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PSU loads up run-and-shoot

By jason vondersmith

The Portland Tribune, Feb 12, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Ex-Sisters High running back Cory McCaffrey is ready to be a Viking. For one thing, he considers the move to slot receiver a chance to get in the open field.

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The state’s most prolific all-time running back doesn’t mind switching to slot receiver when he joins the Portland State football team. Cory McCaffrey of Sisters High welcomes it.

“It’s going to be great,” says McCaffrey, who rushed for 8,460 yards in three years at the Class 4A school. “It’s going to be better for me, because I’ll be out there in the open field, instead of having to run through a line of 280-pound guys. There’s going to be more playing room.”

McCaffrey and several others are part of Portland State’s effort to build its run-and-shoot offense. Offensive coordinator Mouse Davis and his assistants have been busy trying to find wide receiver playmakers of any shape and size from anywhere and with playing experience at any skill position – quarterback, running back or wideout. The PSU offense had its moments last year, but Davis wants everything to improve.

“Our offensive line is still a concern; I don’t know if we have enough (players) or not,” Davis says. “Every spot has to improve. We took a step back in a couple ball games, but other than that, we steadily improved.”

The Vikings signed 30 players last week, and more signings could be ahead. Davis says he and head coach Jerry Glanville might make a trip to visit with old cohort June Jones, the new Southern Methodist coach and run-and-shoot impresario, as they try to bring some Texas wide receivers to the Rose City.

For now, the Vikings have added some bodies, at least. The Viks, who need to replace primary receivers Tremayne Kirkland and Kenneth Mackins, signed junior college transfer Deric Davis, Idaho transfer Raymond Fry and five preps, including McCaffrey and Sheldon’s Zach Todd.

Mouse Davis also expects 6-5 returnee Matt Smith to be one outside receiver, with 5-11 Mario D’Ambrosio and ex-Sunset High’s 5-6 Aaron Woods in the receiving mix – and junior Reggie Jones likely moving to cornerback.

Mouse Davis says Woods, the 5-11 Deric Davis and 5-8 Fry will have to be impact players next season. All three fit Mouse Davis’ criteria for slots in the run-and-shoot: They have good hands, and they’re small, quick, smart and know how to operate in space.

Fry will be a senior. “He’s a little peanut with great quickness,” Mouse Davis says. “But he popped his hamstring, and it’s a concern.”

Deric Davis comes from City College of San Francisco and will have two years of eligibility. Mouse Davis describes him as “a quick kid who can fly around and make something happen.”

Woods attended Santa Rosa Junior College. He has “soft hands, and he knows what’s going on,” Davis says.

Each of the five prep receivers has a different background.

McCaffrey (5-10, 190 pounds) is 16th on the all-time national high school rushing list. Last year, he rushed for 2,925 yards and 46 TDs in being named Oregon’s Gatorade Player of the Year. He also caught some balls out of the backfield and when lined up in the slot, with the idea that he had to improve at receiving to play at the next level.

He says Idaho State and Air Force also offered him scholarships, and he had opportunities with NCAA Division II and III schools. But playing slot in the run-and-shoot at PSU sounded like fun.

“I can run crisp routes and catch the ball,” he says. “In time, I’ll only get better. You’ve got to be fast, and I’ll be working on my speed, quickness, agility and hands.”

Making moves “is my specialty,” he says. “Once I get through the line, it’s another world out there, and I can do stuff. I’m not the fastest guy, but I can do stuff once I’m through the line.”

A friend of McCaffrey’s father, Scott Saxton, played for Davis in the 1970s. McCaffrey grew up in Beaverton, then moved to Central Oregon before high school.

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