BEAVERTON, Ore. — A notably overcast morning amid the rolling hills of Beaverton, Ore., felt familiar enough for Jack Colletto.
Two weeks removed from leaving sunny, dry Arizona Western for Oregon State, Colletto returned close to home as the Beavers held open practice and scrimmage they called the Dam City Showcase at Beaverton’s new Mountainside High School on Saturday.
And his first two weeks in Corvallis have reinforced his choice.
“I know I made the right decision,” Colletto said. “Just the coaching staff, the players top to bottom, everything is all that I could ask for. I’m really happy to be here.”
For a pack of Camas football supporters, who drove to the outer edges of Beaverton, it was the first time to see their No. 9 play since he led the Papermakers to a 4A state championship in 2016.
Those fans lined up after the scrimmage to get his autograph.
As the team ran drills and half-field scrimmages to the beat of loud music, Colletto mostly blended into a rotation of five quarterbacks. The only returner of the bunch was junior Jake Luton, who played four games last season before suffering a season-ending spine fracture. Luton started in each of the scrimmages, but each quarterback rotated.
Colletto rotated in third in the first scrimmage, then second in the next.
He seldom threw the ball downfield. But when he did, he helped produce one of the afternoon’s highlights when he sent a floated a long pass down the right sideline and connected with a receiver for a roughly 35-yard touchdown, sending the mostly-packed grandstands into one of the louder cheers of the afternoon.
“That felt good,” Colletto said. “It was good to have one deep on them. Great play and good catch.”
Colletto, a three-star prospect according to 247 Sports, chose Oregon State in February over Vanderbilt. After waiting in the wings until his senior year at Camas to start at quarterback, then splitting time at quarterback at Arizona Western, Colletto saw Oregon State as a chance to compete for playing time immediately.
“I felt like I’ve been sitting and waiting forever, always having to wait my turn and I think with that the only thing I need to be the player I want to be is experience,” Colletto told The Columbian in February. “I don’t see myself getting any better sitting on the sidelines and watching someone else play, I really want to get in and go.”
As Colletto continues to get accustomed to first-year head coach Jonathan Smith’s newly instituted system, he’s also in a quarterback battle that Smith offered little insight into after practice.
“Were they perfect? No, just like any position,” Smith said. “But they’re critical to our play, and I think they’re headed in that direction.”
Izzy Cunningham and Kona Sigueroa, both 12, came from Camas to see Colletto play. The Liberty Middle School students got his autograph during a player availability after the practice.
“It was really cool to see he’s a part of this big team,” Cunningham said. “And people are in lines getting his autograph and stuff, that’s cool for him. I like to see that.”
Sigueroa said he was “stoked” to see him play, especially since he was not able to do so when Colletto was at Arizona Western.
When he committed to Oregon State, “we all became Beaver fans,” Camas resident Carrie Cunningham said.
Colletto has received continuous support since announcing his commitment. On Saturday, that support showed.
“I’ve talked to friends, they’ve said congrats and they’ll be at the games,” he said. “I’m excited about that. Hopefully we can get as many Papermakers as we can for the home games.”
