ESPN College Football

Oregon State coach Mike Riley believes he has talent and depth at running back. He just doesn't know how much and from whom. He has "viable" bodies for every position on the offensive line. But he's pretty sure the starting five coming out of spring won't be the same at the start of the season.

These are a few of the concerns Riley is pondering as the Beavers set to open spring practice on April 3.

Tailback Jovan Stevenson will be limited with a foot injury, which means lots of reps for Jordan Jenkins, Malcolm Agnew, Storm Woods and Terron Ward.

"I think we have good depth," Riley said in a conference call with media on Tuesday. " ... It's definitely the biggest question mark, but it's a good group. I feel good about it. Sorting it out will be very important for us."

Which leads to another issue. The backs will be getting lots of work -- but who is going to do all of the blocking? With Grant Enger (shoulder) out for spring and Colin Kelly (ankle) expected to miss most or all of spring, the Beavers have very limited depth to work with over the next month.

"The hardest part about spring ball is that we're very thin on the offensive line," Riley confirmed. "We have the starters that are out rehabbing ... we have some good young talent that will get a lot of good work to see if they can play. We're looking -- not necessarily how it will look as a whole in the fall -- but as an individual development of those guys at that position. We'll just have to be careful how we practice."

Riley went on to say that as a result, there won't be much chemistry with whatever starting five opens the year Sept. 1 against Nicholls State in Corvallis.

"I think we'll develop toward that line that we'll have in the fall," he said. "The hard part is we won't have a whole synchronized group. I doubt the starting lineup coming out of spring ball will be the starting lineup necessarily in the fall. But there is a viable guy at each position this spring so let's see what they can do with it and we'll put up some better depth in the fall and we'll see who wins the job then.

"I think we have good candidates. That's good enough for right now."

Riley has said in previous interviews that restoring the ground game is a top priority in the upcoming year. Oregon State ranked last in the Pac-12 last season, averaging just 86.9 yards per game while managing just 12 touchdowns on the ground -- second worst behind Colorado (10).

Other roster notes:

• Safety Anthony Watkins (shoulder), cornerback Brian Watkins (shoulder) and defensive tackle Castro Masaniai (leg) will either miss spring completely or have very limited work. Defensive end Blake Harrah and cornerback Larry Scott will workout on a limited basis. Wide receiver Jordan Bishop will practice and Riley hopes he'll be full speed by the end of camp.
• Offensive lineman Darryl Jackson (hip) and linebacker Tony Wilson (stingers/numbness) have applied for medical waivers to finish school but no longer play football due to continuous injury.
• Malcolm Marable (excessive speeding citation), Sean Martin (alleged DUI) and Mishawn Cummings (internal team violation) remain suspended.

Happy Friday.

• Arizona's Tra'Mayne Bondurant hopes to "spur" the defense this fall. An update on the alleged brawl that involved several Wildcats.
• Arizona State will take a break, but it ran the ball well during the first day of full-pads.
• California QB Zach Maynard is now an established player for the Bears.
• Is the plot about to thicken at QB for Colorado?
• USC coach Lane Kiffin has been immortalized by Oregon -- in the Ducks' own way. Former Ducks CB Cliff Harris is looking for redemption in the NFL.
• Oregon State sophomore cornerback Malcolm Marable is going to pay for driving fast.
• Stanford and Northwestern are ready to get brainy together.
• At USC, QBs Cody Kessler and Max Wittek are both going to get a lot of time this spring.
• Hoops? No, March is all about football for Utah.
• Would the Sun Bowl be enough for Washington fans?

What is it with defensive backs driving in the state of Oregon?

Oregon State cornerback Malcolm Marable has been suspended indefinitely after he was cited for driving 104 mph on Interstate 5 in a 65-mph zone around 1 a.m. on Sunday.

You might recall that former Oregon CB Cliff Harris, who was heading into the 2011 season as a returning All-American, was stopped last June while driving 118 mph at 4:30 a.m. That began Harris' downward spiral into suspension and then dismissal from the Ducks.

So you could conclude that Harris was a bit quicker than Marable, but neither was able to outrun the ole blue lights.

This is further bad news for the Beavers' defensive backfield. Coach Mike Riley previously suspended two other cornerbacks indefinitely: Sean Martin for an alleged DUI and Mishawn Cummings for an undisclosed team rules violation.

None of these three, however, are returning starters. Jordan Poyer and Rashaad Reynolds started every game last year at the two corners.

Oregon State's lengthy injury list added a new name Friday: starting cornerback Brandon Hardin, who will be out indefinitely with a shoulder injury that requires surgery.

Hardin has 15 career starts. The Beavers' secondary was widely viewed as the defense's decided strength heading into preseason practices.

Sophomores Rashaad Reynolds and Sean Martin will move up in the pecking order at cornerback opposite Jordan Poyer. Also, redshirt freshman Malcolm Marable has switched to corner from tailback to bolster depth.

On the positive side of the Beavers' 15-man injury list: Defensive tackle Kevin Frahm may be able to return for the Wisconsin game on Sept. 10. He's been diagnosed with a meniscus tear in his right knee and will have surgery Monday to repair it.

Oregon State concludes spring practices with its spring game on Saturday. Here's a brief primer.

Spring game: The Beavers play their spring game at 3:15 p.m. -- 12:15 PDT -- at Reser Stadium.

Questions answered: With starting quarterback Ryan Katz out, backups Cody Vaz and Sean Mannion were solid to impressive. There are few worries at quarterback -- Katz is throwing after a wrist injury -- which is always good. The outside linebackers are set with Cameron Collins and Michael Doctor. The secondary, led by safety Lance Mitchell, looks solid and there's good depth behind the starting four. Kicker Trevor Romaine has been consistent and may be an immediate upgrade on Justin Kahut.

Questions unanswered: A lot of questions heading into the offseason, starting with the health of wide receiver James Rodgers, whose return is uncertain after a serious knee injury, and continuing with the uncertain seriousness of tight end Joe Halahuni's shoulder problem. Those are two big presences in the passing game. The pecking order on the offensive line, at running back and middle linebacker are far from set. Ryan McCants, Jovan Stevenson, Jordan Jenkins and the freshmen Terron Ward and Malcolm Marable are in the mix at running back. While the left side of the O-line is set, the right is not: Burke Ellis and Michael Lamb are competing at guard, and Colin Kelly and Michael Philipp at tackle. Rueben Robinson, Kevin Unga and Tony Wilson are still splitting time at middle linebacker. Further, there are questions about who will provide consistent pressure on the quarterback from the D-line.

Spring stars: Doctor is going to be a player at weak-side linebacker. The move of Dominic Glover from defensive end to defensive tackle has yielded positive results. Jordan Poyer has been solid after replacing James Dockery at cornerback opposite Brandon Hardin. Markus Wheaton was a standout at receiver, and Obum Gwacham flashed some potential at the same spot. Spring started with writers celebrating Mannion over Vaz, but things reversed by the end -- mostly because of strong play by Vaz and not anything Mannion did or didn't do.