Home Recruiting Recruiting is Notably Slow

Recruiting is Notably Slow

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So far, the Beavs have landed a UCLA plan-B reject, and a transfer from Hawaii with one year of eligibility. We're almost into July. "A-list" players should still be on the table. They're not even paying the Beavers mind. What gives?

When Rod Perry was hired, my fear was his ability to recruit. People said to give him time. Okay, but he is getting older if I do that, and I'm not sure his personality was ever dynamic enough to relate to players in the first place. So now I'm asking: where are the results? Bottom line: he's being paid more than Heyward so he needs to produce more. Beavs have the worst recruiting class in the country right now.

I know OSU typically starts slow (go figure), but this is different. If A-list guys were even sniffing the Beavs I wouldn't be concerned, but there is zero interest from any Pac-12 caliber guys. As we hit July, it's time to end the silence, acknowledge the elephant in the room, and worry about the state of recruiting.

148 COMMENTS

  1. It’s still a little early. But getting the hackles up is becoming more of an option every day. Jack committed to UCLA today, which should give Palma a reason to look elsewhere.

    My concern is that too many Oregon kids (and Wa. kids as well) are being overlooked for who the recruiting services think are stars. That’s not what a team is about. And it’s important that the Oregon kids know they’re loved even if they don’t choose OSU. I personally think we can make a great recruiting class out of strictly Oregon kids… plus one of a couple Cali QB’s… and a DT or two from somewhere. It’s as if we wait for these A+ list guys to commit before we go after the A- guys. I understand not wanting B or C level before the A’s have a chance to have their say. But missing on the A-/B+ guys seems to always be the result of waiting too long.

    • I agree. Derrick Turituri from crater high school in southern oregon is a stud. The beavers have offered him. They really need to get this kid. 6’2″ 230lbs and always the fatest kid on the field.

    • Great idea in theory but the Ducks have already locked up the two best recruits in the state. In fact they take the top in-state recruits every year that don’t head to the likes of UCLA or Nebraska. We need something to excite these guys. Perhaps an enthusiastic new coach would be a start.

  2. I think Rod Perry will need a year or two of on-field results to help his recruiting efforts. *IF* the Dbacks are playing at high levels he will have something to point at while recruiting. As of now he has no collegiate body of work.

  3. Ftr… I think Solomon is an A- prospect with good upside as an OLB. Recognizing good talent like this is essential. I think this is the time where we see those quality offers going out. Turituri from Central Point is a good example.

  4. Per the rivals message board, they think the transfer from Hawaii will be a scholarship player. I hope the kid pans out but if he didn’t play for a weak UH defense, do we expect him to play for OSU’s? And you guys are saying we only have one commit! Chalk this up as #2 if he is indeed a scholarship player!

    • That’s a wait and see. At best he’s the equivalent of a JUCO player. I’ll cede to Perry in the evaluation of him as a contributing prospect. But I won’t cede to Banker. And Hawai’i is Banker’s territory. That would be major disrespect to Perry if no consultation was done before a ship was doled out.

      It would also be antithetic to Riley’s normal mode. Kids who transfer in usually have to prove themselves before they gain a ship. I think some of the walk-ons would have a problem if this happened. Thus, I don’t think a ship was offered for his services.

  5. Things just feel different (in a bad way) this year. That’s all I’m getting at. I know they always start slow, but usually there’s mutual interest and some exciting guys on the board. I’m not hearing any of that this year.

    • I agree with this, normally I wouldn’t worry about the amount of committs, but this does feel different this season. I would not put it on Rod Perry at all, he has barely been here more than quarter of the year. What concerns me is that Brennan and Brasfield were brought in for their recruiting and they are recruiting the most fertile area and seem to be getting nowhere. So, where are these guys?? The other coaches have proved they are not super recruiters. It does just feels different this season. This season seems real fragile to me, I could see it going sideways in a hurry. It could be okay if we get some luck, but it could be horrible. I look at other programs like Colorado, Utah, ASU, and Wazzu and they are all out recruiting us by a large number.

