CORVALLIS — Conor Blount was inside Oregon State's halftime locker room when he was approached by Kevin McGiven, his co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
The coach told Blount, the walk-on true freshman, that he would relieve injured starter Darell Garretson in the second half.
Blount acknowledged later that he was nervous. Heck, he had never taken a snap with the starters before — in practice. But he approached his offensive teammates before taking the field, asking for their trust.
Blount's outing has not created a quarterback controversy in Corvallis, as Beavers coach Gary Andersen stressed there's "no debate" that Garretson (leg) will return to the starting job when healthy enough to perform.