COLLEGE FOOTBALL: End result — Terry's time has come at OSU; Canfield, Catchings shine in scrimmage

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Apr 17, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Sean Canfield, getting most of the reps at quarterback for Oregon State in the absence of injured Lyle Moevao, had a big performance during Friday's scrimmage.

LISA BLUMENFELD / GETTY IMAGES

It’s kind of a tradition at Oregon State during the Mike Riley era.

Most defensive ends have had to go through the apprentice stage before claiming a starting job.

Ben Terry’s time has come.

“It’s a great time for Ben to have a break-out year,” Riley says of the 6-3, 245-pound Terry, in position to be a starter as a senior next fall. “He has some experience now, just as Slade Norris and Victor Butler did, and Jeff Van Orsow before them. At some point, it became their time. This will be Ben’s time to shine.”

Terry is cut from the same cloth as Norris and Butler — smallish for a D-end but fast and powerful. Last season, as a transfer from Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, Calif., Terry cut his teeth as an understory to both Norris and Butler, who served as his mentors.

“Vic and Slade helped me upgrade my game a little bit, taught me some things about how to get to the passer,” Terry says. “If I messed up, they would tell me what I did wrong.

“They’re both great guys, and everyone knows they’re great players. I learned a lot from them.”

“Ben has always been a good athlete,” says Norris, taking classes at OSU and living in Corvallis while preparing for the NFL draft. “The biggest thing he needed when he came in last year was to figure out the defense. He always had the physical tools.

“All Vic and I did was give him guidance with any questions he had. He caught on fairly quickly.”

Norris says he watched a couple of spring practice sessions this week, “and Ben is going to develop into a weapon,” Norris says. “He’s going to flourish. He has the speed Vic and I have, and if you look at his upper body — wow, he’s put the weight-room work in. He’s ready to go.”

Terry runs the 40 in 4.5, not surprising in that he was clocked at 10.9 in the 100 meters while competing for the Capistrano Valley High track team in Mission Viejo. A first-team all-league linebacker, he was recruited by Kansas and San Diego State, but poor grades held him back.

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