With most of the recruiting news shifted to the Early Signing Period in December, we don’t usually have a lot to report on for the actual National Signing Day. Especially since the Beavers aren’t usually the most active team in the recruiting game. There is one big piece of news though, and also a good group of transfers and walk-ons to cover. Here’s what’s happened today.

Offensive Lineman Jason White Flips From Boise State, Signs With Beavers

The big Beaver story of the day. Jason White is a three star rated offensive lineman out of Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, California. Last fall he announced he would be committing to Boise State, but reports came out this morning that he would be decommitting from the Broncos in favor of Oregon State. A few hours ago, the news became official.

White is 6’ 4” and 290 lbs. Before committing to Boise State, he had also received offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Florida, Kansas State, Sacramento State, Utah and Washington. With the Beaver offensive line in need of more depth, its possible White sees playtime pretty early.

Orion Maile-Kaufusi Signs With Beavers

Three star athlete Orion Maile-Kaufusi also signed his letter of intent to play for Oregon State today. Maile-Kaufusu committed to the Beavers back on January 15th, after also receiving offers from Air Force and Utah State. While Maile-Kaufusi is signing today, he will not play for the team for a few years, as he is taking a church mission out of high school.

Maile-Kaufusi played Tight End and Defensive End at East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. He stands at 6’ 3” and weighs 190 pounds. 247sports has him ranked as the 14th best prospect out of Utah. Oregon State lists him as an athlete, so we’re unsure of how the team plans to use him starting out, though the fact that Linebacker Coach Trent Bray suggests they may be leaning toward using him on defense. We’ll see, he seems to be very talented on both sides of the ball. Check out some highlights.

The Transfers

Oregon State has hit the transfer portal pretty hard under Jonathan Smith, and this year is no different. All of the transfers that signed today we’ve known about for awhile, and most are currently enrolled, but here they are if you need a refresher.

Heneli Bloomfield: Offensive Guard - Utah State

Bloomfield is 6’2” and 308 pounds. Originally out of Jordan High School in Sandy, Utah, Bloomfield committed to the Aggies early after they gave him his first offer. After he entered the transfer portal, he also received offers from Rutgers and Syracuse, but elected to come to Corvallis. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Dehsaun Fenwick: Running Back - South Carolina

Fenwick is a big back, 6’1 and 225 pounds. Originally from Braden River High School in Braden River, Florida, he was heavily recruited back in 2018, though Oregon State did not offer him then. He’s played in three seasons at USC, and has three years of eligibility remaining. In his last season with the Gamecocks, he rushed for 297 yards and 1 touchdown, and as a receiver tallied 108 yards.

Elijah Jones: Cornerback - Kansas

A graduate transfer from the Jayhawks who has one year of eligibility remaining. Jones looks like a great option to replace Nahshon Wright. Jones is 6’2” and 185 lbs. Last season with the Jayhawks, he had 24 total tackles, 18 of them solo. Before Kansas, he played for Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa. He had previously also been offered by Central Florida, Iowa State and Utah State.

Makiya Tongue: Wide Receiver - Georgia

Tongue was a highly rated four star recruit before he committed to Georgia in 2018. He was also heavily recruited by Texas, and was offered by many major programs, including Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Michigan, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. During his redshirt season with the Bulldogs, he appeared in three games but didn’t record any stats. He elected to join the transfer portal last fall and could immediately become one of the top targets of whoever wins the Quarterback battle in Corvallis.

Walk-Ons

In addition to all the names above, Oregon State has announced a solid class of preferred walk-ons, many of them local. Here’s the list.

• Bryce Caufield - Tight End: Lakeridge High School - Lake Oswego, Oregon
• Gavin Haines - Athlete: West Linn High School - West Linn, Oregon
• Zach Holmes - Offensive Guard: West Linn High School - West Linn, Oregon
• Jack Kane - Safety: Servite High School - Anaheim, California
• Joshua McCormick - Kicker: Akins High School - Austin, Texas
• Carter Neuman - Tight End: Sheldon High School - Eugene, Oregon
• Jeremiah Noga - Wide Receiver: Hidden Valley High School - Grant’s Pass, Oregon
• Tyeson Thomas - Athlete: Del Valle High School - Del Valle, Texas/Lakeridge High School - Lake Oswego, Oregon
• Jake Wright - Defensive End: Baker High School - Baker City, Oregon

Those are your 15 new Beavers headed into the 2021 season. If there’s any news we’ll let you know, and check back with Building the Dam for previews of what next season could look like.