Beaver DBs get on-the-job training.

Byline: Bob Rodman The Register-Guard

CORVALLIS - Sixteen years have passed since Oregon State began a season with a secondary as rookie-laden as the one it has today.

With a couple of sophomores and a redshirt freshman back there, the novice nature shows.

The Beavers are last in the Pac-10 Conference in total defense, allowing nearly 412 yards a game. They are yielding more than 278 yards passing a game, ninth on that list, and they have given up a league-high 10 touchdown passes.

"We know there are going to be growing pains," said Nigel Burton, who coaches the cornerbacks for OSU. "You just hope they learn the things they need to do to make plays."

Three games into the 2005 season and 36 hours from the Pac-10 opener against 18th-ranked Arizona State on Saturday at Reser Stadium, Oregon State continues to deal with downfield inexperience.

The cornerbacks are Keenan Lewis, a redshirt freshman who replaced Aric Williams at left corner, and Gerard Lawson, a sophomore who replaced Brandon Browner at right cornerback. Lamar Herron, also a sophomore, has taken over for Mitch Meeuwsen at free safety.

Browner left after his sophomore season and is on the Denver Broncos' injured reserve list. Williams continues to try to make an NFL roster or taxi squad. Meeuwsen, who owns the OSU career interception record with 20, participated in the Miami Dolphins' preseason camp before being released.

Meanwhile, Lewis, Lawson and Herron plunged into this season with a total of zero starts.

Herron leads OSU with two interceptions and is fourth in tackles with 16, but the only veteran in the secondary is Sabby Piscitelli, a junior strong safety.

The heat increased after the Beavers yielded six scoring throws and 428 yards passing in last weekend's 63-27 loss at Louisville.

"Everyone's a little frustrated," Piscitelli said. "I got a little frustrated. You want to make plays, and then you start reaching."

The cornerbacks have taken most of the hits.

"Every time there's a long pass, people blame the corners," said Mike Riley, the Oregon State coach whose team led the Pac-10 in pass defense four of the last seven seasons.

"At some point they are going to live and die by that. They have to learn to cover, be responsible and accountable. They have to be tough-minded."

Riley has said he plans no major personnel overhaul of the secondary, though "we have to determine, as we did earlier in the season and do weekly, just who the best players are."

The 29-year-old Burton, a safety during his playing days at Washington, said benching Lewis, who leads the Beavers with three pass breakups, and Lawson, sixth on the team in tackles with 13, is not the answer.

"If we had abandoned Aric and Brandon after the third game of their freshman years, where would we have been?" Burton said. They will get better, he said, "through experience and learning how to play."

Rumors had Piscitelli moving to a cornerback spot. "That's just somebody talking," he said. "I think our cornerbacks are just fine. I tell them to keep their heads up, that when the ball comes your way, just make plays."

The Beavers are sharing the blame. "Everyone on defense has to take responsibility," said Keith Ellison, a senior linebacker. "I know they (the cornerbacks) are young and they seem a little frustrated, but we've all been there, we've all played badly."

Not long after the Louisville loss, Williams phoned Burton, and then Lawson.

"He told Gerard about his first start, about how he went through the same thing, if not worse," said Burton, who recalled Browner being beaten twice as a freshman against Boise State and Williams failing twice against Boise as a senior.

"And those two had guys like Dwan Edwards (with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens) and Bill Swancutt (on the Detroit Lions' roster) up front."

Lewis, from New Orleans, has had to deal with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina as well as free-swinging quarterbacks - last week, Louisville's Brian Brohm, and on Saturday, ASU's Sam Keller, who is the Pac-10's leading passer with 1,078 yards and 12 touchdowns.

"You just have to correct your mistakes," Lewis said. "You take every game and build from it. You have to be strong for yourself in this game."

After three games, OSU has a league-low three quarterback sacks, which has not helped the secondary.

"We need the defensive line to rush so the linebackers and secondary can cover properly," said Alvin Smith, a senior tackle.

"We can't let those guys string it out for six or eight seconds. We've got to get in the backfield and put some pressure on the quarterback."

And while the Beavers lean heavily on man-to-man coverage, "we do mix in some zone," Riley said. "But we went to it (the zone) one time against Louisville and they hit a guy right down the middle for a touchdown. We have to be able to mix the zone in, but we can't let the quarterback know what's going on."

CAPTION(S):

Oregon State's Keenan Lewis (6) is one of three first-time starters in the Beaver secondary this season. Fellow cornerback Gerard Lawson and free safety Lamar Herron are the others. "You just have to correct your mistakes. You take every game and build from it. You have to be strong for yourself in this game." KEENAN LEWIS OSU DEFENSIVE BACK