Danny Langsdorf has been OSU's most successful recruiter in recent years.
Fans are getting anxious with the lack of verbal commitments for the 2013 season for the Oregon State football team.
Part of the problem is looking at what the other teams in the Pacific-12 Conference are doing.
ESPN’s Ted Miller breaks down recruiting in the conference. Check it out here.
All the other teams have recruits. UCLA has whopping eight. Recruiting is happening earlier and earlier. As noted on my previous recruiting blog, the Beavers do have several offers out.
Their recruiting kicks in during the summer. They typically get a bunch after their camps, which is June 22-25. This year the camp is being scaled back due to the turf being redone.
And the Beavers tend to get those three-star guys who decided once many of the four- and five-star guys take up the scholarships to the prime schools.
OSU tends to get players who either really look into where they are going, or don’t get those prime offers. It’s just the pecking order.
I’m sure fans will be mad or frustrated about that, but that’s just the way it goes. And now the fire Riley folks will come out to change things.
I’ll have more on this topic on a future blog because you may not like coach Mike Riley and have valid arguments about his style or approach, but he is still the best person to recruit to Corvallis.
45 comments
mike says:
Jun 6, 2012
Actually, I love Riley. It’s his loyalty to Langsdorf and Banker that is causing a huge amount of anger.
Langsdorf has been awful, with play calls apparent, repetitive, and stunningly stuck to even when not working.
Banker has not stopped his rival from scoring at will, or when an offense with an ounce of creativity is playing against his D.
Loyalty is great, I applaud it but Riley is paid to win, and change has been needed for a while.
Regarding the comment “he is still the best person to recruit to Corvallis” I will say this, Riley is a tremendous asset to Oregon State but “the best person” will be the one who does what was stated at his original press conference as the requirements; be in the upper half of the conference, and contend for the championship on a regular basis.
Enough is enough. Win, or move on.
bendbeaver says:
Jun 6, 2012
Let me save some time for about 10 people with the following: Cliff, you are an “apologist” and when are you going to “call Riley out” for the backslide?
Now that’s out of the way, so who has something semi-intelligent to say?
Jack says:
Jun 6, 2012
Cliff’s not being an apologist. He’s obviously just bored and decided to bait some of the irrational Nellies out there. The situation for apologists and Nellies is the same as the old art cliche. Neither wants to look at reality in favor of what they want to believe. But they sure do like or dislike what they see, and they’ll defend their visions to the bitter end. Well, I overstated that. They’ll attack the other’s visions to the bitter end.
On Riley, this is all moot. If he’s fine with being pecked to death, then so is OSU. It’s just the pecking order. Right? It has nothing to do with mentality, ability or priority. It’s all about just nodding your head when a recruit says your school and the town it’s in are just too sucky for him or her to attend.
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. But don’t tell that to PSA’s. We want them to like us, and capitulation is the way to do that.
Cliff Kirkpatrick says:
Jun 6, 2012
I’ve written all the reasons for the two years of losing, and pointed out some problems along the way.
We’ll have to see if the team can better in the next two years or not.
Jack says:
Jun 6, 2012
OSU has recruited quality players at positions of need for the schemes run on both sides of the ball for the last two or three years. So they should get better.
This is contrary to the recruiting done four to six years ago when recruiting for those positions was ignored or based on experimental players or players in need of more skill than they had.
This also coincided with the losses of Chryst and Gilstrap, moving Newhouse off the D-line and relying on Burton and Hull to pick up the slack for Seumalo and Cav as newcomers. So there are underlying reasons for our recruiting abilities to have gone downhill. But they went downhill nonetheless.
OSU usually honors its contracts through thick and thin minus negligence/abuse (I still don’t know what BDC was thinking when he fired Spoelstra). So I’m sure Riley’s job is safe for another umpteen years. But his system does not work well when he doesn’t have players on the field. I don’t think he ever bought the hype that he was a football alchemist, but a lot of people sure do like to trot out the old “less with more” canard when discussing his abilities. That’s not fair to him as much as saying, “recruiting to Corvallis is hard,” isn’t fair to him.
What is fair is to say that he is/was loyal to a fault when it came to his assistants and their recruiting. And that probably caused more suffering than anything. He needs coaches who will go out and get him players first. It’s a helluva lot easier to instruct players who can play than it is to blame the players who “don’t execute” as well as you had hoped.
