Posted: Sunday, August 6, 2006 10:00 pm
CORVALLIS - Anthony Wheat-Brown winds himself too tight - literally and figuratively.
Sammie Stroughter gets nervous before games, and needed to mature as an athlete and person.
While those issues slowed their development, they must be overcome this season for the Oregon State football team to have an effective passing game, which is a staple of the playbook.
These junior wide receivers are who the Beavers begin the season lining up on the outside. They represent the deep threat and the first options for quarterback Matt Moore.
"Sammie is a burner," Moore said. "He's got the speed and he can beat you deep. Anthony is as tough as nails. You can't jam him on the line. He brings a lot to the huddle with his experience."
Wheat-Brown is the most experienced receiver on the roster, starting as a flanker his freshman season and then moving to slot last year. He has 77 career catches for 800 yards and six touchdowns.
It's back to flanker this season, but the most important thing for him is to stay healthy. If it wasn't a hamstring pull, it was a sprained ankle or sore hand every season.
He could have chalked it up to bad luck, and hoped for the best. However, he wasn't going to leave his destiny up to chance.
"It was part bad luck, and how he trains," wide receivers coach Lee Hull said. "He's a big and powerful guy, and he likes being that way. He knows he doesn't need to be as heavy as he has been to play receiver and be as powerful as he wants to be. So he changed the way he trains and eats."
Wheat-Brown reworked his 218-pound body over the summer. Every season he returned to the team with more bulk. The speed remained because he pushed himself to where he pulled a muscle.
Each time he worked harder to return so he wouldn't lose his spot. It was a stress that kept him in a vicious circle of injury and anxiety.
There has been more pool workouts, stretching and jogging lately. At the dinner table it's salad, juice and water. The results are a more tone frame.
"I'm trying to stay healthy," Wheat-Brown said. "I went through a lot of injuries and I'm trying to avoid that. Hopefully, I'll be 100 percent at the end of the season. I feel pretty fast, faster than in the spring. I've slimmed down body fat. After the season, I felt I needed to do more. I wasn't doing enough. I was doing stuff to get by. I can help this team, and I can't do that if I'm not 100 percent."
Beyond the physical setbacks, came frustration. Hull sat him down before fall camp and told him to relax.
The coach appreciates his desire, but not to the detriment of the team. The Beavers need him to have a breakout year.
"He has lofty goals, and we expect a lot out of him." Hull said. "He's in great shape, probably the best shape he's been since he's been here. He's running around well, but he puts too much pressure on himself because he wants to be so good. He's rejuvenated a little bit since he's playing flanker again. He's going to play some slot. We are going to move him around and he enjoys that."
Stroughter impressed the coaching staff from the first day. His athletic ability led to him playing as a true freshman being the primary punt returner, and part-timer on kicks.
However, he was too nervous when it came to playing receiver. Learning the system was overwhelming. Moving from split end to flanker and back didn't help.
Last season he was placed behind Mike Hass to watch and learn, which took the pressure off. By the end of the season he started playing more, grabbing five catches with an 11.6-yard average.
"Yes, I am ready," Stroughter said. "The last two years have allowed me to mature. There were a lot of trials of tribulations of finding myself. I took college as a game, but this is life. It was just maturing mentally and physically on and off the field by learning from the guys in front of me."
Looking back Stroughter wished he redshirted his first season, but the Beavers didn't have the depth at many positions and played seven true freshmen.
"When you first come out of high school you say you are not redshirting, but it's truthfully the best thing for a younger person to mature," Stroughter said. "When you are thrown into the fire, you have to stand on your own two feet right away."
He said everything was going by so fast. Sitting in meetings, information was coming at him quicker than an opposing tackler.
Now life and the game have finally slowed down to the point that he's in control and ready to face any challenge.
"He could have played for us last year, and probably should have played more," Hull said. "Sammie is a guy I feel confident in. He can go out and do the job and be a big part of our offense. He just has to continue where he left off after spring. He was our best receiver in spring ball. If he can keep that up, the sky is the limit for this guy."
Talking with Wheat-Brown and Stroughter during the early days of fall camp there's a sense of relief in their voice and demeanor. Maybe it's the confidence knowing the team is depending on them.
Whatever it is, both say it's their time.
"I've been ready to grab the top spot," Wheat-Brown said. "This year, I expect a lot more out of myself than I've done the last couple years."
By Cliff Kirkpatrick
For the Democrat-Herald