    • I couldn’t have said it better myself, I have a rivals subscription for the recruiting info and it seems like they are struggling to find recruits with even the slightest interest in OSU. I think we have a lot of quality offers out but we’ve been so poor over the last two years that we aren’t even getting sniffs. Even If the stars align and we somehow start strong and do well, I still think we will end up with a poor recruiting class which will keep us in the cellar. I guess we can all cross our fingers, it’s our new recruiting strategy!

    • Two vacuums going on — one the posters on blogs; the other the players and coaches. Thank goodness they aren’t integrated…I can tell you from the team’s perspective next year’s group of players are WAY more driven and have way more talent then the last two year’s teams. Does that subscribe big success, who knows…but I will tell you that they are working much harder, they are coming together much more effectively — holding themselves accountable to their teammates. And, we had a couple of good recruiting classes the last couple of years. This is a good bunch of guys and even better players. I predict we will all be pleasantly surprised come season end.

  6. I totally agree concerning getting more Oregon and Washington quality players to sign. But the reason Oregon gets the cream of the crop is they offer so much more. A top notch and nationally acclaimed locker room and team facilities, great variety of uniforms, super physical trainer, great coaching staff and most of all……..Oregon wins games. If OSU doesn’t start being a contender in the Pac, good local recruits will definitely go elsewhere.

    • Payton has a chance to have a real impact on this program in collaboration with Robinson. I hope he fulfills that potential – and makes good on his donation promise.

      I remember when Payton pledged $3M to OSU, it was then a record donation. I have since wondered if his financial advisers said “Gary, this isn’t good for you for these reasons..” or if he thought the program would just waste it with the people that were in place. Now that the program has some momentum and hope, he may consider it an actual investment in improving and stabilizing the OSU hoops program.

      • Again, there are two parts to that “donation” situation. Payton promised a conditional amount based on his expectations for a free agency contract. It was supposed to be quiet, and OSU would receive an “up to” amount based on how ridiculous the bidding for Payton’s services became.

        But another factor came into play when his free agency became reality. Gary wanted to win a championship. And the Lakers wanted him to do so for them as well. But he would only fit under the salary cap if he took a very small contract. He decided to do it because he thought he was finally going to be a champion.

        I guess there was someone in Barnhart’s office who didn’t like Gary’s decision, because news soon slipped that he had pledged $3m for the new facility, even though that was a conditional “up to” amount. Suddenly, Payton was englishing on a promise, and it pretty much pissed Gary off.

        These last three years have been magnificent in terms of former players and alums coming back to the program. And Gary and AC are spearheading the effort with a lot of enthusiasm. They’re not only making themselves available to the media as some alums do for their schools. They’re not just mugging for the cameras in order to gain publicity for themselves. They’re open to just about anyone who approaches them in any capacity now, and they’re using their celebrity to bring light to the darkest corners of the whole achool, let alone the AD or even just the hoops program.

        Somebody flipped the right switch with these guys. And switches are being thrown with all the other ghosts of OSU past. It’s contagious once it starts I guess. Baseball and football players have always quietly returned for visits and interactions with the teams. But now they’re doing more in a marketing effort for the school. And it’s all organic enough to make goody-goody sick.

        It’s possible that the reconnection and natural coexistence between alums and the school is only major because it’s juxtaposed against a lack of any cohesive vision from the AD itself. But it’s still refreshing that our coaches, players and alums can see and fill a necessary void.

        Murphy’s Law says the situation will turn from organic grass roots to vulgar once some over-arching authority figure sees its value and tries to capitalize on it.

        • Maybe alums getting involved is part of the AD’s vision? Someone ‘flipped a switch’ and most likely that someone would be in the Athletic Department.

          • That’s not what the athletes have said. MR and PC have always welcomed their alums as family, so there’s no surprise that they come back to visit. But their involvement stopped at visiting the team for the most part. The hoops alums simply felt alienated by coaches and the AD alike.