BEAVSNORECRUIT says:
Jun 6, 2012
get real folks.
The Beavers do not have ONE recruiter on their staff.
Fire the lot of em and bring a real coaching staff in here.
BOBBY D. goes first.
Getrealboss says:
Jun 6, 2012
After actually reading your story I have a comment.
You say once the 4-5 stars attend the prime schools the 3 star players usually are picked up by OSU. LOL that’s funny but you are right. With that said,
NEWS FLASH ALERT:
It’s Bobby D’s and Mike Riley’s JOB to make OSU a prime school.
You like others need to get a clue and hold coaches accountable.
3 more wins this year and that’s it. THREE. 3.. III..
Beavs Believe says:
Jun 6, 2012
It would be great to revisit this comment come next January. I would love to see you eat a giant plate of crow with your humble pie.
Pos0x45 says:
Jun 6, 2012
+1 to that. Not only do Beavers go bowling this year, they win the civil war.
Jerry2005 says:
Jun 7, 2012
Disagree… We have not done enough to catch up to the rest of the PAC. We will not be as hopeless as last year, but we will not win the civil war (we are not ready for that yet) and bowling is still a longshot.
Pos0x45 says:
Jun 6, 2012
Why don’t you give them $300 million to work with instead of complaining that they can’t keep up with the Jones’? Comments about that kind of money not mattering in 1..2..3…
wes says:
Jun 6, 2012
Mike Riley is A true Beaver. Win or lose real beavs fans would be on his side inless he did something wrong wich he hasent. look at last years class one of the best ones yet seumalo brown and much more. Rod perry came cause riley he will probly bring in some good D backs and safteys.
#belive #riley
Fm says:
Jun 6, 2012
Cliff…do you ever have a positive article for us? There is always some negative overtone with you and your writings. However, you do seem to be really into the women gymnastics team. Maybe you should just cover them…don’t forget to include your music clips to make you sound like you are a cool kid. I can’t figure you’re need to bash OSU football.
We’ll be fine….six to seven wins this year
Go Beavs
kelly says:
Jun 7, 2012
The fact is cliff is right. and beating the ducks is a pipe dream as long as riley coaches against chip kelly. kelly is getting the qbs he wants.our chance to beat them was when masoli was there. the beavs need a chip kelly. or stay home town u.
Pos0x45 says:
Jun 7, 2012
Chip Kelly has been given state of the art resources purchased through the generous donations of Phil Knight. OSU does not have anywhere near that kind of funding. All these “Fire Mike Riley because he can’t coach” type of comments are ridiculous. It’s like saying the guy in the vw beatle can’t beat the guy in the Porsche because he’s not a good enough driver.
All you negative Nancies are blinded by your jealousy of UO’s recent success. If you want to even the score, pool your resources and donate $300 million to OSU athletics (like PK did). Then, if coach Riley doesn’t start winning conference titles your objections might carry some weight. As it stands, it sounds like a room full of whiners.
Good luck finding anyone with the talent of Mike Riley who will be willing to stay in Corvallis and work for the pay he gets and with the resources he has. Even more, good luck finding someone with the the talent Mike Riley has period. And Cliff, I enjoy reading your articles, you do a good job.
One more thing, OSU will win the civil war this year, no one can drive a beatle the way MR can.
bone says:
Jun 7, 2012
What we need is a couple new coordinators to help spruce up our beetle.
rileysafraud says:
Jun 7, 2012
Boise State’s program has been almost if not equally as relevant as Oregon has over the last five years in college football. So who is their $300 million sugar daddy?
It CAN and HAS been done without Phil Knight’s resources at other schools in the country. And certainly there are school’s without PK’s money who are a heck of a lot more respectable than 3-9!
Jerry2005 says:
Jun 7, 2012
http://www.simplot.com
JR dumped millions into the athletic budgets of all Idaho universities in the late 90′s. Biose has just managed to do the best with what they were goven.
rileysafraud says:
Jun 8, 2012
You might remember a guy named Al Reser???? We’ve had a big donor too. My point above is addressing the Phil Knight phenomenon at Oregon, so your point is mute.
Jerry2005 says:
Jun 8, 2012
Simplot gave a substantial and even sum to ALL of the Idaho universities for both athletics and academics (in the late 90′s, not every year). Boise State has made good use of that money, University of Idaho not so much.
