CORVALLIS – The Oregon State football team begins the 2016 season on Friday as fall camp gets underway and on Tuesday players and coaches expressed optimism when meeting with local media in Corvallis.

The Beavers hosted their own media day at Reser Stadium and coach Gary Andersen said his team’s goal is to be a much-improved this fall, but they understand that task won’t be easy. “We expect to get better, and we’re excited about the opportunity. But we also respect [the Pac-12 Conference] and our opponents.”

Oregon State is coming off a two-win season and a winless conference slate. Perceptions from outside the program are that the Beavers will once again fall to the bottom of the conference standings. Oregon State was picked to finish last in the Pac-12 North in the preseason media poll.

Inside the program, the players realize improvement is needed. New quarterback Darrell Garretson explains the team has the players to be more explosive on the offensive side of the ball.

The Beavers begin fall practices on Friday at Summit High School in Bend. The team moved the first week of practices to Central Oregon while work is finalized on the Valley Football Center, where the Beavers’ locker rooms are housed.

Oregon State begins the season with a non-conference road game at Minnesota on September 1.

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