Oregon State football position preview: Safety

Safety Skyler Thomas, who led the Beavers in tackles the previous season and was a force in the secondary, will captain Oregon State’s defense in 2025.

Tyrice Ivy and Jaheim Patterson, two outstanding OSU springtime players, are also Thomas’s reinforcements at the safety spot, namely at the free safety spot.

At least they know they can rely on their back end if everything else fails for a Beavers defense that has inexperienced players at a few places. Unless it continues to be healthy.

S-shaped depth chart projection:

Tyrice Ivy, Jaheim Patterson, FS

Thomas SSS, York Amarion

Grade for position: A-

Evaluation:

If Thomas continues to improve on his performance from the previous season, he might be selected among the first few safety picks in the 2026 draft. He had nine passes broken up, two recovered fumbles, 81 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble as a redshirt junior.

Furthermore, Thomas accomplished all of that after missing the entire 2023 campaign because of an ACL tear. Furthermore, the year following the comeback year is frequently the actual return to form, as many sportsmen who have coped with the injury would attest.

Both Ivy and Patterson are able to begin at free safety. The 6-3 Ivy displayed his quickness after entering the starting lineup halfway through the 2024 season, while Patterson, at 6-4, swings hard and adds more length. He started in place of Jack Kane, which caused Kane to use the transfer portal over the summer.

If Trent Bray chooses to temporarily switch the former corner Ivy to a nickel-type role, all three might see the field together. In any case, having depth and talent at key defensive backfield spots is a wonderful problem to have.

York is the more experienced of the two and is probably going to be in the rotation, but both Howard and York are eager to see the field. York demonstrated his worth on special teams by blocking a punt against San Diego State the previous season.

Additional previews for OSU positions:

QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DT, Edge, ILB, and CB

Early previews of OSU’s opponents:

First game: California

Second Game: Fresno State

Texas Tech in Game 3

Houston in Game 5

Appalachian State in Game 6

Wake Forest in Game 7

Lafayette in Game 8

Washington State in Games 9/12

Sam Houston State in Game 10

Tulsa in Game 11

–For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon State Beavers. You may contact him on Twitter at X:@RyanTClarke or by email at RClarke@Oregonian.com. His Bluesky handle is @ryantclarke.bsky.social.

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