CORVALLIS — Seconds after producing the most impactful play of his Oregon State career thus far, Andy Alfieri momentarily froze.
Late in the Beavers‘ close-fought loss to UNLV last week, Alfieri burst into the Rebels‘ backfield and brought down running back Jai’Den Thomas for a big tackle-for-loss at a time when Oregon State badly needed a defensive spark.
He stood up to celebrate before realizing he was woefully underprepared for the moment.
“It was a great feeling because it was my first big play on defense,” Alfieri said. “But I really didn’t know what to do afterward. I didn’t have a celebration — I haven’t celebrated since high school on defense. So I just threw my arms up.”
It’s all part of the learning curve for Alfieri, who has emerged as an unsung defensive hero amidst his debut season with the Beavers. A senior tight end who arrived in Corvallis as an impact offensive transfer from Cal last offseason, Alfieri established himself as a strong blocker who is well-suited for the Beavers’ H-back role this fall.
But, due to Oregon State’s injury crisis on the defensive side of the ball, he has made the shift to outside linebacker and has taken to the role rather quickly. Alfieri logged 25 defensive snaps last week against the Rebels — the majority of which came in run scenarios — and recorded two tackles.
One week earlier, against Nevada, he played 22 defensive snaps and produced two stops.
Until the week leading up to the Nevada game, Alfieri had never so much as glanced at Oregon State’s defensive playbook; he spent the entirety of fall camp and the first six weeks of the season repping with the Beavers’ offense.
So, how did a player learn and absorb a complex defensive scheme in less than a week and emerge as a much-needed defensive difference-maker for the Beavers?
“Good football players are good football players,” Oregon State offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson said. “He’s a tough football player; you can kind of use those guys all over the place.”
The positional transition has been a smooth one, according to Alfieri. That’s partially due to his background in the sport.
He starred as a two-way player at Portland’s Jesuit High, where he played inside linebacker, running back and tight end and helped lead the Crusaders to three district titles. His father, Phil Alfieri, played defensive end for Oregon State and his brother, Joey Alfieri, was a an all-conference outside linebacker at Stanford.
A 3-star recruit, according to 247Sports, Alfieri signed with Cal ahead of the 2020 season but played sparingly during four seasons in Berkeley. He opted to enter the transfer portal last January and committed to Oregon State a little over five months later.
While Alfieri was primarily recruited by OSU tight ends coach Jon Boyer, he didn’t necessarily have a preference of where he played this season — as long as he was able to make an impact.
“I was open to anything,” Alfieri said. “When I was being recruited, it was by coach Boyer. He expressed that it was mainly for tight end. But I was always open to playing special teams, defense, whatever they needed.”
In order to get up to speed with the defense, Alfieri said he spent extra time the past few weeks working with OSU assistant Kharyee Marshall, who serves in a defensive quality control role.
“It’s a good question,” Alfieri said of how he made the transition so quickly. “I just try to make sure my habits during the week are good. Like, I have everything outside of football under control; school, my personal life. It lets me play free on Saturdays and during practice.”
In addition to his defensive duties, Alfieri also played 10 offensive snaps during the Nevada game two weeks ago. He played exclusively on defense during last week’s loss to UNLV, though, and will likely continue in a strictly defensive role for the foreseeable future. But he’s still spending some practice time working with OSU’s offense each week, and Gunderson said Alfieri could still have a role with the offense moving forward.
“Andy is very bright. He’s very smart,” Oregon State defensive coordinator Keith Heyward said. “So, I think he drew back on some of his experience playing outside ‘backer before. … We’ve changed some of the terminology of how we’re playing techniques and stuff. But he has a really good motor; where he just plays physically.”
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Andy Alfieri emerges as unsung hero for Oregon State defense
