32 ForOregonState.org/Stater S P OR T S KARL MAASDAM, ’93 THE MAN FOR THE MOMENT Trent Bray and a team in transition. BY > KERRY EGGERS, ’75 It’s a frigid, late November Friday night as Oregon State defensive coordinatorTrent Bray,’08, makes the 45-minute drive from Eugene to Corvallis with a couple of friends, including tight ends coach Brian Wozniak.The glow of what had been a hallmark season for the Beavers — with, at one point, an 8-2 record and No. 10 national ranking — has dimmed after a 31-7 loss to archrival Oregon. What’s more, only days earlier head coach Jonathan Smith, ’02, had confided in his staff that he was leaving for Michigan State after the game against the Ducks.The demise of the Pac-12 — and Oregon State’s position in limbo — was his primary reason. Smith invites most of his staff, including Bray and Wozniak, to join him. Sunday morning, when a chartered plane takes Smith to East Lansing,Wozniak is one of six coaches who go with him. Bray is not. Meanwhile, a grassroots drive to push Bray as Smith’s successor is underway. Contributions in various iterations of $44 — Bray’s OSU uniform number as a player — pour into the coffers of Beaver Nation. In the space of 72 hours, more than 1,000 commitments worth about $360,000 arrive, putting the NIL collective over its goal for the “Mission to $1 Million”
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