Oregon State will be without starting quarterback Sean Mannion for an unknown period of time, Mike Riley announced Monday. Mannion is currently ranked No. 2 in the Pac-12 in yards per game and yards per attempt in his second year as starter, and he's been a huge reason why the Beavers are unbeaten and ranked No. 10 with two wins over ranked teams, two road wins and three conference victories.
Sean Mannion injury: Can Oregon State keep dream season alive?
He's likely backed by junior Cody Vaz, who hasn't played in a game since 2010, when he was Ryan Katz' backup. Mannion overtook Katz for the top job in 2011, and then Katz left for San Diego State, but Vaz remains. He has 17 career attempts, most of which came on the road at No. 4 Stanford, so it's impossible to judge him by his stats.
A three-star recruit out of Stockton, California, Vaz impressed in fall camp, going 12 of 13 for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the last scrimmage. From Building the Dam’s report:
Many Beaver fans are nervously recalling last season’s late camp/early season switch from Ryan Katz, who is now the starting quarterback for San DIego St., and Mannion, but it seems unlikely Riley will repeat that exercise. However, should it become necessary to replace Mannion for a non-performance reason (injury, non-football event, etc.), Oregon St. should not be out of luck with Vaz at the controls.
Vaz also looked the best out of all OSU’s quarterbacks at their spring game this year, during which he went 11 of 21 attempts for 2 touchdowns and a pick.
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