Money alone dose not win games. Nike gets attention because they are one HUGE individual donor, they are not even the largest individual donor in the country. That honor belongs to T Boon and Oklahoma State.
If you look in conference, UW generates more donation money that UO. Not with one or two big donors but with hundreds of mid range donors. Stanford, Oregon and UW do in fact bring in some of the most donation revenue in the country; with out coaching however, they struggled to win.
Money is no excuse for our lack of success. When are we going to stop complaining about Oregon having more money than our program and just realize we have simply been out coached for 5 years. Put Chip Kelly or Chris Peterson at Eastern, Southern or Western Oregon and they could probably beat us right now. Their X’s and O’s are just better than what we have and they are not scripted in stone. Simple as that…
rileysafraud says:
Jun 8, 2012
Jerry, you and I are arguing the same point. Not having Phil Knight’s money is NO excuse! Boise State proves that.
bbb95 says:
Jun 7, 2012
this is all pointless because riley is unfireable. osu cant afford to buy him out anyway. plus as long as 25 k are in the seats they won’t even begin to discuss making a change. no point in even digging into it anymore.
game, blouses.
kelly says:
Jun 7, 2012
If you keep doung the same thing expecting a different result- well we know what that is. look playing the pk card is so old boreing and is a looser mentality. Ya the best facillities is a plus. But Texas has the best facillities and the most money. and they cant beat UCLA. Oregons facillities woyld mean nothing had Balotti not changed his offense to a exiting wide open spred Then got fortunate enough to hire a guy who is one of the best at running it. 4 and 5 star running backs choose Oregon over USC because of what that offense and training staff can do for their carrer.Chip kelly came from a div 2 school. OSU has too get people at the top to dream big. And inovaters who will take risks and will make big things happen. Thats What a too recruit wants to be a part of. Not lunch box U.
bone says:
Jun 7, 2012
There are certain schools in the nation that can recruit just on tradition that the schools has, these are the Ohio St. Florida, Alabama, USC, Michigan, Texas’ of the world. Then you have the schools who are in states where there is a hot bed of talent, these are the Nebraskas, California, All the Texas schools, schools from Florida, they don’t have to look far for talent. Then there are a few schools who have recently received huge donations from wealthy donors. Unfortunately OSU doesn’t really fall into either of those three categories. And I don’t see why people hate “Lunch Pail U”…
rileysafraud says:
Jun 7, 2012
You left Boise State off of your list of storied programs…….oh wait?
You left Boise, Idaho off of your list of “hotbeds” of talent……oh wait?
You left Boise State off of you list of schools that received huge donations from wealthy donors……oh wait?
bone says:
Jun 7, 2012
Until boise st. steps up to a big boy conference and continues that success ten I think you have an argument.
rileysafraud says:
Jun 8, 2012
SEC fans would make the same argument about Oregon. It’s always relative…….and there is NO arguing that Boise State has been relatively more relevant than OS for the last 5 years.
dili says:
Jun 7, 2012
Many of the above comments are, in my opinion, missing the real problem. Riley is probably a good coach in many ways, including his understanding of the game, his committment to Oregon State and his general overall reputation as a nice person, among others. The problem is that he has selected a very poor offensive coordinator (Langsdorf) and refuses to terminate the man. Whether Riley’s refusal is out of embarassment, or Langsdorf is too close of a friend, or he can’t admit he made a mistake, or whatever, Riley has compounded his error by keeping the fellow in that position, and in that regard Riley is doing a very poor job and probably needs to be fired. Our offensive problems negatively affect our defense. I believe alot of Banker’s problem is derived by the fact his defense is on the field way too long as a result of our horrible offense.
The net effect of all of this is that the program is gaining speed in a downhill slide. This is apparent when the status of our recruiting is viewed. Yes, we undoundedly will get some good recruits eventually, but not the best. Many of the best players are making their decisions now in order to focus on their new school and dive into those programs 100 per cent. The fact we have no recruits to date reflects the fact our coaches are not well regarded. This is not a good situation for the school and those who say Riley is awesome and should be supported no matter what, and that we are not real Beavers because we are sharing our concerns and criticism, are a big part of the problem in that they inhibit positive change.
the g
Themorgan503 says:
Jun 7, 2012
Agree.
kelly says:
Jun 7, 2012
Yes Boise State is a grwat example. Look what Washinton State does when they have good Coaching.TCU for god sake.Then theres the Cinn Bearcats, South Carolina.
