Oregon State head coach Trent Bray says he wants cornerback Trey Glasper to have a goldfish’s memory.
The true freshman found himself starting at cornerback in the Beavers’ 2025 season-opener against Cal on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Reser Stadium. Glasper enrolled at Oregon State early, participated in spring practices and won himself a job on the Beavers’ depth-chart. Even with all the work the three-star recruit put in, a starting-nod still came as a surprise.
Bray said that, although the Beavers pressed Glasper into playing early after sophomore cornerback Exodus Ayers was a late scratch, the freshman held his own.
“(Glasper) got forced to play when he did (and) he did some good stuff,” Bray said of the freshman defensive back. “He got the ball thrown over his head, (but) that’s just going to be a lesson learned. That’s the thing about (playing) corner, you’re going get beat at times.
You’re going to have some games where it’s not great. (But) you’ve got to be like a goldfish — forget about it and learn from it.”
With a freshman of its own under center in quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Cal came after Glasper early and often in the passing game.
The Golden Bears’ second touchdown of the 31-15 win, and Sagapolutele’s second-career touchdown pass, came with Glasper in coverage. Cal receiver Trond Grizzell was the first to get the better of the freshman. The fifth-year senior hauled in a 32-yared touchdown grab against Glasper in the first quarter. Sagapolutele and his arsenal of pass-catchers continued to work back to Glasper’s side of the field throughout the game. But the more the Golden Bears hunted him, the less they could beat him.
“Yeah, I mean that’s gonna happen to freshmen,” Bray said. “The good thing about those, is he was in position to have a chance to make a play. Now he’s got to finish that play.”
The official post-game box score credited Glasper for a single tackle, but it was enough to earn the praise of senior safety Skyler Thomas.
“He’s a dog,” The Beavers’ captain said. “You know, I’m ten years into this. This is (Glasper’s) first year and he’s better than me. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Along with the tackle, Glasper’s only other recorded stat was a crucial pass break-up.
Oregon State got Sagapolutele and Cal into a 3rd-and-7 situation with a minute remaining in the third quarter. The score sat at 24-9 at the time, and getting Cal off the field with a stop would provide Oregon State’s offense the opportunity to bring the game within a score. Sagapolutele looked Glasper’s direction, hunting receiver Kylon Grayes to move the chains. Instead of a fresh set of downs, Glasper knocked Sagapolutele’s pass to the turf and forced Cal’s punt team onto the field.
The Beavers’ offense wasn’t able to capitalize on the stop, but Glasper’s first-career PBU — and the ensuing celebration — is testament to his own playmaking ability, as well as credence to Bray’s short-term memory philosophy for the position.
“That’s where his game will jump,” Bray said about freshman’s play-to-play improvement. “It wasn’t like he just got beat and ran by. (He forced them to make) contested catches.”
