Beavers hope to have found more hidden gems

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State's recent recruiting success has come from the ability of coach Mike Riley and his staff to find players that other schools overlook, like the Rodgers brothers.

Years ago, James Rodgers found his way from Texas to Corvallis, and the next year little brother Jacquizz followed.

In 2010, defensive end Scott Crichton didn't get a lot of recruiting buzz until the Beavers showed interest in him. Last season as a redshirt freshman, he started in all 12 games for the Beavers and set a school record with six forced fumbles. He finished second in the Pac-12 with 14.5 tackles for loss.

In 2009, more schools were interested in recruiting in-state star Jordan Poyer as a baseball player. But the cornerback from Astoria was second-team all-Pac-12 last season with 16 passes defended.

So where are the gems in the 2012 recruiting class? Only time will tell.

But Riley feels they're there. Two top recruiting websites agreed, putting the Beavers' 2012 recruiting class among the top 40 classes in the nation — not bad for a program that hasn't gone to a bowl game for the past two seasons.

Oregon State had signed 24 players as of Wednesday afternoon, including 12 on offense, 10 on defense, a kicker and an all-around athlete.

Probably Oregon State's top recruit was 6-foot-3, 280-pound offensive guard Isaac Seumalo. The son of Beavers defensive line coach Joe Seumalo, his choice may have seemed to be a no-brainer, but he also visited USC.

Riley said the Beavers didn't take family ties for granted when going after Seumalo, considered a four-star recruit by several services and one of Oregon's top prospects.

"We really left no stone unturned when it came to Isaac," he said.

The Beavers also signed a kicker, Garret Owens, whom Riley happened to notice when recruiting 6-foot-5 quarterback Brent VanderVeen and 6-foot-6, 285-pound offensive lineman Garrett Weinreich. All three were teammates at Arroyo Grande High School in California.

Oregon State, known in recent years for running backs like Ken Simonton, Yvenson Bernard and, of course, Quizz, signed just one, Chris Brown, a 6-foot, 195-pound back out of San Joaquin Memorial in Fresno, Calif. Riley said the Beavers have plenty of running backs in their program, like freshman Malcolm Agnew, so the position was not an area of emphasis this season.

Riley lamented Oregon's loss of Cleveland Wallace, a defensive back from San Jose, Calif., who suddenly changed his mind and decided Wednesday to sign a letter of intent with Washington.

Oregon had four commitments from cornerbacks, and landed just one, Tyler Hasty of Bellevue High School in neighboring Washington. He is the son of James Hasty, a former All-Pro cornerback with the Kansas City Chiefs.

"That's just the way it went," Riley said.

From a fall camp besieged by injuries to the season-opening loss to Sacramento State and the final 49-21 defeat by in-state rival Oregon in the annual Civil War, last season was the Beavers' worst since 1997.

Oregon State ended 3-9 overall and 3-6 in the Pac-12 Conference, finishing out of the postseason for the second straight year.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.