Let the rivalry begin. Again. Oregon State's Lyle Moevao, who started 11 games for the Beavers in the 2008 season, was cleared this week to begin throwing again after sitting out spring ball due to rotator cuff surgery.
Moevao's clearance will renew his rivalry with fellow senior Sean Canfield, who started two games after Moevao was injured last season, and is 7-4 overall as a starter. This spring, Canfield seemed to inch ahead in the competition as Moevao watched from the sidelines.
"I'm ready to go," said Moevao, who is 11-4 as a starter in the past two seasons. "I feel close to 100 percent, but my arm strength isn't all the way there."
Canfield said he was surprised to see Moevao out at summer workouts on Wednesday, when quarterbacks practiced routes with receivers. Canfield, who had to deal with shoulder problems of his own last season, said he could empathize with Moevao.
"I told him when this whole process started, 'There's going to be a time when you're not going to be able to do anything,'" Canfield said. "Three months out of my surgery -- around spring ball -- it was killing me to not throw a football, so I know how it feels."
Moevao agreed that sitting out got pretty boring pretty quickly.
"It was hard to sit and watch, especially in the spring when we had all those new guys who are learning our playbook," Moevao said. "But I think it was great for me to take a mental break."
After getting cleared, Moevao sent a text message to OSU offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf telling him the news. Langsdorf's advice back was the same as Canfield's: Take it slow.
"I've pretty much been hearing the same thing from everyone," Moevao said.
Moevao and Canfield both said having two healthy quarterbacks by the time Oregon State opens the season on Sept. 5 against Portland State will be crucial to success.
"It gives us more depth at the position," Moevao said. "If you look at a lot of teams in the Pac-10, the starter goes down and the back-up hasn't got a lot of playing time."
Said Canfield: "Having another guy is good, and he just helps our team chemistry."
Moevao, who was praised for his leadership last season, said he hasn't thought too much about his competition with Canfield yet.
"Right now, I'm just taking it day-to-day," Moevao said. "I'm still far away from being able to compete with him physically.
"Being able to take a few snaps (Wednesday) definitely felt good. I'm excited to get started on the program with the athletic trainers here. I've got the green light all the way."
Oregon State opens fall camp on Aug. 10.