            I think Kelly Sullivan probably planted the seeds for alum involvement with his efforts to get a team and facilities up and running. And Coach Rob stepped in on day one and made a concerted effort to involve hoops alums. It’s taken time, but both are the rule now rather than the exception. It’s possible that the AD has seen this and softened its bean counter approach. But a bean counter Bobby D will always be. He has little vision, but he has allowed those with vision to operate freely. He does know his own limitations and doesn’t micro-manage despite them. So that’s good.

            Pushing that vision forward, Bobby D’s two recent hires within the AD suggest that he is moving toward a more flexible and community involved AD. There are people within the AD who have always been on board with this flexibility. Doug Oxsen comes to mind. But their roles were limited to the efforts put forth by the coaches themselves. It took quite a bit of begging and promising from the coaches to get Bobby D to allow flexibility in the first place. But now that they’ve proven it can work with minimal costs, it looks like they’ve flipped his switch into semi-visionary mode, and hiring Heilbron and Rizzardini are coups in my estimation toward that goal. Again, he knows his own limitations. But he has hired a couple people who have very few limitations within their targeted roles. If he allows them the freedom and flexibility they need to perform their jobs, then he will have set the AD up for success beyond his tenure.

        • when coach robinson says that he hasn’t and will not ever ask payton for monetary contributions to the program i believe him. any financial donation he wants to make is fantastic, but i’d rather see him contribute by getting involved in the recruitment of high level high school players who in the past wouldn’t have even been recruited by OS because there was just no chance, the vast majority of which i’d assume know about his accolades as a pro.

  7. It comes down to winning. The football is in a vicious cycle right now. The on field product must improve before we’re going to see any increase in the quality of recruits.

    I fear that we may become what WSU has been the last 7-8 years. Recall WSU’s early 2000’s success. They had 3 consecutive 10 wins seasons and finished in the top 15 each year. They slowly hit rock bottom and bottomed out these last couple years. Only now do they have some glimmers of hope. And it’s not a sure thing that Leach can lead them out of the abyss.

      • It’ll be three years from now before you could answer that.

        Programs looking at freshman to come and immediately payoff is grasping at straws.

        • Except at DT, the 2012 Class is pretty strong where our team’s weaknesses at talent and/or depth are concerned. O-line frosh will not take as long to develop as previous classes did. And some other positions will provide depth only while still others will take their time to develop.

          Add all those to the maturation that should occur from underclassmen getting extended reps last year, and this last class could be contributing a lot of quality play as early as this year. But, being conservative would mean their contributions won’t be maximized until next year and beyond. Still, that’s a pretty short time frame.

    • that’s the scary thing. What is generally termed the mediocrity of the early phase of Riley II was based upon the uptick in program perception and accomplishment seen in Riley I and Erickson. You can deduce where another bad year on the field will put this program; in fact, you can already see the pattern after two. Nobody wants to hitch their wagon to a failing program. This next year is huge. A mediocre performance (say, 6-6) will be roundly criticized but it may just keep the recruiting class for 2013 from circling down the toilet

  8. I see criticism of Perry……isnt the overall recruiting quality on our boy Riley?

    How long can he last if football doesnt improve?

    • The thing Perry has that noone else on the staff has is an extensive NFL coaching resume. I would hope that he could parlay that into recruiting success.

      For example: “Hey young black high school player,you remind me of XYZ stud Dback that I coached in the NFL. Look at how his career went with me coaching him. I can get you to the same place because I know what it takes blah blah blah…”

    • Recruits are not high on the current staff, and its product on the field and the direction the program is going. I am getting worried.

      But this is what would need to happen in order to get what many want, which is a new coaching staff- will it have come too late to cost a major step backwards and thus a hole to big to climb out of no matter who they bring in? And how attractive would the coaching position even be then?

