Recruiting Dinner Recap (in a nutshell)

In an event that continues to get better and better each year, Mike Parker and the Oregon State football program helped to welcome the 2009 Recruiting Class to Beaver Nation. The Hilton Executive Tower was a great location for the event, and Beaver fans packed the Grand Ballroom to capacity. 

A lot was said about how this year's signing class is a great one, but Coach Riley even admitted that "nobody is going to come up here and say this class sucks." But when the coordinators started talking about their indiviudal athlets, it sounds like we brought in some good athletes who fit well with our program.

Riley talked a bit about the recruiting process itself. He said that every recruit has a different story. Some guys are highly touted coming out of high school, and others appear in camps. But no matter where a guy comes from, it all starts with an evaluation. He said you're always nervous to give out a scholarship to a player, so you need to get comfortable with them. After that, the process of Recruiting begins. 

Riley said that what they want is ratings at the end, not at the beginning. He noted that the Beavers have had more All-Conference players recently than everyone in the conference except USC, which is a great testament to all the people at Oregon State working with the young men.

There were many former Beavers in attendance- Derek Anderson, Bill Swancut, Mike Hass, Alexis Serna, Keith Ellison, and many more. Mike Parker did a great job introducing them by proiding some play-by-play calls as an introduction. 

All in all, it seems like we got most of the guys we had hoped for. The coaches are real high on the offensive linemen, as they haven't had a lot of new guys come in for a few years. It seems like we have some good sized guys now, and I can only imagine what they'll be like a few years down the road. 

I'll continue to recap the 2009 Recruiting Dinner as the days roll on and I find the time to do so. 

--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)