CORVALLIS -- Angry, hurt voices erupted in the team meeting room of the Valley Football Center last October when Gary Andersen told his team he would no longer be the Oregon State football coach.
Multiple players stood up, prepared to walk out of the room before Andersen called them back in and asked them to return for him. Once the meeting ended, some streamed outside to the Reser Stadium parking lot with tears in their eyes. Six more losses followed, the last four by a combined 110 points.
This was the backdrop for what will mark Jonathan Smith's first season back in Corvallis since his time as a graduate assistant 15 years ago.