      Brian Swinney?@InsideTheUtes

      @beaverkman Players will probably wait on OSU. Another year like last year and the staff may get canned

  9. Quick..Help…. Now that Kent State is out, do we transfer our support to South Carolina since they beat Kent State and Kent State beat the Ducks. I know that all the Duck fans will be really upset that we all supported South Carolina to show our distain for them!! Go Gamecocks…. JB

    • I’ve been rooting for Arizona all along. When all was said it done, it’s clear they were the only team in the Pac 12 better than OSU, taking 2 out of 3 in Corvallis, including that killer loss in that Friday night game. Stanford was a fraud (not only in general terms but specifically, by taking the home seed in the regional OSU should have had), and UCLA was vastly overrated. Number 2 seed in the country: c’mon! We saw how inferior UO truly was; good, but not deserving a national seed, needing home cooking to survive the regional and couldn’t get past Kent.

      • We won that Friday game. I know this because I tuned in late to see Brocker waste a great effort by Wetzler by giving up two runs late. Dunn’s walk-off in the ninth saved that game.

        Then there was Child’s nice effort in the Saturday game… wasted by Brocker and his two run minimum… again.

        That, I believe, is when I commented on one of these posts that I should stop tuning in to watch because all i see is Brocker giving up two runs.

        The Sunday game was Fry getting blown up in the fifth. We still had a shot, but we should have already had the first two games in the bag.

        • That Saturday game and the 3-2 Saturday loss to USC were the difference in us winning the Pac 12 and us tying for fourth two games out. That loss to USC was not Brocker’s fault, though he did end the game. It wasn’t even Fry getting beat up in the fifth again. It was a lack of offense.

          Oh… and Bryant going freakster against Utah in the Saturday game didn’t help either.

  10. Last year, we received our 4th commit on this date.
    Year before that, we had zero commits as of today.
    Year before that, 2
    Year before that, 2.
    Year before that, 3.

    This isn’t out of the realm of the ordinary for us.

    Is it good? No. Is it unusual? No.

    • As of right now the only pac12 team without a QB committ are Utah, Oregon, and Oregon State. The Elite 11 has been announced, USC, UW, Cal, and Arizona St all have representives. In fact, there are only three quarterbacks without a verbal to any program. Two of those reside in Cali, Johnny Stanton and Zach Greenlee. Greenlee is shown as no interest. Stanton has an offer along with 15 plus other schools.

      What does this say I am not sure, but I wonder if the whole Katz debacle has something to do our preception. The other thing could be how our depth chart looks to freshmen. Having said that there are plenty of areas where we could and do have spots open, like the defensive backfield, Defensive line, MLB, OL, and slot receiver. So I am surprised that we are not going after any of these needs. So what happens if we get off to our usually slow start? Do the recruits stay away because they anticipate a coaching change? How short should the leash be, because if Riley is fired mid-season then we would have time to recruit still. However, a firing after the CW loss would leave very little time for the new regime to get quality recruits.

      Worse might be that Riley actuals gets enough wins to avoid a change at which time he still hasn’t signed any top recruits but the five or six wins he does get still isn’t enough to generate any desire among recruits to sign here.

      • The QB situation is clearly a function of having a returning Sophomore QB in place. It has zero to do with Katz.

        You say you’re surprised we’re not going after these needs. We ARE going after these needs. We’re not FILLING these need, which is typical of Oregon State recruiting.

        I’m surprised that anybody is surprised.

    • It’s similar to the football team’s season every year.

      We’re slow out of the blocks, but sometimes we pick up momentum and pass a few of the runners ahead of us. The other times, we trip on our own shoelace and fall face down on the track.

  11. There are only 5 maybe 6 postions that are needs. Needs in ranking order:

    1) True offensive Tackle
    2) True center
    3) Defensive Tackle
    4) CB’s
    5) OLB
    ?6) RB

    The guards are ok at this point, but we need another DeVan and I’m hoping Isaac Seumalo will start this fall at OT on the blindside.

    DT is a concern right now because having a guy just “take up space” is a terrible way to play defense. If they’re there to take up space, then we might as well play a 3-4!

