When Oregon State takes the field for its season-opening scrimmage game with Eastern Washington, it won’t have one of the top players on the defensive side of the ball at its disposal.
After hurting his right knee Wednesday afternoon, it was thought that linebacker D.J. Alexander could miss an extended period of time. Upon further review, however, it was merely a sprain.
That said, Alexander is expected to miss somewhere in the neighborhood of four weeks, meaning he’s already all but been ruled out of the season opener against FCS-level Eastern Washington. The Beavers will host Hawaii the following weekend before a bye weekend.
“Besides the depth (issue), he’s a good player,” head coach Mike Riley said of Alexander’s expected early-season absence. “I think we have some kids developing behind there that are going to be good, but D.J. is one of our better players.”
In 2012, Alexander started every game at strongside linebacker. He finished fifth on the team with 58 tackles and third in tackles for loss with seven