As expected receivers Kevin Cummings and Obum Gwacham, who will
most likely be moved to defensive end, offensive lineman Michael Beaton and
defensive end Josh Kaiwi will all greyshirt. [For more information on
those recruits
visit the 2009 Pledge Board.]
The one surprise was receiver
Reggie Dunn who was expected to come in and use his exceptional
speed on special teams and offense.
Dunn not meeting academic clearance requirements in time means Oregon State will not grayshirt Jordan Poyer, the uber-athlete out of Astoria. Poyer will now be in the fold when the Beavs open fall camp in August.
Dunn was also a non-qualifier after signing with the Beavs coming out of high school, necessitating a junior college detour.
The good news, according to Riley, is that Dunn is on track to graduate from Compton College in
Los Angeles later this summer. Unfortunately Riley said his graduation date is Aug. 22,
just 13 days before the season opener against Portland State.
Riley said the coaches determined that Dunn would not be physically ready to play football
if he joined the team that late in fall camp. As a result, he will greyshirt -- provided he does eventually qualify.
If Dunn would have joined Oregon State this year he would have had four years
to play three. Since he will effectively take this fall to get his academic house in order, he will spend one of his years of
eligibility this fall and then have three to play three in Corvallis beginning in 2010.
While his delayed enrollment is surprising, it might not hurt the '09 team and it could
actually help Dunn.
Provided he eventually qualifies, Dunn -- as well as the other four -- would have three extra months to
get acclimated to the Mid Valley and jell with teammates -- a softer landing of sorts. They would
also have the opportunity to participate in spring practice as well as fall camp
giving him ample time to get into game shape and with the spring, a leg up on the rookies who take the more traditional route of joining a college team in August.
Now that some of the roster issues have been addressed the recruiting
priorities for 2010 have come into focus.
Riley recently told the Portland Tribune that he expects to place 8-9 players
in his '10 class. What that doesn't include are additional players OSU might oversign, and OG Mau Nomani, who is expected
back from his Mormon mission in 2010. [See
the Scholarship Tracker for more information.]
Counting the most recent verbals of OG Roman Sapolu and QB Sean Mannion , the five greyshirts listed above and Nomani, the 2010 class seemingly already numbers eight. But that almost certainly won't
deter Riley and company from inking several more bodies, with defensive linemen and linebackers expected to be two positions of focus.
The oversigning strategy has for the most part worked quite well for OSU the last several classes and
there's no reason for the coaches to change. [Read
the Recruiting Strategy thread to read what Beaver fans think and weigh in
with your opinion.]