    The CB’s for the future are low and disappointing and possibly depressing.

    OLB we are lacking depth(same concern every year?) We also haven’t had a Richard Seiglar in a really really long time!

    RB is a liability right now. Nothing more, nothing less. It has potential, but right now, it looks scary from depth, personnel, and ability.

    • I think the need at Safety is a bigger concern then CB. I think the play back there has been below average, now some of that is due to injuries the other is a lack of depth to help when players are hurt. We don’t seem to have an overall good player, but we have some whose strengths are different- one is good on the run and the other is good at pass coverage.

      I’d be willing to wait on the OL once we see how the newcombers do this year, but we still need to build depth there – I mean we didn’t even have a 2 deep for Spring.

      I think MLB is a bigger concern than OLB, because we just have one solid player there in Unga who hasn’t shown that he can stay healthy and he doesn’t play well hurt. Robinson hasn’t shown the growth needed at that position, and who knows about Cowdin? In Bankers D the MLB is the most valuable commodity, and you need a tackling machine there.

      Nonetheless, there are alot of needs. We currently are not addressing them.

    • And Welch will possibly be the best OLB in OSU history. I think there’s going to be a lot of head scratching this coming year while we all say, “Where the hell did that kid come from?”

      • Jack, I wrote this thing very late last night, but I’m not talking about current starters. I’m talking about the 2+ deep. Yes, Poyer, Welch, Doctor, et al. are all excellent players, but every season is long and who knows if a player will play the entire season start to finish. I mean, there were only 6 players who started every game last season! So by you telling me we shouldn’t be concerned at the positions I posted, you are saying that those guys will not sit out at some point this season? I am merely pointing out DEPTH here. Our depth is lacking solid players and respectively so. One issue that hasn’t been brought up about Banker is that he likes to have his starters finish the game all the way through with very little rotation at LB, CB, S, FS. He’ll rotate the DL, but not the DB’s? That could possibly be a reason why our depth is not great at the DB’s but OK at the DL positions. We have a lot of issues with filling depth because we have a lot of scholly players riding the pine and we have about 10 recruits who are incoming freshman…so ya, we need to wait for fall camp to see how our depth is, but right now as of June 22, 2012; our depth in a lot of areas is in trouble. We don’t need a solid player at each position, we need 2 solid players at each position.

        • I’ll agree about the depth issue. But I think the players coming in and coming into their own will make us all wonder why we couldn’t find that type of talent before.

          It still rises to the question of whether or not these kids play well together. But there are some stars to be on the roster and incoming.

  12. De Carolis said this on the gazzette times article regarding the new Basketball Practice facility:

    “This is kind of the newest thing going on the block for everybody else in the quote-unquote race to be the top,” De Carolis said. “If you’re going to be in the game, you’ve got to be in the game.”

    http://www.gazettetimes.com/sports/beavers-sports/basketball/osu-men-s-basketball-beavers-break-ground-on-million-practice/article_e37dc344-bc1a-11e1-9ab3-0019bb2963f4.html

    Ok, so is he being a flip-flopper on purpose? Because shouldn’t that mean that we expand Reser’s West side and possibly add more seats in Goss Stadium’s outfield? I don’t know. :/

    • False equivalence.

      A $15 million basketball practice facility is not the same as a $100,000,000 football stadium renovation.

  13. On this site, OSU’s athletic administrators were criticized for slowness onthe facilities front. Lately, work is progressing on the track facility which will hopefully help reestablish a men’s T&F program and possibly help recruit some speedsters in FB. Reser is being “re-turfed” and finally putting a playing surface from wall-to-wall. Practice field is getting turf. Basketball teams are getting practice facilities with coaches’ offices. And in a minor point, the bookstore is relocating to the south side of campus near more athletic facilities. This should boost merchandise sales, particularly on game days.

    These are subtle moves, but it is progress.