Jerry2005 says:
Jun 7, 2012
Houston?
So.Or.Aaron says:
Jun 7, 2012
wow. Predictions for the 2012 season are starting to hit the web. And people don’t have too high of expectations for the Beavs!
http://beyondthebets.com/2012/06/06/pac-12-point-spread-projections-oregon-usc-on-collision-course-for-mammoth-title-game/
bone says:
Jun 7, 2012
wouldn’t be the first time we have seen these predictions.
So.Or.Aaron says:
Jun 7, 2012
For the record – I hate the term “lunch pail U” because it implies hard work and dedication are sufficient to meet some acceptable outcome.
If your objective is to have a 45 year career as a mechanic, get a fair retirement, and be proud of your honest work, then fine, that’s a great path to follow.
If you want to be exceptional, trend setting, ahead of the pack, or even just above average, you must be creative, innovative, and forward thinking. (and thats in addition to hard work and dedication!)
I think some older folks have a hard time understanding this. Or maybe being below average is okay with them.
For us younger people, its not acceptable. It’s not even an option.
bone says:
Jun 7, 2012
I’m a fairly young guy and I think the lunch pail mentality is much more important then trend setting. Trends come and go, but hard work and dedication do not. I agree that creativity and innovation are important to the success of a team. But the Lunch pail mentality needs to be the foundation.
bendbeaver says:
Jun 7, 2012
Kids these days! Shouldn’t you be playing on your Xbox?
davak says:
Jun 7, 2012
“For us younger people… It’s not even an option.” What were you, a Drama major?
While it’s easy to focus on the last two years, Mike R and his staff have done a great job with a program that was pretty much in the toilet for a long time. Compared to some of the coaches that preceeded him, Avezano, Pettibone… you might say he has done an amazing job. The fact is if Oregon didn’t have the Sugar Daddy it has, it wouldn’t be where they are today. Lastly, I think the Beavs are going to surprise some people this year. And much of that credit should go to Mike and his staff. Somehow, I don’t think some of you will ever give him the credit.
The same applies to Bob D. All it takes is a walk around the campus to see how great the progress that has been made in terms of Athletic facilities that benefit more than just the football program. Take it from someone who played on the concrete mat that was Parker Stadium and utilized the training facilities in the Gill dungeon, the state of OSU facilities has come a long way and continues to move in a positive direction.
Jerry2005 says:
Jun 7, 2012
The “lunch pail U” only works if your players actually show they are hard working and dedicated. For the last few years we have had a few great examples of hard working and dedicated, however across the board we are not living up to the lunch pail standard. Showing up for camp out of shape, over or under weight shows a lack of hard work. Trouble off the field in the off season shows a lack of dedication.
Bring back an entire team that deserves the “Lunch Pail” label and some wins will come back as well.
bone says:
Jun 7, 2012
Yeah I agree, we haven’t had as many “lunch pail” type players the past two seasons. But I don’t see why being known as “Lunch Pail U” is seen as an insult.
Jerry2005 says:
Jun 7, 2012
Yeah, I dont have a problem with it either as long as they earn it.
Beavergopher says:
Jun 8, 2012
Don’t use the term! Michelle Obama is going to check our lunch pail to make sure our players are eating healthy. Next thing you know, sanctions from the Dept. of Agriculture. Leafy green vegetables are the secret to beating Chip’s boys and avoiding the wrath of Michelle and Opra.
Really says:
Jun 7, 2012
HI expectations? LOL
Really?
The Beavers will win 3 games this year, maybe.
kelly says:
Jun 7, 2012
Bones. there is no team in the pac twelve that doesnt use hard work and dedication they all do. the beavs dont work any harder than anyone else i do think the ducks do though. thats their thing. its about the kids. and most of then dont even know what a lunch pail is.
BeaverDon says:
Jun 7, 2012
Let’s keep it simply. To be successful Riley needs to take the Beavers to the Rose Bowl.
Not to a third level Bowl like the Sun, the Rose Bowl.
BeaverBowlGames says:
Jun 8, 2012
Bowl game? LOL
Have you seen the Beavers offensive and defensive lines? The Div. III SLOW LB corp?
Seriously?
Do I mention the BORING and PREDICTABLE offense?
Zero creativity and imagination.
ZONE READ baby.
hahahahahahahahahaha