After Peter Lalich’s departure from the Oregon State football team this week the Beavers are right at their 85 scholarship limit for the fall.
If someone leaves the program before school starts, for whatever reason, coach Mike Riley can bring in a greyshirt or give a scholarship to a walk-on. Chances are he’ll give it to a walk-on
One walk-on Riley has been talking a lot about is RB Jordan Jenkins. He’s the No. 4 ball carrier and a special teams guy. Plus there’s the BYU transfer who will enroll this summer.
DE Mana Tuivailala must complete the right classes in the summer to be eligible, but he’s expected to do so. Riley said another recruit must work on his academics, but couldn’t say who. So there might be an opening there.
As for the 2011 recruiting class the Beavers lose 19 seniors and add four greyshirts – at the moment. So expect them to sign about 20 players to fill the 15 openings. If they go over the limit they’ll greyshirt more guys.
The Beavers are at the point they don’t have to go after any special needs the way they did last year when the defensive line was a concern. They have depth in all areas.
“This class in general, we’ll recruit every position and get the best players we can,” Riley said. “At quarterback we don’t have to do anything, unless we really want to. Besides that, we’ll hit all the bases.”
Expect recruiting to heat up in June after the three camps the Beavers are doing. There are two half-day camps the 11th and 19th. The full camp is June 22.
The Beavers like to invite who they are interested to the camps to get a look at them in person. Every year commitments happen at the camps or right after.
And for the record here’s the scholarship breakdown per class: seniors (19), juniors (14), sophomores (22), redshirt freshmen (12), true freshmen on roster now (4), incoming freshmen (12), incoming JC recruits (2). That’s your 85.
The four greyshirts being delayed until winter are RB Terron Ward, K Trevor Romaine, LB Will Storey and TE Connor Hamlett. Hamlett plans to start in the fall as a walk-on with the scholarship kicking in later.
27 comments
angrybeaver says:
May 29, 2010
"The Beavers are at the point they don’t have to go after any special needs the way they did last year when the defensive line was a concern. They have depth in all areas."
Cliff, is this your opinion or is it from Riley?
ckirkpatrick says:
May 29, 2010
Both. That's how he feels. Then if you look at the team's depth chart, the Beavers have people lined up at various degrees of experience.
angrybeaver says:
May 18, 2012
Wow.
When are they going to start thinking about a repalcement for Quizz? I hope you don't mind I used your response/quote.
This is an important subject. Please ask Riley if he has a plan in place to use Quizz's Heisman hype to land a player who wouldn't otherwise consider OSU. In other words, a blue chip running back. Thanks.
http://angrybeavers.wordpress.com
ckirkpatrick says:
May 29, 2010
Look at the roster. Following Quizz is Stevenson, an incoming recruit and a greyshirt coming in for 2011. Quizz wasn't a blue chipper. He was a three-star guy, who showed that he has more ability that the recruiting services gave him credit for.
Time will tell if any of the guys developing behind Quizz does something similar. If not, someone else will be brought in. OSU has done a good job of finding and developing RBs – Quizz, Bernard, Jackson, Simonton.
angrybeaver says:
May 18, 2012
Quizz was a high 3 star (5.7 on Rivals, which is right on the fringe of 4-star). Many thought he should be a 4-star but never received it. That is pretty close to blue-chip. Anyway, my point is that if the program lucks into someone like Quizz they should use it to build upon. Not accept that when his 3 or 4 year run is over we'll go back to the lower standard. This should be the new standard.
This is a player who is receiving Heisman hype. Used properly, the coaches could parlay that positive attention into a blue chip prospect.
JackBeav says:
May 29, 2010
I remember before the 2007 season reading an article written about the Rodgers Bros. Their HS coach was talking about James going to OSU, and he was simply confused as to why Quizz wasn't getting calls from the big time schools… let alone the few from whom he was getting calls.
He guaranteed that Quizz would be mentioned as a Heisman contender as early as his junior year, and he didn't doubt he might win it during his career.
When I saw James take his first fly-sweep and barrel over a couple defenders instead of going out of bounds, I thought that coach wasn't kidding. Now he looks like a genius.
Ted0 says:
May 29, 2010
If you're going to go by rivals rating then Marable has the same as Jacquizz at 5.7. There's your close to blue-chip recruit replacement. There are also 2 more recruiting classes before he's gone. The best chance to get a high rated RB could be next recruiting class so they wouldn't have to red shirt and could compete for the starting job right away.
JackBeav says:
May 31, 2010
There's a noticable difference in talent when viewing high school tape on both Quizz and Marable. Also take into account each player's production and the importance of each to their respective teams. Finally, review the level of competition and the success within that game.
If Quizz' and Marable's talents are rated equally by someone, then someone is dumb as a rock.
Ted0 says:
May 31, 2010
Kind of the point I was trying to make. It's dumb to just use a recruiting sites rating as the reason you want to recruit him.
