Football <\/p>\n
One of college football’s rising stars will soon climb the ranks in Corvallis.<\/p>\n
Kirk Barron, most recently an assistant offensive line coach and football analyst at Alabama, is reportedly set to join JaMarcus Shephard\u2019s staff at Oregon State. The news was first broken<\/u><\/a> by OregonLive.com\u2019s Ryan Clarke.\u00a0<\/p>\n MORE: <\/strong>State of the Beavs: Oregon State Football’s Plan For 2026<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Barron, 30, played center at Purdue from 2013-17. He started 25 straight games for the Boilermakers, and was named a team captain in 2016 & 2017. In 2017, Barron helped lead Purdue to a win in the Foster Farms Bowl, their first bowl victory in six seasons, and an overall record of 7-6 – a stark improvement from their five wins in the previous two years combined.<\/p>\n Barron’s football career is marked with luck: after a short NFL stint<\/u><\/a> – minicamp with the Dolphins and training camp with the Bengals in the summer of 2017 – Barron starred<\/u><\/a> in the rebooted minor league XFL, <\/em>with the Seattle Dragons.\u00a0Then, as a graduate assistant at Oregon<\/u><\/a> in 2021, he learned under two of the most knowledgable offensive line coaches in America: Alex Mirabal and Mario Cristobal. Two years later, the analyst and assistant offensive line coach at Alabama earned OurCoachingNetwork<\/em>\u2019s 30 Under 30 honors<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n MORE: <\/strong>REPORT: Former Washington Standout Cort Dennison Named Oregon State Linebackers Coach<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Like many coaches on JaMarcus Shephard\u2019s inaugural Oregon State coaching staff, Barron has close ties to his new boss: Barron\u2019s senior year at Purdue was Shephard\u2019s first year on that coaching staff, and then the two coaches reunited at Alabama ahead of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n Barron joins Shephard’s staff after Shephard was hired to replace the fired Trent Bray, who went 5-14 in just over two seasons at the helm in Corvallis. Bray was temporarily replaced by Robb Akey, who went 2-3 over the final five contests of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n Each week, veteran sports broadcaster and writer\u00a0Matt Bagley<\/a>\u00a0examines the news and storylines at play for Oregon State University Athletics. Occasionally joined by contributors for\u00a0On SI’s\u00a0<\/em>coverage of the Beavers, as well as the occasional guest spot from Beavers past, present, and future. Get caught up with the playlist below. New episodes are typically released on Tuesday mornings.<\/p>\n Want to interact with the show? Talk to Matt: mb**********<\/span>@***<\/span>il.com<\/span><\/p>\n Subscribe on\u00a0Apple<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe on\u00a0Spotify<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\nMore Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI<\/em><\/h3>\n
\nHave you checked out\u00a0State of the Beavs<\/em>?<\/h3>\n