New Recruit Report: Anthony Watkins

Anthony Watkins is a HS safety out of Burien, WA that appears to be slated to convert to linebacker at Oregon State. If that's the case, he will be a pretty fast LB probably in the Derrick Doggett mold. He's run a 11.2 100 meter dash and around a 4.5 40. This guy is a system guy that I could see building into a very good OLB who can cover.

Looks like his brother Brian wil get a chance to walk-on as well. That's cool and could be a 2 for 1 type of thing if it works out. See the track results for more info on his brother's speed.

Oh, and check out the video below. Good stuff.

Scout.com Profile

Ht: 6-2 Wt: 200 40: 4.46

ESPN Profile

Rivals Profile

Ht: 6-foot-1 Wt: 183 lbs Forty: 4.65 secs
Bench reps: 10 Vertical: 29 inches Shuttle: 4.12 secs

Highline's Watkins picks Oregon State - Seattle Times

Watkins pulls the trigger - Yahoo

100 Meter Dash results - Seamount Conference

Video:

Anthony Watkins #4 2006 HS Football 1 - YouTube
Anthony Watkins #4 Football Highlights 2 - YouTube

New Recruit Report: Will Darkins

Will Darkins is one of the top recruits out of Oregon. He played both RB and LB in high school, but is tabbed to be a linebacker at OSU like his brother Andy.

Here's OSU's bio:

Rivals.com ranks Will the 32nd-best inside linebacker prospect in the nation and the fifth-best overall prospect in Oregon...at the 2006 Eugene Nike Camp, Darkins posted the best shuttle time for a linebacker (3.94) and third-best in the 40 (4.73)...invited to play in the East-West All-Star Game in Orlando last month...first team all-state as a senior as a running back and linebacker – one of only three players to make first team on both sides of the ball...rushed for 1,148 yards during the regular season as a senior...1,422 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior, earning third team as a running back and second team as a linebacker...Will’s brother, Andy, was a standout for the Beavers at linebacker, lettering in 2004 and ’05...former Beaver and current Lake Oswego head coach Steve Coury states that Will plays defense like a “madman.”

ESPN.com Profile

Rivals.com Profile

Ht: 6-foot-2 Wt: 217 lbs Forty: 4.73 secs
Bench reps: 20 Vertical: 28 inches Shuttle: 3.94 secs

Scout.com Profile

Ht: 6-2 Wt: 220 40: 4.58

Player Rankings: Top 10 Linebackers - OregonLive.com

2007 Northwest Nuggets - Tacoma News-Tribune

Another Darkins headed to OSU - Barometer

This isn't exactly sports related, but if you want to have a laugh and see Will in action check this video out:
Lake Oswego Boys Rock out to Jock Jams - YouTube

Playoff game report - OregonLive

2006 FOOTBALL PREVIEW - Lake Oswego - OregonLive

2005 SEASON PREVIEW - Lake Oswego - OregonLive

New Recruit Report: Jake Gelakoska

Jake Gelakoska is a big QB who can not only throw, but run. If he has 4.52-4.56 speed, he might be like a Jake Zabransky-type QB. His speed could be a major plus on roll-out plays and escaping sacks.

Apparently he's a good interview as well. I wouldn't doubt it given the amount of articles that Jake the Snake has in local newspapers.


ESPN Profile

Scout.com Profile

Ht: 6-4 Wt: 215 40: 4.52

Big, strong, athletic prospect who will get bigger. Raw with some mechanics, especially with dropping the ball down while on the move, but already has a quick release. Also needs to work on becoming more accurate, but is a very hard worker. Has very good straight-ahead speed, but no shake.

Rivals.com Profile

Ht: 6-foot-3 Wt: 206 lbs Forty: 4.65 secs Vertical: 24 inches

	Rushing					Passing							Receiving
Statistics	Att	Yds	Avg	TD		PA	PC	Pct	Yds	TD	Int		Yds
2005 (Jr.)	88	360	4.0	7		136	275	49.0	1,938	17	6		12
2006 (Sr.)	56	213	3.8	-		148	89	00.6	1,148	14	7		-

Q & A with Marshall Lobbestael and Jake Gelakoska - Everett Daily Herald (Aug 2006)

Senior QB pumped for season - Everett Daily Herald (Aug 2006)

Gelakoska drew attention from a number of different Division I schools. This summer Gelakoska decided to verbally accept a scholarship to play football at Oregon State.

"The coaches are great and it is a really good situation down in Corvallis," Gelakoska said. "I decided to commit."

Drawing up a perfect QB class - Seattle Times

Gelakoska talks! - Yahoo

2007 Northwest Nuggets - Tacoma News Tribune

Wolfpack seeks balanced attack - Everett Daily Herald

He can't get enough football, now - Everett Daily Herald (2005)

Player Stats for: 3 Jake Gelakoska

New Recruit Report: Ryan McCants

Ryan McCants is a big running back out of Corona, California. He is a Steven Jackson-sized running back at 6-foot-2, 230. He's not quite as fast as Steven at 4.6 in the 40, but he will run over people, that's for sure. Won't need a fullback in goal line situations.




Scout.com Profile

Ht: 6-2 Wt: 230 40: 4.6

Rivals.com Profile

Ht: 6-foot-2
Wt: 230 lbs
Forty: 4.6 secs
GPA: 2.7
SAT: 1410 

	Rushing					Receiving			Defense
Statistics	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Lg		No	Yds		Tck	Sck
2005	224	1,439		13			3	73		50	2
2006 (Sr.)	112	780	7.0	9	71		-	-		-	-

Weekly Spotlight - Ryan McCants

OSU INSIDE SLANT - USA Today

Oregon State Coaches the difference in McCants' decision

Beavers excited about signings

Must read article about the Beaver coaches and recruiting

If you missed this article and are interested in how the OSU Coaches go about recruiting, read this. It's a great read in terms of recruiting strategy and about some of the new recruits and the coaches reactions to some of them.

