Caleb Smith was a little nervous when he heard the news that Oregon State was going to move from Mike Riley’s pro-style offense to the spread under new coach Gary Andersen.

Smith, a senior tight end, was worried that his position might be phased out or play a reduced role.

“I didn’t really know what to think, honestly,” Smith said. “A lot of offenses don’t use the traditional tight end, so that was kind of a scare for me. But as we’ve gotten things going, it’s pretty exciting what we’re doing.”

But the tight ends and H-backs are still around and figure to have a significant impact on the offense.

“I’d say the difference between last year and this year is we’re not involved in pass protection as much,” Smith said. “Pretty much on all the pass plays we’re going to be out on a route with some type of responsibility and a lot of run blocking responsibilities as well.”

There are differences, of course. The Beavers will often go with multiple receiver sets that leave the tight ends and H-backs on the sidelines.

“I think so far there’s been less utilization of the two-tight end package on the field at once,” senior tight end Kellen Clute said. “As far as how it’s going to go in the future, we don’t really know, but the H is in there sometimes. We’ve got a jumbo set and so it’s still being utilized.”

Make no mistake, the tight ends are still regarded as viable offensive weapons, and with good reason. Clute, for example, is 6-foot-5, 256 pounds. Smith is 6-6, 263. Both players can run.

“I’ve always believed tight ends are some of the most athletic guys on the field because you’ve got to match up in the trenches with the big D-linemen and you’ve got to run routes on the safeties that are used to covering receivers, so you’ve got to do a little of both and have balance,” Clute said. “Obviously, it’s fun for us to get out there and try to handle a hard position and show what we can do against both sides, the big and the fast. So that’s always fun.”

The ranks have expanded this spring. After a competition at quarterback, Brent VanderVeen and Tanner Sanders have moved to H-back.

“It just shows the versatility of the position,” Clute said. “How you’ve got Brent and Tanner, we had too many quarterbacks but they looked at them and saw how athletic they were, so they stuck them at tight end and hopefull they’re going to put some weight on them.”

The offense does not utilize a fullback, so Ricky Ortiz is now listed at tight end.

Ryan Nall played scout team tight end last season and got some reps at H-back during fall camp.

“It was kind of like a clean slate almost,” Nall said. “Completely new offense, completely new coaches and this is just a great opportunity to learn new things.”