8.19.2011

Blogging from an iPad...

Makes for very slow blogging.

First off, the 'Geoff Garner' minor injury report:
-an ingrown toenail, fixed
-less than 24 hrs later 350lb dlineman, Castro breaks the rest of the remaining nail
-12 hrs later a dislocated left thumb
-after later inspection, torn ligiments are found. Currently wearing a soft cast.

Poor giblets. I feel so bad for the kid. Thankfully it's nothing worse.

Like Geoff did last month, I'm vacationing in The Dalles. It. Is. Awesome.

I spend everyday kickin' it poolside. I'm so tan. It's amazing.

And in other news, my stitches are out and I'm developing a scar that looks like a smiley face. It's pretty cool.

I'm going to learn how to can apple and cherry pie filling while im here so hopefully it all goes well and I can share my cornucopia of goods with everyone.


The first game of the season is in two weeks. Get ready Beaver Nation. It's gonna be fun.

8.13.2011

fall camp. fall schmanp.

it official, fall camp has reared its ugly head and has infiltrated our previously awesome life.
but its cool, geoff is doing awesome (and no midlife crisis' on his part so... bonus!)

I get really bored, but its fine.
I paint my nails a lot...its my new thing.
I also chopped my hair off so i spend time getting to know 'short hair katie' again.
shes pretty cool.
(and no i will not post a picture)

Friday me and a friend went to watch practice--I would have had a better picture but crowd control was being just a wee bit intense.



anyway, apart from being exhausted and sore every night geoff is doing very well and I cant wait to see him on the field this year. 

*see below for another article on geoff from the Eugene Register Guard. 

**dont let me forget to mention that most nights my time with geoff is cut in half because the mentally retarted girl next door waits up for him everynight so she can come out and talk to him. I think Ive gots me some competition.


Spotlight on: the big man pt. DEUX


CORVALLIS — Geoff Garner’s football life suddenly became more complicated this week.
The 300-pound Oregon State sophomore made his first snap in an organized practice on Monday with his conversion to center. He’s also added the responsibility of making the blocking calls for the other linemen.
And instead of being a tackle worrying about a defensive end going around him, Garner has his primary problem right in front of him.
“It’s definitely a big change just because the defensive tackle, the second you snap the ball, is right into you,” Garner said. “You’ve got to fire right away.”
And meanwhile, hope that he made the correct blocking assignments for the entire offensive line.
“The biggest thing is you’ve got to be reliable,” Garner said. “Everyone is relying on you to make the correct call. ... There’s a lot on your plate.
“There are a lot of things to do right on every play.”The shuffling of OSU linemen, which began in the spring when four of the five starters were at new positions, has continued in this first week of fall practices for the Beavers with the backups.
Garner was the most notable move, from tackle to center. That was prompted partly by a foot injury in the spring game suffered by reserve Roman Sapolu, which caused concern about his readiness for preseason workouts.
But Garner also gives the Beavers more size at the center position and has the intelligence to master the position, said Mike Cavanaugh, the OSU offensive line coach.
“We thought moving him to center would be a good fit,” Cavanaugh said. “Sometimes you’ve got to swing ’em around” to find the right combination of linemen.
That was certainly the thinking behind the changes with the No. 1 unit, where senior Mike Remmers moved to left tackle after 32 starts as right tackle, which will be taken either by former starting left tackle Michael Philipp or Colin Kelly.
There’s also competition at right guard between incumbent Burke Ellis and fellow senior Michael Lamb.
The starting center is now Grant Johnson, moved there after 25 starts at left guard. That meant previous center candidate Josh Andrews could move to left guard, where the Beavers feel his aggressive attitude can be turned loose without the added duties associated with playing center.
“I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s got that (butt) kicker mentality. He loves to play, he’s physical. ... Hopefully he’ll be that emotional leader.”
The Beavers are certainly looking to put a charge into their offensive line.
Remmers called it “redemption” after a disappointing 2010 season, and Cavanaugh suggested in his usual strong terms that all of his linemen “better have a big chip on their shoulder” to prove their worth.
“We had a little attitude adjustment,” Remmers said. “We’re just really working hard and trying to finish our blocks ... block through (opponents), not to.”
Again, Cavanaugh put the same sentiment into stronger terms.
“We’ve got to come off the ball and put our eyes right through guys’ chin guards and we’ve got to frigging unload on people,” the coach said.
To do so, the Beavers are bigger and stronger across the front. There was a renewed emphasis on work in the weight room, and the success there was helped along because all of the starting linemen had an offseason that was free of rehabilitation from previous injuries, as it was for Philipp and Johnson last year.
There are still some concerns. Garner needs to master his new assignment, to assure the Beavers have a capable backup at the important center position.
There isn’t much depth at tackle, prompting the move of guard Grant Enger to the outside so the Beavers can go two-deep at the position without Garner moving back outside.
“I’m optimistic about this offensive line, because they’re all improved players,” OSU coach Mike Riley said of his linemen. “They’ve all grown, so through all this we’ll have a better line and better depth.”
source

8.05.2011

spotlight on: the big man

GARNER ADDS DEPTH RILEY'S BEEN TALKING ABOUT
GARNER ADDS DEPTH RILEY'S BEEN TALKING ABOUT
Beaverfootball.com Columnist
Posted Aug 5, 2011


FALL CAMP is barely a sneeze away, and so Sunday night will feel a little like the night before Christmas. And not just because the bad taste from a losing season is one virtually everyone in black and orange is ready to get out of their mouths, but also because this season brings something new to the table.