Coaches sit tight on big day - Portland Tribune

At the top are the premier recruits.

“You have a couple of those, but you usually can’t spend a lot of time on them because the chances of getting them aren’t good,” Langsdorf says. “Then there are some middle to upper guys it’s going to be hard to get, but you have a chance for them, and there are more of those. Then you’ll have a baseline of guys you think you can get, but they have to be good enough to play in the Pac-10.

“You have to distribute your time and resources properly. If you waste too much time on the top guys you’re not going to get, you’re not going to get the middle or baseline foundation guys. There’s not an exact science to it. You have a group of guys you feel real good about, a group you’re not so sure, and you try to get the best of them. If there are four quarterbacks you like, for instance, and No. 4 is good enough, sometimes you decide to go after him. You don’t know if No. 1 is going to be there at the end.”

Cavanaugh says he tries to watch each of his prospects in person.

“I get out in the spring, when you get one academic evaluation and one athletic evaluation,” he says. “What you try to do is find a time to get to his school where he is practicing, so you can see him run and go through drills. If you’re the area scout, you’ve seen the kid, you pretty much know what he can do. Sometimes other coaches don’t like him, but all they’re seeing is (game video). The area coach knows the kid the best.”

Cavanaugh says he tends to go after the cream of the crop.

“We were in the dance with a couple of kids who went to SC,” he says. “It was early, and we got out of the dance quick. But I think our reputation is rising. More kids are considering us every year.”

Class of 2007: Colby Prince

Colby Prince is a local kid who looks to have all the tools to be a great pass-catching tight end for OSU in the future. From the video on the official site, he looked more like a wide reciever than a tight end.

He committed pretty early, choosing OSU over the Ducks.

Scout.com Profile

Rivals.com profile

Prince a rare mid-valley find for Beavers - G-T - article about his verbal committment.

Prince is officially a Beaver - Albany Democrat-Herald

“I’ll give you some things to remember,” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Prince, at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, was signed as a tight end.

He had 48 catches for 878 yards and 11 touchdowns this past season.

[...]

Nyquist said he heard from Oregon State’s coaches that Prince has the best receiving skills of any tight end in the program.

“We’re expecting big things from Colby,” he said.

Extra work pays off for Bulldogs - G-T - article on West Albany in the state playoffs. Prince prominently interviewed.

Couple of interesting mentions on OregonLive from old West Albany football season previews:

2005 Season Preview
2006 Football Preview

5A All-state football seletions

Signing away the state - OregonLive HS Sports Blog

OSU New Recruit Report: David Ross

Another BIG signing for Oregon State was David Ross, cornerback, from Dominguez in LA. He was all set to go to Nebraska, then pulled a 180 and committed with OSU. He is listed as a 4-star recruit by many services and will probably compete for a spot right away.

"He's a natural, he has long arms, a long lean body and is very physical." — Dominguez DB coach Martin French

Sounds like the kind of CB we like at OSU.

Rivals.com David Ross Profile

Scout.com Profile

Nebraska coach Bill Callahan complaining about losing Ross to the Beavers

Mike Riley Believes in New Beavs

Oregon State's New Recruits - Reggie Dunn

So far we have 33 LOIs for next year including the JC guys that may have already signed.

The OSU page listing the new recruits has been reorganized a bit and is easy to read as well as linking to a few articles about this class.

I'm going to try to spotlight a few of these new players and see if we can't learn a little bit more about them as we march towards spring football.


One of the biggest "gets" in this class is Reggie Dunn. He has rediculous speed (4.35 and apparently has been clocked at 4.28!) and is a 4 star guy according to many services. Here's what I could dig up on Reggie.

Rivals profile

Scout.com Profile

OREGON STATE SIGNS DUNN!!

Cool Video with Reggie in there somewhere (#9 I think)

I couldn't find any game recaps, only old recruiting updates. Bummer.

Welcome Reggie Dunn!

Commits as of 12:40pm

Well, we're probably about done with new players coming in. Here's the breakdown:

28 Letters of Intent

Offense: 14

QB - 1
RB - 2
WR - 4
OL - 5
TE - 2
K - 0


Defense: 14

DL - 3
DE - 3
LB - 3
CB - 3
S - 2
P - 0


That's an even split. Some notes, we got one long snapper who is listed as an O-Lineman. Our goals are always getting good lineman and we definitely got numbers there on both sides of the ball. And we got at least a couple recruits at every other position except QB. Assuming everyone qualifies of course.


To see a list of the Bios go here:

Football Letter of Intent Central

Football Letters of Intent Day!

Its finally here! Time to see who OSU got for football this coming season!

Go here now to see who we have so far:

Football Letter of Intent Central - OSU


Here's a list of projected signees:

OSU commitments (as of yesterday) - The Portland Tribune

And we are hoping to get two big potential signings: Reggie Dunn and Omar Bolden.

Should be fun!


Go Beavs!

Time to be the Florida Marlins?

If you are Jay John, is it time to play for the future? I say yes.

I think what happened over the weekend is what should continue for the rest of the season. Punt on 2006-07. Lets get our young guys ready for next season. Play Seth Tarver, Calvin Hampton, and Ruland Shaftenaar more. Keep playing Josh Tarver and Marcel Jones. Challenge the rest of the guys to play better or they sit.

Could the fans let this happen? I don't know, but I want to see what next season might look like now.