Clasen lines up to face Beavers.

Byline: Bob Rodman The Register-Guard

The road to Boise State was a winding one, replete with hairpin curves and a fair number of potholes.

But nearly two years after playing his last football game for Oregon State, Cole Clasen is playing against Oregon State.

His battles with the Beavers behind him, Clasen will be wearing Boise State blue and orange for Saturday's sellout at Reser Stadium, a game scheduled to be nationally telecast on FSN at 3:30 p.m.

"Coming out of the visitors' locker room," said Clasen, who transferred to Boise State from OSU in 2004, "that might be a little weird for me.

"It seems like forever since I played there. Some diehard fans might remember me, but I don't want to make a super big deal out of the whole thing."

Still, the rags-to-riches-to-rags-and-back-again-to-riches story is a remarkable one.

Clasen, now 23 years old, a starting wide receiver and a senior communications major at Boise State, took a stab at making the Oregon State team in the euphoric aftermath of that magical 2000 season.

Then-coach Dennis Erickson had led the Beavers to an 11-1 record, a share of the Pac-10 Conference championship, a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame and a No. 4 national ranking.

Clasen, a one-time Lake Oswego High School star, did his best to impress Erickson as a walk-on freshman tailback in the team's 2001 fall camp.

He didn't do that, instead earning his stripes as a slotback/punt returner.

"I got off on the right foot with coach Erickson," said Clasen, who was the team's third-leading receiver in 2001 and 2002 with 46 receptions for 523 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

Life was good, on the field. Off it, not so hot.

"The timing was ironic," Clasen said, "because around the same time that coach (Mike) Riley was coming in (to replace Erickson, who left after the 2002 season for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers), I was having (academic) eligibility problems."

While he won the war on the field - playing in 36 games, starting seven and earning a scholarship - Clasen was losing one in the classroom.

"I was ineligible when coach Riley came in and I missed spring practice. It's hard to prove yourself to the new coaches when you're not on the field," Clasen said.

It went from bad to worse for the 5-foot-8, 190-pound athlete noted for his toughness.

In his last game at Reser - a 43-3 win over Stanford on Nov. 15, 2003 - Clasen's big contribution was returning 10 punts for 37 yards. No touchdowns. No receptions.

"At the time, I did not think it was my last game there," he said. "I was ready to go into the next year."

The sky started to fall on Clasen at the Las Vegas Bowl five weeks later, a game in which the Beavers ripped New Mexico 55-14 but also a game in which Clasen had little participation.

"I got taken out of the game and had an argument with a coach," Clasen said. "It was hard because everyone was happy, we were winning, it was a blowout by the time I had the argument.

"That stuff happens. It wasn't a huge deal. I was happy for the guys but it was hard for me to be around it."

After two good seasons at OSU, his third had been a nightmare - six receptions for 93 yards and no touchdowns coupled with 42 punt returns for 211 yards and no touchdowns.

With thoughts of redshirting the 2004 season, or perhaps transferring, Clasen began OSU's fall camp. By the end of camp, he had slipped to third on the slotback depth chart.

"I told coach Riley I was going to redshirt and also pursue the idea of a transfer," Clasen said. "I got ahold of Boise State. I liked the way they played football. It seemed like the place for me."

And by the time the Beavers were in Boise for last season's game against the Broncos, Clasen was there, too, and witnessed Boise State's detonation of the Beavers on national television, 55-34.

"I watched and I couldn't believe the score," he said. "Oregon State is a good team and there's a lot of talent. I played with a lot of those guys. They are going to want revenge."

Clasen just wanted another chance, and got it.

"I tried to show coach Riley that I was a good guy, a good player and it was frustrating," Clasen said.

"I don't put any of the blame on coach Riley. I don't regret my years in Corvallis. I just needed a fresh start."

Steve Smyte, Clasen's position coach at Boise State, said Clasen "did not come over (to Boise) with a big ego. He didn't say he was the man, only that he wanted to help the team, to play and do what he could to make us better.

"Football means everything to Cole, but he also has worked hard in other aspects of his life. He's a good citizen, has done a nice job with the younger guys and is doing well in school."

Riley said that most of Clasen's difficulties at Oregon State had to do with academic issues but "Cole made the decision to transfer, and I'm happy for him that things have worked out."

No happier, however, than Clasen.