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The quarterback position has been an issue for the Beavers the past few years and they are in need of a leader who will help get Oregon State football back to being respectable among the other eleven teams in the PAC-12.
To do this, you need a quality quarterback. Whether it has been injuries, confusion amongst the coaching staff with the offensive play calling, or just inconsistency from the quarterback position, the Beavers haven’t had someone under center who can conisently lead theam throughout an entire season since Sean Mannion.
With a completely new staff in place under new head coach Jonathan Smith, Oregon State is looking to change their recent past at the quarterback position. With 3-star local quarterback Jake Dukart who already signed back in late December, the coaching staff has been doing a thorough search hoping to add a second signal caller for the 2018 class.
On Friday evening, the Beavers found their guy. 247Sports 3-star quarterback Jack Colletto chose the Beavers over Vanderbilt. The Arizona Western College prospect who is also originally from Camas, WA made his announcement public via his Twitter account:
I am 100% committed to OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY!!!!!! ⚫️ ⚫️ #GoBeavs #BuildTheDam pic.twitter.com/ndi7F5Jhly
— Jack Colletto (@Jackcolletto) February 3, 2018
After not starting until his senior year of high school, Colletto lead Camas High School (Wash.) to a 4A state title while also earning the Gatorade Washington Player of the Year award. Colletto’s senior year statistics were very impressive for the Papermakers after throwing for 2,846 yards and 27 touchdowns while also contributing 1,253 yards and 21 scores rushing the football.
However, after Colletto didn’t receive much attention during and after his senior season for Camas, he elected to go the junior college route and selected to play at Arizona Western College this past season. He played as a true freshman for the Matadors out of Yuma, Arizona, while appearing in all ten of their games and helped lead them to a NJCAA national championship game appearance this past season. For the Matadors, Colletto completed over 58% of his passes with 4 touchdowns, while also rushing for almost 200 yards and adding another 9 touchdowns.
Looking ahead towards the future, Colletto will arrive prior to the spring quarter and will come in having three years of eligibility remaining and will look to compete right away against the other quarterbacks currently on the roster which include: senior Jake Luton, redshirt sophomore Connor Blount, redshirt sophomore Mason Moran, redshirt freshman Aiden Willard, and incoming freshman Jake Dukart.
With commitments from both Colletto and Joshua Gray today, Oregon State has earned themselves eight verbal commits in the past week, bringing the total to 19 commitments for the 2018 class. However, Hawaii offensive line transfer Brandon Kipper is not counted in the recruiting rankings as he will sit out of the 2018 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Look for the Beavers to add anywhere from 5-7 more commitments by February 7th on National Signing Day.
Colletto’s Hudl highlights:
Want more coverage of Oregon State recruiting? Want to know who the Beavers are targeting before National Signing Day on February 7th? Make sure you give @lucas_aguilar27 and @BuildingTheDam a follow on Twitter to stay up to date at all times.