6/2/2023 football Edit

A closer look at Oregon State's first weekend of official visitors

Dylan Callaghan-Croley • BeaversEdge

Recruiting Analyst

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Starting it off, there is Seattle (WA) quarterback EJ Caminong. Caminong remains committed to Washington but that has not stopped the Beavers from pursuing the three-star quarterback. They still are very interested in Caminong and thus far he has shown interest back and the Beavers are at least getting him to think about his recruitment. We'll see if this weekend moves the needle at all in his recruitment but this will be one of the more intriguing prospects to watch on campus this weekend.

MORE: OL David Abajian discusses recent unofficial, previews OV | Inside The Dam: Inside Scoop On Official Visitors | EDGE POD: Previewing Baton Rouge Regional | Baseball Previews Regionals P1 | Baseball Previews Baton Rouge Regional P2

At wide receiver, Graham (WA)'s Malachi Durant has made the trip - Caminong and himself play on the same 7-on-7 team. The Beavers are a legitimate contender for Durant in his recruitment and a strong visit would go a long way for the Beavers in this one. Oregon was the leader for Durant for some time but this may be shaping up to be a Washington - Oregon State battle more than anything else. Then there is New Hampshire wide receiver Exodus Ayers who is originally from New Mexico. Ayers has been to Oregon State twice before and the idea of coming back west to potentially play his college football seems to be a legitimate possibility. We are going to be watching him closely this weekend and we are also going to be putting in a FutureCast for the Beavers to land Ayers as we like where they sit in this one.

On the offensive line, David Abajian makes his second visit in a week while Idaho's Rakeem Johnson will also make the trek. Abajian, we've already talked about a few times this week but he's someone that Oregon State could put themselves in a great spot for with a strong official visit this weekend, Johnson remains a battle between the Beavers, Boise State, Boston College, and Washington State.

Moving to the defensive side of the ball, there will be a trio of defensive linemen in Deshawn Warner (Goodyear, AZ), Kekai Burnett (Honolulu, HI), and Keona Wilhite (Tuscon, AZ). Warner named a top four last month of Kansas, Oregon State, Texas, and Washington, he has official visits set up to all four and this race is really too close to call from our point of view just yet. This is a very intriguing recruitment to watch this weekend. Wilhite, another Arizona prospect is making his second official visit after visiting UCLA, Washington is also involved heavily here as is Arizona. We do not expect a decision from here anytime soon. Finally, there is Kekai Burnett who Oregon State might be in the best spot for coming out of the three coming into this weekend. The Beavers went into the Aloha State last year to land Leonard Ah You and are looking to do it again with Burnett. Not ready to put in a FutureCast here but do get the sense that Oregon State is the team to beat.

At Cornerback, Malik Esquerra is a prospect who only picked up an offer recently and quickly scheduled an official visit. The Beavers have been active in Texas recently and have had success there including in 2024 running back commit Makhi Frazier. Texas Tech and Nebraska are also in play for Esquerra and we don't expect anything in the immediate but the Beavers could set a high bar with a strong official visit.

Finally, there is three-star ATH Marshel Sanders, a friend and 7-on-7 teammate of recent wide receiver commitment Logan Saldate. The Beavers enter in a very good spot here but just because of that Saldate connection, doesn't mean it will be a slam dunk. That being said, the Beavers might very well be the team to beat at this point and we will be watching Sanders closely over the next few weeks.