During a spring football practice last month, Oregon State offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren spontaneously gathered his first-string players and set them up in a third-down situation deep in their own territory.

On the first play of the impromptu scrimmage scenario, freshman receiver Zeriah Beason caught a short pass on a slant route near the right hash mark, made one cut to evade a linebacker and broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown.

Not five minutes later, in the exact same scenario, Beason lined up on the left side of the field. When the ball was snapped, he out-muscled a cornerback at the line of scrimmage, shrugging off the defender’s attempt to jam him, and broke free down the sideline.

Quarterback Chance Nolan dropped a perfect pass into his hands and Beason walked into the end zone for another 70-yard touchdown. His teammates went ballistic celebrating.

That five-minute sequence epitomizes Beason’s evolution as he enters his second year with the Beavers. He burst onto the scene as a talented true freshman in 2020 and worked his way into the starting lineup by season’s end, putting up modest numbers.

Now, though, he is ready for an encore. If this spring was any indicator, Beason could be ready to emerge as a consistent big-play threat for Oregon State.

“I felt like last year I was just sort of running around,” Beason said. “The game was pretty fast for me. Now I’m understanding coverages and I feel like everything is slowing down.”

Beason’s version of “just running around” still resulted in a major tangible impact for the Beavers. As an 18-year-old freshman, he started five of Oregon State’s seven games and tied for the team lead with three touchdown receptions.

While mainly operating in the slot, he served as a reliable target for Nolan late in the year and finished 2020 with 148 yards on 16 catches.

Even with a receiver room that was stocked with seven or eight starting-caliber pass-catchers, Lindgren and coach Jonathan Smith still constantly kept the youngest member of that group on the field.

“I think his precision in his route running has always been really good,” Smith said. “But now he understands the complete package. We’re able to move him around to multiple positions inside and out. That’s been a nice step.”

On Oregon State’s last play of the season, Beason caught an 18-yard pass from Ben Gulbranson on a 50-50 ball at the back of the end zone. The play came in a blowout loss, but served as a glimpse at the future with two talented freshmen combining for a dazzling play.

However, Beason puts less stock in that particular moment as providing momentum for him to succeed moving forward. Instead, he believes that the work he puts in on a day-to-day basis is a better indicator that consistent in-game success will come in 2021.

Those who are tasked with trying to slow him down at practice tend to agree.

“I love that competition everyday at practice,” cornerback Alex Austin said. “Zeriah, he’s a guy that’s gonna work. Every day, every play. He’s not gonna take a snap off. Being able to compete with him everyday, I love it. He’s a baller.”

A standout at Duncanville High School in Texas, Beason and the Panthers went to back-to-back 6A state title games amidst the most competitive high school football landscape in the country.

“A lot of people compare high school football there to junior college,” Beason said. “I feel like the competition level really translated and really helped me get to the next level and understand the basics.”

In that sense, Beason arrived in Corvallis physically prepared for the jump from high school to the Pac-12 that so many players struggle with. At 6-feet, 198 pounds, he is one of Oregon State’s bigger receivers and played like it.

But he didn’t get a full spring season after the pandemic cut it short, and had to learn a new playbook from scratch in the fall. Oregon State runs a pro-style offense that differs greatly from the spread scheme he was used to playing in high school.

After more than a year of immersing himself in Lindgren’s scheme, he no longer has to rely on just his physicality.

“I feel I’m more prepared mentally,” Beason said. “Just because (receivers coach Kefense Hynson) has done a good job informing me and teaching me the basics of being a receiver. I feel like I’m a little more polished than I was last year.”

Playing time is going to be hard to come by in 2021 for Oregon State receivers who don’t bring something special to the table. The Beavers return Trevon Bradford, Tre’Shaun Harrison, Champ Flemings, Tyjon Lindsey and Beason, all of whom started at times last season. Anthony Gould and Jesiah Irish are longtime special teams contributors who will expect to play their way onto the field at receiver.

Silas Bolden and Rweha Munyagi Jr. both had good springs and should fight for playing time as well. Makiya Tongue, a former four-star recruit who transferred in from Georgia, might be the most physically talented player in the receiver room.

“I think it’s really good competition in that room right now,” Lindgren said. “I think we’ll narrow it down a little bit more this year as we get through fall camp. Just because we’ll have more to work with and a better feel for our personnel. … But it’s a good problem to have depth-wise.”

Out of that group, though, Beason may be the safest bet to produce a standout season — partially because of the physical presence he brings that the Beavers have lacked at times, but also because of the potential he has for improvement on top of a strong freshman campaign.

“He deserves to play well, because he works at it,” Smith said. “He’s one of the hardest working guys we’ve got. Football means a bunch to him. So we’re going to count on him in a big way in the fall.”