Oregon State Recruiting: Are the Beavers in Trouble?

UPDATE (1:56 PM) The Beavers have sured up 16 recruits according to Scout.com, their names are below:

OG Roman Sopalu

QB Sean Mannion

MLB Michael Bibbee

TE Tyler Perry

DT Thomas Molesi

RB Malcolm Marable

DE Happy Iona* (Academically ineligible)

K Trevor Romaine

MLB Donnell Welch

OLB Will Storey

S Ryan Murphy

DT Fred Thompson

DE Dominic Glover

DE Scott Crichton

TE Connor Hamlett

DT Mana Tuivalala

If we know anything about Oregon State and Coach Mike Riley,  they have seemingly done more with less than any team in the country.  Yes, Corvallis may not be the easiest place to recruit players to, but Riley has done it well for numerous years now.

Riley put many Beaver fans at ease when he turned down the USC coaching job after Pete Carroll left.  That also ensured his recruits that he would be in Corvallis for a long time to come.

Fourteen players are currently verbally committed to Oregon State, according to Scout.com.  Of those fourteen, nine are three-star rated, and five are two-star rated.

Now, as teams like UCLA and Notre Dame have proven, highly-rated players don’t always equate to wins.  Winning at the college level is more about getting players that fit your scheme and the Beavers, through coaching continuity, know what types of players they need at all positions.

The Players

On the defensive side of the ball, the Beavers have pulled in five bodies for the defensive line, three for the linebacking core, and one for the secondary.  The Beavers' defensive line is always a strong point, having put players like Victor Butler in the NFL.

The addition of defensive ends Dominic Glover (junior college) and Happy Iona will be key to the development of a defensive line that struggled throughout the season in 2009.  The key addition to this group has to be defensive tackle Fred Thompson.  The 6’4”, 280-pounder will be sure to clog up the middle and will only gain strength and size throughout his four or five years in Corvallis. 

The Beavers are also still in the running for five-star defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa out of Portland, Oregon.  Owa, as he is known, has skyrocketed up the rankings and even appears as a top-ten recruit in some circles.

Offensively, the Beavers have picked up a commitment from a quick running back out of the state of California named Malcolm Marable.  He should give the Beavers a Desean Jackson-type player and if he can gain some mass and strength, maybe even more of a Reggie Bush.

Sean Mannion, a 6’5”, 200-pound quarterback out of Pleasanton, CA, seems like a diamond in the rough for the Beavers system.  If the Beavers can continue to put talented skill position players around their quarterbacks, they can be and will be dangerous offensively.

With all that being said, something should still cause concern for Beaver fans.

Riley has put together years of success in Corvallis and he still cannot gain the interest of major recruits outside of the state of Oregon.  Conventional wisdom would say you can only go so far on guys who fit your system if they don’t have the size or speed needed to compete at the highest level.  If the Beavers don’t pull some surprises on signing day, they might be in trouble.

With more commits sure to come before signing day, keep it here for all your breaking Beaver news this Wednesday, Feb. 3 .

Information Courtesy Scouts.com