CORVALLIS - Wide-eyed with his heart racing mid-play, it took Kesi Ah-Hoy a moment to process the unique situation in which he'd soon find himself.
"Damn," he thought. "This is really coming to me."
The Oregon State freshman inside linebacker has become the Beavers' off-return man on kickoffs, tasked with directing traffic for skill position players as they receive the ball. But in the Beavers' last game at Washington State on Sept. 16, the kickoff went his direction three times - and Ah-Hoy turned those returns into 58 yards.
The sometimes-gruff exterior of Oregon State defensive coordinator Kevin Clune faded away into a smile when asked about the rare opportunity for the young defender.