Oregon State Football: Opponents in the Top 100 College Football Players
This week, ESPN's list of the 2024 season's top 100 college football players caused quite a bit of discussion amongst fans of the sport.
While the Oregon State Beavers did not land any of their own players on that list, several of their opponents did - eight, to be exact. Three of those players come from the Oregon Ducks. Here's a short rundown of the best individual talents the Beavers will face this season.
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Dillon Thieneman - Safety - Purdue
#95 overall - The sophomore had a very impressive 74 solo tackles last season along with six interceptions. The Beavers host Purdue on September 21, their fourth game of the season. Per ESPN, Thieneman was the least-targeted DB with at least 300 snaps in 2023.
Ricky White - WR -UNLV
#79 overall - The senior has earned multiple All-American honors in his time with the Rebels. UNLV will be guests of Reser Stadium on October 19. White looks to follow up on a season where he had 88 receptions, 1,483 yards, and eight touchdowns.
Jabbar Muhammad - CB - Oregon
#70 overall - The Washington transfer now looks to be the best defensive player on the Ducks. Oregon and Oregon State square off on September 14, a date for the rivalry that still feels oddly early. Muhammad had three interceptions and broke up 14 passes last season for the Huskies.
Tory Horton - WR - Colorado State
#55 overall - The Beavers host Colorado State on October 5. Horton is an extremely versatile receiver who had 96 receptions for 1,136 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
Jaydn Ott - Running Back - Cal
#42 - Ott's 92.2 career rushing yards per game is the second-best among active FBS players. The Beavers travel to Cal this season, one of their only former Pac-12 opponents this season.
Ashton Jeanty - Running Back - Boise State
#25 overall - ESPN rated Jeanty as the second-best running back in all of college football. He ran for over 1300 yards in 2023 and is planning for even more in 2024. The Broncos visit Corvallis in the final regular season game on November 29.
Tez Johnson - Wide Receiver - Oregon
#18 overall - Johnson's 86 receptions last season set the Oregon program record. ESPN's list places him as the #4 receiver in the entire country this season.
Dillon Gabriel - Quarterback - Oregon
#16 overall - Gabriel and Johnson are anticipated to be one of the most lethal QB-WR duos in college football this season. Last season at Oklahoma, Gabriel ranks in the top eight in FBS history in both passing yards (14,865) and passing touchdowns (125).
Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.