Oregon State Beavers quickly changing recruiting momentum

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Oregon State Beavers are quickly changing the narrative about their football program under new head coach JaMarcus Shephard.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite having less than a week to put a class together, Oregon State finished with its top “average rating per commit” in more than a decade and finished just behind the Boise State Broncos for the top spot in the new Pac-12 in that category.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That effort came with a few key flips, but also some obvious “business decisions” when it came down to verbal commitments worthy of keeping from the Trent Bray era.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The addition were impressive.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sumner (Washington) three-star running back [player_tooltip player_id='987161' first='Lance' last='McGee'] re-committed just days after rushing for 300 yards and 5 touchdowns in a big playoff game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Folsom (California) four-star wide receiver Jameson Powell, a former Ole Miss pledge, signed with the Beavs as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Friday night, the dynamic playmaker hauled in 14 receptions for 169 yards and three touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shephard's staff also flipped South Alabama edge-rusher Caleb Metzner, who accumulated 24.5 sacks his senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They also went to the Northeast for blazing-fast St. Frances Academy (Maryland) star Jesse Legree.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What do those players have in common?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Highly-productive, highly-offered players from winning programs with significant upside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the progress is even more pronounced than that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For years, the Gary Andersen, Jonathan Smith and Trent Bray eras were marred on the recruiting trail by a lack of personality.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And, sometimes, just flat-out lack of attention to detail.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's what one Oregon high school football coach messaged me this week regarding Oregon State over the past several years:&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“As a Beaver fan forever and a (high school) coach who does our recruiting, historically OSU has always been more difficult to work with than Oregon,” he wrote. “Coaches a little off putting and ‘weird.' Rarely respond back. Just hard to talk to in general… save for a few assistants over the years. Ducks, who are routinely better and chasing bigger names, almost always have more ‘time' for us and are more readily available for questions and what not. Just my input.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I asked Prep Redzone's Jordan Johnson what two words have come up the most when it comes to Oregon State coaches on the recruiting trail.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Weird” and “awkward.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those two words have frequently come to define Oregon State's approach with regional athletes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But that's already changing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sources indicated Oregon State got off to a great start, reaching out to key figures in the area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Then came this message - unsolicited - from an Oregon high school football head coach with multiple all-state athletes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Bro! You know I'm a Duck through and through… but last night I told my wife, ‘I would LOVE for our son to play for Oregon State!' Not because of the level they are, but because of EVERYTHING I have seen in the last three days. Pretty impressive.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's a small sample size, but between the recruiting results and the reaction from local area coaches, it's safe to say the Shephard era in Corvallis is off to a strong start.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->