14th game of the season, you start to see that confidence,” Lupoi said. “Nikki (Defensive Back Nickko Reed) is a great example kid that. (Derrick) Harmon is a great example of that. . . . Some guys that play with a chip on their shoulder and a confidence and understanding the specifics of every call.”

Lupoi went into depth to talk about the improvement he has seen in Nikko Reed. 

“Another great example of a guy trusting and believing the process. His improvement has been awesome. To see him, the way he competes day in and day out…The main thing that jumps out, he’s always been an extremely competitive individual,” Lupoi said. “His belief and knowledge within the scheme of how he is applying his technique, and then just his ability to cobra finish on a consistent basis. It’s been really cool to see his improvement.”

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