JackBeav says:
Jun 1, 2010
Then point taken.
JackBeav says:
May 29, 2010
I think Jackson was a blue chipper. He was certainly a known quantity coming in, but I think the staff furthered his development with the offensive set. Bernard and Simonton were good finds whose only recruiting 'faults' were their size and speed combined. If either were better, they would have been more visible. Quizz was just a stroke of luck. I don't know how anyone passes on the Texas all time TD leader. That's as silly as Stephen Curry going to Davidson because of his size.
I feel the same way (luck) about Terron Ward. If he remotely follows his brother's habits, he'll put on two inches and 20 lbs… all while gaining speed and power. I still don't know how the CIF player of the year doesn't receive an offer from a single D-I school. At the very least, he was a better CB at De La Salle than his brother was. That should have translated to several offers from at least the mid-majors.
Cliff, are the reports of Jenkins doing well because he's performing at a high level, or are they because he's performing at a level higher than expected? Most of the spring reports made it sound like he was the second best RB in camp.
ckirkpatrick says:
May 29, 2010
Jenkins worked hard. Stevenson had some dings, but he played well. McCants frequently played better than he had.
If Quizz needs a break, Stevenson or McCants will go in depending the situation. Jenkins is reliable. OSU can actually say it has depth.
WebTraveler says:
May 29, 2010
I hope we can find someone to complement Quizz this year to: (1) give him a breather, (2) shake up the other team with a quick switch to a different back, and (3) I'd like to see what Quizz can do on a kickoff return once in awhile.
tradernum1 says:
May 30, 2010
I don't think that we're going back to a "lower standard" and at this point you HAVE to give Riley and company credit for their choice of kids and how they develop them.
Webt is right on with suggesting a complement to Quizz would be a great help.
I will argue with webt and say that I think that James rather than Quizz should be the kick off returner and frankly I would like to see James get some Heisman pub before "little brother".
Go Beavs.
ObjCritic says:
May 31, 2010
I think OSU should be taking advantage of this opportunity to promote BOTH brothers for the Heismann. Neither has a great shot at winning (seems to require no more than a one loss season, to be in the NC title hunt, and to garner votes from the football crazed south) unless Quizz just gets ridiculous and scores 30+ TD's.
A campaign something like: "Vote for J. Rodgers" with each featured on the "ballot."
James is incredibly important to the team, and even with the publicity he gets, "under rated" or under appreciated if you will, because Quizz gets so much attention and James is almost taken for granted. If you look at his total production, there's probably not many other players doing what James is.
Promote them both, take advantage of their last year together and their unique talents and qualities. Promoting two candidates who happen to be brothers would make OSU stand out.
I agree OSU should be recruiting highly rated RB's with a demonstrated history of production (the latter being Riley's key indicator). The "stars" aren't always important, but there are players that deserve them, and anybody is kidding themselves if they wouldn't like to see such a player come to corvallis.
Beaver fans say its not important because Riley doesn't have a history of landing such players, but if he could, everyone would enjoy it.
angrybeaver says:
May 31, 2010
"Beaver fans say its not important because Riley doesn't have a history of landing such players, but if he could, everyone would enjoy it."
Yes, it's Aesop's sour grape parable. "They won't come here? We don't want/need them anyway!"
Ted0 says:
May 31, 2010
OSU has done very well without them so it seems that OSU it seems fair to say that OSU doesn't need them. I don't think anybody says they don't want them, but it's quite true to say OSU doesn't need highly rated rectuits to win, so people aren't really bummed out if Riley doesn't get them because it doesn't mean Riley won't win games.
ObjCritic says:
May 31, 2010
But think how much better OSU could do.
Looking at players like Jeremy Francis, Jovan Stevenson, and Malcom Marable, Bernard seems to have become the model for Riley – find a tough, shifty, small, not-too-fast back that nobody else recruits too hard.
But what if Bernard were a step-and-a-half faster – how many of his 20 or 30 yard runs would have been tens of yards longer? How many more TD's would he have scored? What if it makes a difference in 1 0r 2 games a year? The bowl implications are meaningful, suddenly, the Beavs are in San Diego or Pasadena instead of LV or El Paso.
OSU is going to be loaded with WR's and has a promising depth at QB with Katz/Vaz/Mannion.
A top flight RB with speed IS a need if OSU wants to take the next step. They have the opportunity, with the attention paid nationally to Quizz, to step up their expectations of who they can recruit and acquire.
angrybeaver says:
May 18, 2012
Yeah, I don't understand why people are fighting me/us on this. Because we do "fine" without 4-star 4.40 backs doesn't mean we're better off without them. That is a ridiculous thought to even consider. As you said, the thought should be how much better we could do. Quiz should have been a 4-star and we can see how his talent has resulted in two Rose Bowl runs. This is not coincidence, folks.
