Oregon St. has gained another verbal commitment for the 2012 recruiting class, as Josh Mitchell from Mt. Si High in Snoqualmie, Washington, has selected the Beavers over Washington St., Wyoming, and Montana.
Mitchell, a 6'3", 265 lb. offensive guard rated the # 16 prospect in the state of Washington by Rivals.com, reportedly has a has a 22 inch vertical leap and is a sure-fire academic qualifier, with a 3.7 grade-point average. Mitchell is also the state heavyweight wrestling champion.
Mitchell becomes the 8th. commitment for next year.
Between Saturday's morning and afternoon practices, freshman quarterback Peter Ashton moved to safety. Ashton, at 6'1" and 206 lbs., was a great prospect at the safety position as well before the season, according to head coach Mike Riley.
Oregon St. has something of a log jam at quarterback, with red shirt freshman Sean Mannion, sophomore Jack Lomax, and true freshman Richie Harrington all behind junior starter Ryan Katz and sophomore Cody Vaz, plus an incoming three start QB recruit next year in Brent Vanderveen. And obviously, none of them are graduating soon. So the move was made to at least get Ashton a shot at making a depth chart.
Another move was made in switching freshman Lavonte Barnett from defensive end to linebacker. At 6'1" and 235 lbs., Barnett, who was recruited as an athlete, is undersized on the line, and appears better suited at linebacker. The plan all along was reportedly to try him at different positions and find the best fit for him.
Oregon St. has Sunday off, and will resume working Monday, with another two-a-day schedule. The Beavers will have another full-gear go at 8:30 AM, followed by an evening session at 6:30 PM, with helmets and shoulder pads only.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com