Sunny, warm skies met the Portland State Vikings on their initial football practice of the season at Stott Community Field. No surprise there as the Vikings are off to their earliest start in school history.
 
PSU will have an unprecedented start to its schedule on Aug. 23 when the Vikings host sixth-ranked Tarleton State at Hillsboro Stadium. Meanwhile, there are a lot of questions to be answered in the coming weeks, but that is what fall camp is all about.
 
Portland State goes into the season with 35 returning letterwinners and 13 returning starters. Some 50 players in all have game experience. PSU added 18 freshmen and 13 transfers in the offseason.
 
CANDIDATES TO PLAY: A look at Portland State's offense for 2025
 
THE QUARTERBACK COMPETITION IS REAL
The Viking program comes off three seasons and 33 starts from former QB Dante Chachere (2022-24, 7,612 yards of total offense and 78 total touchdowns) and prior to that QB Davis Alexander played for four years and 37 starts (2017-21, 10,473 yards of total offense and 88 total touchdowns). So you could say there has been some stability at the position for a long time at Portland State.
        
Therefore, the most intriguing aspect of fall camp is the battle to be the new starting quarterback, replacing Chachere. Certainly, there is an intriguing array of candidates, including three transfers and three young players. SR QB Will Haskell (6-4, 200, 12-19-2-80-2TD) was the backup to Chachere in 2024 after transferring from Washington. Former Idaho and Northern Illinois QB CJ Jordan (SR, 6-2, 220) also has Division I experience and is a native of Portland. The 2025 signing class includes another transfer in former Hawai'i QB John-Keawe Sagapolutele (SO, 6-1, 205).
        
Among the young players is SO QB Gabe Downing (6-0, 185, 1-2-0-10-0), who has seen brief action, and RS FRs Cru Newman (6-0, 185) and Tyrese Smith (6-2, 225).      
        
Those six all took a lot of snaps during spring practice and all fared well, further complicating the challenge of choosing the new signal caller for Head Coach Bruce Barnum.
        
The Vikings' circumstance at quarterback is not unprecedented in the Big Sky Conference. Remarkably, only one starting signal caller returns among the 12 teams in the league this season.
 
LOOKING FOR DEPTH AT TIGHT END
The evolution of JR TE Tanner Beaman (6-4, 235) and SO TE Kristian Ingman (6-5, 235) has the Vikings tight end corps in good shape heading into the 2025 season. Beaman (21-257-1) grew into a reliable pass catcher for the Vikings and earned second team All-Big Sky Conference honors in 2024 and is a preseason All-Big Sky selection in 2025. Ingman saw significant action as a redshirt freshman, and even moonlighted as the team long snapper.
        
Now, junior backups Brooks Ferguson (6-5, 240), Charlie White (6-2, 235) and Seth Lyon (6-3, 245) want to add to the depth at the position.
 
THOMPSON IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The spotlight wasn't too bright for SO RB Delon Thompson (5-9, 200) in his rookie season. As a redshirt freshman he stepped up to carry the ball 139 times for 678 yards (5.3 pc) and seven touchdowns. His spotlight games were against top competition. Thompson's first game of the season at Washington State was a breakout with 15 carries for 96 yards. Later in the season, Thompson had 84 yards and two scores in a win at Sacramento State. Then, his marquee game was a 22-carry, 117-yard, one-TD effort at Montana that kept the Vikings in contention late into the fourth quarter against the 10th-ranked Griz. More performances like that from Thompson will be key to the Vikings' offensive success in 2025.
        
Backing him up will be burly veteran Jacques Badalato-Birdsell (SR, 5-10, 205, 8-30-1) and a pair of fleet redshirt freshmen in Micah Avery (5-10, 185) and Jordan Herron (5-10, 160). That group will be relied on in a Viking offense that routinely calls for multiple backs to produce.
 
WIDE RECEIVER: A GOOD STARTING POINT, AND A LOT OF YOUTH
The Vikings return a pair of starting wide receivers from 2024 in SR Branden Alvarez (5-11, 180, 36-480-5) and JR Jaylen Lynch (6-2, 185, 16-246-0). Also back is a player that was projected to possibly be the Vikings' best wideout in 2024 in JR Terence Loville (6-0, 185). Unfortunately, a hand injury in the first game cost Loville the entire season. He is back and healthy and, with the other two, gives PSU an excellent trio of talent and experience at wide receiver in 2025.
        
Returning letterwinners Chance Miller (SR, 6-0, 185) and Eddy Schultz (SO, 6-1, 195) give the Vikings more depth.
 
And it gets even better from there. Portland State has no fewer than five redshirt freshman wide receivers on its roster. Who among the five will step forward to become major contributors? Certainly, options abound. The Vikings have three lanky receivers in the group, including Ben Stevens (6-4, 220), Daulton Beard (6-5, 200) and Marcus Angiuli (6-3, 215). The other two are more of the slot variety in Kiwan Sims (5-9, 165) and Andre Miller (6-0, 180).
 
SO WR Tini Tinitali (6-0, 180) and JR TR Zachary Dodson-Greene (6-1, 195) are also part of a deep wide receiving group and ready to make their mark.
 
REBUILDING THE WALL
Portland State's offensive line will have a different look in 2025, but not without experience. The Vikings return two starters in SR OTs Pedro Timoteo (6-4, 320) and Jakob Belton (6-7, 320). However, three others have started games for the Vikings. RS FR OGs Pule Leatigaga (6-4, 335) and Shaun Torgeson (6-4, 290) combined for eight games and six starts at guard in 2024. They were limited in their playing time to maintain their redshirt status. That talented tandem should be strong favorites to start in 2025. JR OL Anthony Tena (6-4, 290) has actually played in the most games of anyone on the offense (26) and has a pair of starts in his past.
        
Other players with experience include SO OLs Pryce Roberts (6-5, 300) and Tristan Lewis (6-5, 305) and JR OL Hezephaniah Po Ching (6-2, 310). JR OL Braylon Cornell (6-6, 285) has been highly thought of in his time at PSU, but hasn't been able to get out of the training room due to injuries. He could be a wild card in the mix in 2025.
        
Three offensive line transfers will increase the competition. They include JRs Semisi Latu (6-2, 305) and James Minot (6-2, 290), both from College of San Mateo, and Kapeliele Hausia (6-4, 305), from Riverside CC.
 
COMING TOMORROW: DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS
 
MORE VIKINGS FOOTBALL NEWS
Video: Viking Football at Big Sky Football Media Day
Video: Vikings legendary running back Charles "Chip" Dunn inducted into the Big Sky Conference Hall of Fame
Beaman, Green Named To Preseason All-Big Sky Conference Team

PORTLAND STATE FOOTBALL PRACTICE
(times tentative, media availability following practices)
Fri, July 25          9:30-11:15 a.m.
Sat, July 26         9:30-11:30 a.m.
Sun, July 27        Off Day
 
Mon, July 28      9:30-11:45 a.m.
Tues, July 29      9:30-11:45 a.m.
Wed, July 30      9:30-11:45 a.m.
Thurs, July 31     9:30-11:45 a.m.
Fri, Aug. 1           9:30-11:45 a.m. (scrimmage)