JoeAvezzano says:
May 18, 2012
First, I don't like any Heisman talk. Still traumatized by the Simonton debacle I suppose.
Secondly, I think that though it would be nice to have all of our backfield horses be 4-star 4.40 guys, team dynamics make that difficult. It's hard to take a guy who's won on every level and been the star of every team he's played on and make him be patient for his shot. Plus if he gets outplayed by the 3-star guy (the nerve!) and thinks he's getting a little lost on the depth chart, the pouting and badditude starts. This is not to say the 4-star guys aren't desirable, just that there's a slight downside also.
What OSU can offer recruits, as opposed to USC for example, is PT not as tied to recruiting promises and the influence of wealthy boosters. This has always been the appeal of the non-top tier programs…join us and play soon, you won't have to wait until year 5 to start.
angrybeaver says:
Jun 1, 2010
It's an interesting take. The only problem in your thinking is that you assume all 4-star recruits are as you described. Some are, but most aren't, and the ones we've landed in the past have been fine. In fact, any problems have been with lower star recruits.
JoeAvezzano says:
Jun 1, 2010
Well sure, I generalized, but didn't want to write a book about it if you know what I'm saying.
Ted0 says:
Jun 2, 2010
I'm not saying OSU would be better off. I'm just saying that even if OSU did get 4 star recruits that it might not make a difference. Jacquizz was rated 4 stars on one site, Scouts, and the recruiting site that gave him a 5.7 rating, rivals, was worth only 3 stars on their site. It's easy to say he shoul've been given 4 after he's done so well. I'm sure thats said about a lot of players after they've done incredinly well for 2 years.
angrybeaver says:
May 18, 2012
Scout was clearly correct in their analysis of Quizz, and the 4 star back has lead us to two Rose Bowl runs. Again, I have to ask if you think that is coincidence. It's not just a matter of landing a 4-star blue chip back; it's a matter of that evaluation being correct, too.
The guys on the roster will be serviceable (e.g. like Bernard) I'm sure, but I feel this is a golden opportunity to land someone special. A sub 4.4 back who can be a home run threat. And to waste a once-every-forty-year opportunity would be a shame. I'm assuming the coaches aren't pitching Quizz to the backs they're recruiting, and that's based on Cliff/Riley's comments above. It would be nice if someone asked the question flat out: Riley, do you and your staff plan to go after a blue chip back and use Quizz's success to land him?
If he answers no, you follow up with a "why" and get real answers. If he says "yes", you appreciate the effort and can live with it if they don't land one.
maffub says:
Jun 1, 2010
So much of the talk about "stars" and talent level is irrelevant in college football. Look friends, football is the consummate TEAM GAME. Finding guys that can buy into a coaching system trumps raw talent every day of the week (and twice on Saturdays in the fall). Oregon State has experience with "highly rated" recruits, but how many of them actually delivered for the team? I mean seriously how's Simi Kuli working out, huh? The following guys were all four and five stars according to Scout since 2001… Josh Hawkins, Rodney Landingham, Brandon Lockhart, Deondre Alexander, Lawrence Turner, Joe Newton, Lamar Herron, Keith Ellison, Ruben Jackson, Edorian McCullough, Jason Vandiver, Gabe Miller, Dorian Smith, Reggie Dunn, David Ross, Ryan McCants, Cameron Collins, Lance Mitchell, Jon Ioane, Jake Gelakoska, Kuli, Jacquizz Rodgers, Michael Phillip, and Reggie Dunn (again)… What's the percentage of guys who lived up to the hype or even suited up? Pretty small, huh?
You are far better served as an Oregon State coach to find guys who have big hearts and untapped potential than pure talent alone. remember, a lot of those guys have been "men among boys" for a long time and have stopped working and growing. Plus, they may be harder to coach and to play with.
Oregon State will gladly take 4 and 5 star guys, but ONLY if they fit into the family and into the system. Raw talent does not translate automatically to teamwork, and teamwork is what wins football games at any level.
angrybeaver says:
May 18, 2012
I'm sure it's the same % of 2 or 3 stars who don't pan out.
I don't necessarily care about stars as much as (sub 4.40) speed, though, the two tend to go hand in hand. There's a good chance you'd be thrilled if the coaches signed a 4.30 four-star back, so I'm not sure why you're acting above it nor am I sure why you want us to have less talent rather than more. Heart is great and all but I can list 20 guys on the current roster with a ton of heart who don't have the talent to match, and thus are wasted scholarships. I think any coach in America would take (high) talent and then try to instill or teach "heart." (Wasn't the knock on the Ducks that they were all prima-donnas with no heart?). Yeah, we see how that worked out.
JackBeav says:
Jun 1, 2010
Heh, heh, heh… you said Jake Gelakoska.
And Simi Kuli is still coming.