BeaversEdge Top 25 For 2025: Honorable Mentions Part 2

The rankings will be controversial, and no two people will agree on every single ranking, but that will be the fun of the rankings! Want to give your two cents on the rankings? Make sure you subscribe to BeaversEdge.com to join The Dam Board and weigh in on the conversation.

Ranking Criteria

This is obviously an inexact science as you're comparing quarterbacks to defensive linemen and linebackers to offensive linemen. However, our team, which consisted of Publisher Brenden Slaughter and writers Ryan Harlan and Brogan Slaughter, gave it a shot.

The main criteria were assessing our expectations for the player's performance in 2025, and to evaluate that, you have to look at what the player did in 2024. Stats were considered, but it was more of an overall impact on the team from an analysis perspective.

Again, we want to reiterate how difficult it was to create this top 25. Keeping some of the guys below out of the top 25 was tough...

Honorable Mentions Part 2 (in no particular order)

OL Dylan Sikorski

-> One of the rising stars on the offensive line, Sikorski just misses the BeaversEdge Top 25 and earns an honorable mention place. After showcasing his versatility as a true freshman last season, moving to the defensive line in a pinch, it tells you how high his ceiling is. Now full-time back on the offensive line, Sikorski will compete for a starting spot this season, likely at guard, and we wouldn't be surprised to see that happen. He was one of the standout OL during spring, when the OL was limited depth-wise, and we expect him to have a role on the line this season.

ILB Makiya Tongue

-> After coming to Oregon State from Georgia as a wide receiver back in 2021, Tongue made the positional switch to inside linebacker ahead of spring practices in 2023. The results were almost instantly stellar, as Tongue's size, strength, and athleticism made him a natural fit at the inside linebacker spot in the Beavers' system. In three games, he made six tackles, one forced fumble and half a tackle for loss, before suffering a brutal and rare knee injury, one that would require a nearly two-year recovery. He missed the remainder of 2023, all of 2024, but returned to the practice field in spring of 2025 and looked like he picked up right where he left off. He'll likely be competing for playing time with USC transfer Raesjon Davis alongside Dexter Foster on the inside, but that trio will be a very effective unit, and it cannot be stated enough how impressive it is that Tongue overcame this injury and is back and ready to roll.

WR Jimmy Valsin

-> After the end of the 2023 season, Valsin was set to the the Beavers' leading returning receiver in 2024 by production, as he tallied 11 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns and flashed moments of being the vertical threat the team needed offensively. However, he suffered a lower-body injury in spring that kept him entirely out of the 2024 campaign. He also didn't see action in spring as he was still recovering, but is poised to return to the mix in fall camp. The receiver room has gotten deeper and more talented since Valsin was last in the mix, but the talent is still there, and he'll certainly get an opportunity to compete for a rotation spot if he's back to 100%.

DB Noble Thomas

-> After playing in eight total games his first two seasons in Corvallis, Thomas had a really impactful offseason between 2023 and 2024, and earned a starting role at the nickelback spot entering the 2024 season. He recorded two pass breakups and two tackles in the season-opener against Idaho State before suffering a season-ending injury that also kept him out of action in spring ball. Once he returns to full-go in fall camp, he'll likely be competing with the guy who was his backup starting last season in Sai Vadrawale. Vadrawale had an impressive redshirt-freshman season in place of the injured Thomas, and once the Beavers get that 1-2 punch healthy, the nickelback spot will be a big-time position of strength.

OLB Andy Alfieri

-> Alfieri transferred in from Cal ahead of the 2024 season, and we weren't quite sure what his role would be as the former Jesuit standout had experience at h-back and tight end for the Bears, but wound up seeing action of both sides of the ball for the Beavers in high-leverage situations in 2024, playing in all 12 games. He was most utilized as an edge rusher as the Beavers needed somebody to fill the gap in the wake of injuries, and he finished the year with 17 tackles defensively, totaling three tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry. The OLB room is in a lot better shape, depth and talent-wise this season, but expect Alfieri to be in that rotation in his final rodeo.

Previously

Honorable Mentions Part 1

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