Dionte Sykes, a 3 star receiver out of Mesa Community College was expected to join a talented wide receiving core in Corvallis, but it appears that will no longer happen. Sykes committed to OSU over offers from San Diego State and Utah State back in November and the big, physical receiver was expected to immediately help boost the Beavers receiving corps.
The talented wide receiver also had plenty of interest out of Chandler High School in 2015, originally committing to UCLA before opting for San Diego State instead. Sykes college career hit a snag however, when academic issues forced him to go the junior college route instead. Sykes played one season at Mesa before red-shirted this past season, ensuring he would have 3 years of eligibility at his next stop.
Questions about his future in Corvallis arose on signing day, when a fax from Sykes never reached the OSU football office. It came out later that day that Sykes would not be signing with the Beavs until May as it was reported that he was again having academic issues and would not qualify until then.
Yesterday more questions arose as Sykes announced on twitter that he had received an offer from Arizona State and later removed any reference to Oregon State or Corvallis from his twitter bio. Those questions had a disappointing answer for Beaver Nation when Oregonian recruiting reporter Andrew Nemec reported that OSU and Sykes had parted ways.
Oregon State, Dionte Sykes have parted ways. Had some academic things to finish up in February, which is why he didn't sign on Signing Day. https://t.co/pYOh2oMD9t
— Andrew Nemec (@AndrewNemec) April 26, 2017
While Sykes de-commitment hurts the Beavs, the 2017 recruiting class is stocked with talented wide receivers including 4 star Isaiah Hodgins along with an experienced wide receiver core already in Corvallis. It will be interesting to see what Gary Andersen does with the scholarship that is now freed up. Andersen could chase another grad transfer, he could go to the JUCO ranks again or he could give it to a current player who is not on scholarship.