The unknown.

There's a brightly wrapped 2011 football season under the tree - the only question is, what's in the box? It could be just what you always wanted, it could be empty, or it could be a lump of coal.

More than any season in recent history, the 2011 Beavers are an enigma. There are boatloads of potential along with an embarrassment of riches at the skill positions - totally unlike what Beaver Nation is accustomed to embracing. That's the glass half full.

On the glass-half-empty side, the lines on both sides of the ball are question marks unlike any your humble scribe can remember.

Reach back through the cobwebs of your mind and try to remember a single season where not one member of either line is regarded as a "star" (apologies to Mike Remmers, who honestly is quite underrated). There is no Stephen PaeaJeremy PerryAndy LevitreKyle DeVanVictor Butler, Bill Swancutt, Dwan Edwards.... no, not a one in this group. Not one big nasty guy on either side of the ball that you absolutely know is keeping an opposing OL or DL coach up at night wondering how the heck to handle him.

Now that we're through the doom-and-gloom portion, there exists loads of potential in this particular Beaver squad. With a few lucky bounces, this is a 9-win team. Of course the biggest bounce has a name -- James Rodgers.

J-Rod is the type of put-you-over-the-top-player who can get you a couple of wins all by himself. He really is the complete weapon -- rushing, receiving, returning kicks, returning punts. There's a sense that if Mike Riley was willing to let him, he'd show that he's a solid defensive back as well.

With all due respect to Quizz, and the great Sammie Stroughter, and even Steven Jackson, James Rodgers is the most dangerous player in the modern era of Beaver Football. A healthy James Rodgers changes everything.

MEANWHILE UP FRONTGeoff Garner is poised to become the new Andy Levitre edition Swiss Army Knife, and he's a player that OSU fans should keep an eye on. This is a guy who is physically mature, took a 2 year LDS mission, played in four games as a true freshman, redshirted in 2010, and has been moved from tackle to backup center to fill the hole left by the injury to Roman Sapolu.

Garner is an athletic guy -- he's 6-5 and 308 pounds but in a previous iteration, he caught 45 passes for 987 yards and 7 TD's as a prep standout. And now the 23 year-old sophomore is showing off his versatility by moving over to back up at center. When Riley says that the Beavers have much better depth on the O-Line than last year, as he's done repeatedly these past several weeks, I think he's looking right at Geoff Garner. He can play OT, C, and even some TE if necessary. Remember Stanford's Heavy Set with Toby Gerhart and 3 OT's?

While we're on the subject of the o-line, something to note -- many posters on the BF.C message boards have mused about Michael Philipp moving inside to guard. It was considered last year by the staff, but Riley said he "took a deep breath" and decided against it. Now Philipp is locked in a battle for the starting RT job with Colin Kelly, and the discussion renews.

But the reality is, Oregon State simply doesn't have the ability to move Philipp to guard. With Garner moved to center, OSU has 3 tackles to work with -- Kelly, Remmers, and Philipp. Philipp is the backup at both tackle spots.

FINALLY. THERE'S A sense the MLB dilemma has been solved -- and before a single fall camp practice. Fans watching all year wondered why Feti Unga sat third in the rotation, when he appeared to many to be the most talented MIKE on the team -- this author wondered on multiple occasions on the BF.C boards about whether Ruben Robinson belonged at OLB instead. So what happened?

Defensive coordinator Mark Banker took over linebackers.

Robinson immediately moves to outside linebacker, and Unga leapfrogs to starter at MIKE. Sources close to the OSU program in background conversations have said that former LB coach Greg Newhouse's selection of most of his starting linebackers, and in particular the MLB rotation, as well as the high minutes for a still-recovering Keith Pankey (while Cameron Collins was limited to one start in 2010), were hotly contested debates within the staff.

No one has ever questioned Newhouse's ability to develop players. But the opinion from this chair is that his tendency for favoritism over "his" guys rather than the most effective player, coupled with a seemingly poor effort in the recruiting department, apparently forced Riley's hand.


source

8.02.2011

today, part trois.

and more appropriately subtitled, 'beauty and the beast'

Today I got a flower delivery at work from my dad (I <3 Larry) and geoff.

 'the beauty'


I also got to take off my tampon-looking gauze bandage only to reveal what I like to call, my frakenstein hand.

'the beast'


gross! sorry its all swollen and bruised and nasty looking.

but its cool, because to even things out i burnt my other hand on the oven today.
because i really wanted to have that whole trifecta injury working for me.
stitched hand, burnt hand, bruised tailbone.

im a HOT mess.

anyway, no biggie.


as for Geoff?

He went to Costco with Big Lar and C-town.
which is usually my job.
see? totally replacing me.


8.01.2011

today, part deux.

Today, Geoff went to the pool.

and myself?

I went to the ER and got my first stitches ever.


(i sent geoff this picture and he texted me back with 'i cant believe you got a manicure without me'--his eyesight was just a 'little' off)

a shelf fell off a ladder while I was working and sliced my knuckle to the bone and did some minor damage to the rest of my hand and forearm on the way down.

it was awesome, but more importantly what do you guys think?
should i change my name to Kandra??