    • You’re talking about grass roots efforts that have been a decade or two in the making. Contrary to nutjobs who will say OSU is getting stimulus money, fundraising efforts targeting these projects have been in effect for years.

      Maybe the new TV money finally gets us out of the hole and into real improvements across the board?

      • Agreed, my GF is in fundraising and these can be decades in the making. If gifts are not set specifically for a particular item(Football, or B-Ball Practice Facility), its unlikely they get moved to athletics(they go to a “General Fund” or even to a “General Athletics Fund”). So don’t forget to mark your pledges specifically!

    • I wouldn’t even call these moves “subtle.” A new track facility is pretty major. The new basketball practice facility is pretty major too.

      • True.

        But they’re subtle because they were produced by the coaches of the respective sports involved… over many years. These are major builds, but they’ve been years in the making.

  14. I am not any more concerned this year than any other year. I think, as others have stated more eloquently than I, that players are not going to be super excited till we start winning games. This is especially true if they look at the depth chart and see all the underclassmen that are playing(as in they might have to ride the pine and see the losses…not a cool place to be when your on a losing team). I am hopeful we either turn the corner this year and show promise or we see more of the same and need to look forward to an eventual coaching change. Only time will tell, till then I will keep and open mind and a hopeful heart with some realism thrown in.

    • The recruits weren’t all that excited when OSU was winning games as evidenced by the lack of talent on the OL and DL for the past couple of years.

      Imo Riley can’t recruit so it ain’t gonna change until he’s gone.

  15. With out football team players being in shape there are going to be injuries. Our players were totally exhausted after playing two quarters in any given game last year. Another point, unless MR changes his offense and used more creative plays, running backs and half-backs are going to get beat up. Rushing a guy up the middle all the time went out of other teams game plan years ago. MR is still working out of the dark ages. He just doesn’t get it.

    • Eh I don’t know if I’d say they weren’t in shape last year. The only players I noticed that were exhausted after two quarters were the defensive players and that was because they had just spent the entire first half on the field. It all goes back to the offensive line. It doesn’t matter what plays are being called if you don’t have an offensive line that can block for those plays. Our offense could never get going because our QB/RBs were constantly being hit in the backfield. Consequently the defensive players were already back on the field before they could get any kind of rest.

      • Well I would also say that this contributed greatly to the lack of flash in the play calling. Hard to call elaborate plays when your squad can’t run a simple dive or sweep play. Offensive line was crippling last year and I am hopeful it will be a least a bit improved this year. If nothing else the eager freshmen group should push the few veterans to get better or lose their spots.

  16. OT… I don’t know about you all, but I’m absolutely jazzed about Coach Rob’s incoming 2013 class. Westbrook and N’diaye are a stellar class in themselves. If Lapray joins up, I’m going to dance for days.

    Fill Gill!!!!!

  17. I would NEVER have brought this up if you weren’t carrying on about music and I daresay there will be dozens or more thumbs down (since I won’t be able to hear the snickering) but what the hell . . . with Robin Gibb’s recent death, I’ve been listening to well-before-disco BeeGees and appreciating it. As an aside, his oldest son, Spencer Gibb, has put out some good music.

  18. OT flipping mindlessly through the channels and there’s Mike Parker eating a napkin on some show about epic fails. That one just won’t die will it?

  19. Well, I gotta say, here we are looking at the coming football season, rated to come in near the bottom, the next recruiting effort looking disman……and that Jack is just not depressed enough….

    I am thinkin he just might be a closet Duck….

    • Hey! I don’t go flinging four letter words at you!

      Besides, football is not the end-all for me. It’s about as exciting a watching a good tug of war match. But enough people think they like it enough for it to be important, so it is.

      • Sorry, Jack. Just joking, but maybe should have used some other word.

        You are one of the best on here, and I like your Orange Express site. Keep up the great BttB commentary there!

