- I can not say it enough how impressive the football staff is on the recruiting trail. They have consistently had huge recruiting weekend after huge recruiting weekend this entire season despite having a lackluster season on the field. In early September when Wallace & Thompson were in Corvallis, I thought wow two 4* in Corvallis on the same weekend, been awhile since that happened. Then bam... they both commit. Then there was the Chandler Trio weekend, which didn't quite materialize but did lead to Isaac Garcia committing. The next game led to 3 athletes committing (Taumoelau, Sharp & Hughes-Murray).
After all that, this past weekend might have been the most important & biggest of them all. Having spoken to Kaelin Himphill last night (article will be up here either this afternoon or tomorrow am), the coaches labeled this past weekend as the recruiting weekend where they were building from within. It tied in with the vision of the program, the groundbreaking of the new VFC and what they are trying to sell, rebuilding a program with a new vision. The groundbreaking was very symbolic in that it was giving the program a very big physical change by appearance, but more importantly a mental change in it as well, to both people on the inside and the perception of people on the outside.
The coaches want to turn this program around now, not 4-5 years down the road. The JUCO's they were selling immediate PT to but almost all of the preps on hand were in-state kids (whether it be commits Bates or Bradford, or recruits Rufai & Himphill). Kaelin told me that they want to build this program on the backs of in-state kids so that it becomes the premier program in the state, that when people think of football in the state of Oregon, they think of Oregon State football.
- I say that this might have been the biggest recruiting weekend of the year because if all goes right, the Beavs could land elite players at positions of need that can contribute immediately. If you look at there they rank:
Handsome Tanielu: 4* 5.8 RR #18 JUCO recruit #2 JUCO DT
In gaining the commitment of Snow College teammate & close friend Paisa Savea, the Beavers increased their odds of landing the big man. I like the Beavs chances come Dec. 1st.
Jonathan Kongbo: 4* 5.9 RR
Kongbo just received his rating before taking his trip. In looking at the 5.9 Rivals Rating, that would place him somewhere in between the #2 JUCO player in the nation & the #8 spot. It would also make him the highest rated JUCO defensive lineman & 2nd highest JUCO defensive player in the nation this cycle. According to sources, he had a great time and engaged with the other recruits on hand about how he wants to be able to come into a place and make an impact that helps change a program.
Himphill: 3* 5.5 RR
I think he is under valued this cycle. IMO I think he's a mid-range 3*, his offer sheet & lack of other P5 offers is what is keeping him down. Throw in his disdain of whOregon & Twitter battles with *uck commit Lamar Winston, & Kaelin has the makings to be a fan favorite for the Beavs. I think it's only a matter of time before he commits (publicly as speculation leads to him already being a silent commit). If he is not a silent and waits too long his offer could become a greyshirt once again.
Kayode Rufai: 3* 5.6 RR
Kid blew up this year after putting in a stellar senior campaign for Lincoln HS. Angie caught up with him here. He wants to still trip to Boise State in a couple weeks, but a decision should be made shortly thereafter. By mid-December we should know whether he will be a Bronco or a Beav. Think he gives GA a nice early Xmas present.
In gaining the commitment of Snow College teammate & close friend Paisa Savea, the Beavers increased their odds of landing the big man. I like the Beavs chances come Dec. 1st.
Jonathan Kongbo: 4* 5.9 RR
Kongbo just received his rating before taking his trip. In looking at the 5.9 Rivals Rating, that would place him somewhere in between the #2 JUCO player in the nation & the #8 spot. It would also make him the highest rated JUCO defensive lineman & 2nd highest JUCO defensive player in the nation this cycle. According to sources, he had a great time and engaged with the other recruits on hand about how he wants to be able to come into a place and make an impact that helps change a program.
Himphill: 3* 5.5 RR
I think he is under valued this cycle. IMO I think he's a mid-range 3*, his offer sheet & lack of other P5 offers is what is keeping him down. Throw in his disdain of whOregon & Twitter battles with *uck commit Lamar Winston, & Kaelin has the makings to be a fan favorite for the Beavs. I think it's only a matter of time before he commits (publicly as speculation leads to him already being a silent commit). If he is not a silent and waits too long his offer could become a greyshirt once again.
Kayode Rufai: 3* 5.6 RR
Kid blew up this year after putting in a stellar senior campaign for Lincoln HS. Angie caught up with him here. He wants to still trip to Boise State in a couple weeks, but a decision should be made shortly thereafter. By mid-December we should know whether he will be a Bronco or a Beav. Think he gives GA a nice early Xmas present.
- Paisa Savea received his initial rating & it was higher than I thought it would be. He's currently a 3* with a 5.5 Rivals Rating. If you haven't read Angie's piece on his commitment, click here, it is a MUST READ! What a unique story & great find by GA and staff. With his rugby background, and if he is indeed a 3x2, after a redshirt year he could be a vital cog in the middle of the DL.
- With Savea's commitment, it currently places the Beavs class at #30 in the nation, #7 in Pac-12 w/ a 2.81 star rating and 1388 recruiting points. Once Kyle White has his film evaluated by Rivals, his 5.3 RR should jump up to a 5.5, which would make him a 3*. Other sites have him listed as a solid 3*. The Beavs could shoot up even more if Mason Moran is reevaluated and bumped up as expected.
- Switching gears a bit, I really like the product being put on the floor by the hoops team. The women look like legit contenders again in the Pac-12 and could be poised for a deep tourney run. The men's team looks good early on as well, and only stand to improve with the return of senior bigs Daniel Gomis and Jarmal Reid. Gill looks to be rocking all winter long and into the early spring.
- Speaking of the men's team, the freshmen have lived up to expectations so far. I can't help but think when I watch them play how familiar their games look. Tres Tinkle reminds me of a young Chris Mullin playing for St. John's, in Stevie Thompson I see somewhere between a young Seth Curry & Steph Curry. Drew Eubanks is one of the more athletic bigs that I've seen on the west coast in quite a while, can't wait to see him & Big G continue to polish their games under Tinkle's guidance. In limited time, Derrick Bruce looks to be the floor general that will be needed to close out games in the future. His ball handling, defense and decision making have been very good when he has been on the court (7:1 Assist-to-turnover ration, 3 steals & 8 boards). This team will continue to grow as the season moves on.
