Brandel pledges Beavs

In his heart, Portland (Ore.) Central Catholic offensive tackle Blake Brandel always knew he'd be a Beaver. Yes, he has family ties to the in-state school, but he sat on the Oregon State offer to weigh his decision. On Monday Brandel picked up the phone and called offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh to tell him that he was ready to be a Beaver, and he is more than excited to have his commitment behind him.

Why Monday?

"It has really built up over the last two weeks," Brandel told BeaverBlitz.com Monday evening. "I knew that there was no other place who would offer that I'd rather be at (than Oregon State). I just feels like home and everyone around me feels like it is a good fit. I wanted to be done with the recruiting process and I knew that Oregon State was where I wanted to be."

The 6-foot-7, 270 pound tackle has focused solely on football this year and spent the offseason weight training and eating in order to add weight.

"I didn't play basketball and I've been lifting and eating a lot," he laughed. "It is good weight and I've been watching my diet closely."

Moving forward he still plans to gain more strength and weight and while he feels that his footwork and mental aspect of the game are solid, he knows that there is always something to improve upon.

Brandel attended the Oregon State Spring Showcase and has spoken to Coach Cavanaugh on several occasions.

"He is a coach who has been in demand and he knows he wants to be at Oregon State," Brandel said. "I know what he has done with his players and what he can do."

He has a strong familiarity with Oregon State's tradition. His Mom, Aunt and Uncle all attended Oregon State so he has grown up watching the Beavers.

With offers on the table from Washington State, Colorado and Nevada and interest picking up from BYU and Arizona is Brandel solid with his commitment or is he waiting for a 'dream school' offer?

"As far as I'm concerned Oregon State is my dream school," he said. "I've been thinking about committing for awhile now and I'm not sure why I waited. Yes, I'm solid with the Beavers."

With a solid 3.4 grade point average so far through high school, he indicated that he is interested in studying Engineering at Oregon State.

"I know that Oregon State has a solid program in Engineering too," he said.

Brandel is the fifteenth commitment to the Beavers 2015 class and ranked #3 in the state of Oregon. Stay tuned to BeaverBlitz for all of the latest from the recruiting trail.