  20. Rumor has it that the old Reser playing surface is being trucked to Sacramento. Sac. State fans can buy a framed 3″ X 3″ square commemorating the greatest win in Sac. St. football history! JB

  21. Nicholls State only came out with only one win last season. I guess BDC wants to make sure our opening game is in the bag. They should have scheduled Corvallis High School instead. Oh, what if the Colonels beat the Beavers? Then, on the other hand, MR decides to run up the score against Nicholls State we become instant “bullies”. I don’t want to see that happen.

    • I understand they run a version of the spread offense. Will be interesting to see how well Banker defends against it when its run by a lower class of competition. The poor play gainst Sac State and the poor defensive strategy against Utah are signals that OSU’s defense can’t be counted on.

  22. From Kendell Rogers (perfect game): Marty Lees and Oklahom State are showing interest in each other.

    Does this move mean a possible Dan Spencer reunion?

  23. According to Wikipedia Spencer is the head coach at Texas Tech:

    Texas Tech
    On July 2, 2007, Spencer was hired as the associate head coach at Texas Tech.[3] In October 2008, Spencer was named the 2007 Collegiate Baseball Magazine National College Pitching Coach of the Year.[4] On April 29, 2008, Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers designated Spencer to become the head coach of the team once former head coach Larry Hays retired.[5] On June 13, 2008, it was formally announced that Spencer would succeed Larry Hays as head coach at Texas Tech after Hays had announced his retirement a few days earlier.[6]

  24. OT –

    This is genuine progress, and I can see both men and women’s teams improving because of the coaching and recruiting, but this certainly helps:

    http://www.gazettetimes.com/sports/beavers-sports/basketball/osu-men-s-basketball-beavers-break-ground-on-million-practice/article_e37dc344-bc1a-11e1-9ab3-0019bb2963f4.html

    This is an interesting video, it seems like there should be SOME way for OSU to capitalize off the fact one of its all-american student-athletes was selected for an ad series:

    http://www.gazettetimes.com/gymnastics-in-slow-motion/youtube_0c65d332-bbee-11e1-8960-001a4bcf887a.html

    http://www.youtube.com/myinteledge

    Interesting to me that she’s apparently done, moving on to her career and next phase of life.

  25. Riley is currently on pace to have one of the bottom 20 recruiting classes in the nation.
    Even if he lands a couple under the stone guys he isn’t going to do enough to get over the hump or build anything that will last. He took those 2 better years and recruiting went down after them and not up. He almost never seizes the moment. OSU needs to get new leadership into the program and not be content with a couple 6 win seasons in the next 4 years that would extend Riley until 2021.

    Oregon State amongst the Pac:
    http://beaverbyte.com

    • He was expected to get an offer well above what 18th rounders usually get. So, not completely surprising that he signed. Was probably going to be the Beavers’ third baseman, Jerad Casper will be a guy that’s in competition for that spot but I think Keyes may get the starting third baseman job, Barnes probably will play a lot of first base and Ryan Howell will probably get a lot of playing time in right field and he’s having a really good start this summer in the West Coast League.

      Losing Dylan LaVelle to the pros sucks, but the Beavers will be fine.

  26. Can’t wait until football season gets here. At least something to chat about that’s more interesting. Though I don’t look forward to another year like last year or the year before. We can at least talk about other teams and how they are doing.

    • The football staff is not demonstrating that they’ve learned anything or are changing anything. As a result, we are kind of going in circles and revisiting the same discussion over and over.

      One really gets the sense the football program is losing momentum and that Riley and/or BDC won’t make any significant progressive moves until OSU is back firmly at the bottom.

  27. So,any comments on the four team BCS playoff starting in 2014?

    http://cliffkirkpatrick.mvourtown.com/2012/06/23/the-bcs-debate-no-more/

    Not that it’ll affect any OSU team any time soon(if ever),other than maybe backing into a Rose Bowl if a better team goes to the playoffs.

    One thing I’d like to see is a “cupcake clause” where if a team plays more than one D2 team in a season thay are ineligible for the playoffs. SEC teams would be shitting their pants.

  28. OT: Oregon State’s men’s basketball team will be playing Kansas next season, likely will be at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. That should be an extremely tough game, but it’s the type of game I was hoping Oregon State would be scheduling this coming up season. I hope the Beavers can get a return game the following season at the Rose Garden. Will help them prepare for conference better than playing 5-6 cupcakes. Team will also be playing in 2K Sports Classic. Big step up in competition next season. I love it.

    • Here’s the link http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19390936/pac12-offseason-rundown

      Game is in Kansas City, that’s good news as far as Kansas returning the game for a matchup at the Rose Garden for the 2013-2014 season. I hope the Beavers get an annual game at the Rose Garden and bring in some truly quality teams. If the Beavers can get themselves back into the Big Dance, they’ll be able to bring in opponents like Kansas more frequently to Portland, definitely would be great to see Beaver fans fill up the RG.

      • You’ll be saying that until they drop a couple of games and then we will hear about “why does OSU do such a tough OOC schedule.” Heard that about the fb team already.

        • Except that football rankings are stupid. In hoops, beating Directional State Beauty School of the Geographic Feature is worse than losing to an elite power. You can’t just beat up on glorified 1AA schools, pretend that your conference is great and get a bid to the dance.

        • Actually no, I won’t be saying that. I actually don’t mind scheduling some tough OOC football games to a point, but the mindset as far as OOC scheduling goes between football and basketball are very different. In order to make the NCAA Tournament, you have to schedule some tough games to help with their SOS and you have to get quality OOC wins. In football you can schedule cupcakes and it won’t hurt you, can’t get away with that in basketball.

          If they lose a couple games in the non conference against tough teams, I won’t be too bothered by it, those are games you have to schedule and even if you lose, it still helps you prepare for conference play.

  29. I looked at this article because the player (TE OJ Howard) looked ridiculous for a HS player. The size and athleticism of kids coming out of high school continues to amaze me. What surprised me is favorable mention of a small linebacker (197 lbs) who is considering offers from Colorado, UCLA, and Oregon State:

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/highschool/06/25/five-star-all-challenge-team-recruiting/index.html?sct=cf_bf3_a3

    “B Dwight Williams, Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra (2014) — Williams may be undersized (6-1, 197) for a linebacker, but his athleticism, closing speed and pass coverage skills impressed nearly everyone at the event. Less heralded than many of his peers, Williams was one the camp’s most pleasant surprises. Entering his junior year, he’s currently weighing offers to Colorado, Oregon State and UCLA and Oregon State:

    “LB Dwight Williams, Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra (2014) — Williams may be undersized (6-1, 197) for a linebacker, but his athleticism, closing speed and pass coverage skills impressed nearly everyone at the event. Less heralded than many of his peers, Williams was one the camp’s most pleasant surprises. Entering his junior year, he’s currently weighing offers to Colorado, Oregon State and UCLA.”

    Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/highschool/06/25/five-star-all-challenge-team-recruiting/index.html#ixzz1yxqwsoU7

    What that tells me is in his senior year the offers will pick up and OSU will likely drop off his radar. But he looks like the rare and legitimate “diamond in the rough” for which OSU coaches are over-rated and famed.

  30. Riley announces today a bunch of player leaving the program early. Most are due to injury I think, including Bishop, but anyone got any insight on how good or bad this will be for us?

    http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/062812aaa.html

    Oregon State senior wide receiver Jordan Bishop has elected to retire from football and track due to injuries, head football coach Mike Riley announced Thursday.

    Coach Riley also announced that the following student-athletes have left the team to pursue other opportunities or for personal reasons; senior wide receiver Geno Munoz, senior cornerback Keynan Parker, junior linebacker Cade Cowdin, junior quarterback Jack Lomax, junior linebacker Zeke Sanders, freshman-redshirt linebacker Will Storey and freshman-redshirt wide receiver Tyler Trosin, Munoz, who has also fought injuries during his career, has graduated with a degree in human development and family studies. Parker, a native of British Columbia, was drafted in May by the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes.

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