Ever since Oregon State was his first offer in January of 2019, Mission Viejo (CA) linebacker Easton Mascarenas has been a priority.

With family ties to the school and a strong relationship with the staff, it always seemed that Oregon State was in a prime position to land the 6-1, 225-pound playmaker.

Mascarenas made frequent visits throughout the 2019-2020 football season and always loved what he saw while continuing to build a great relationship with linebacker coach Trent Bray, running back coach Michael Pitre, defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar and more.

When the new dead period was put into place because of the coronavirus, it did not stop Oregon State coaches from staying in touch with Mascarenas as much as possible. Text messages, twitter graphics and zoom calls slowly became the new regular, and Mascarenas felt ready to lock it down while on a zoom call with the coaches on Monday. He announced his commitment via twitter on Tuesday evening.

- Jared Halus

Oregon State has been after Mascarenas for some time and all that due diligence has paid off.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound outside linebacker will fit defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar’s linebacker-friendly scheme like a glove and should provide fantastic future depth and playmaking at the position. Mascarenas will also have the benefit of playing with older step-brother Akili Arnold as the two will get to team up at OSU for the next several years.

With Mascarenas choosing Oregon State over the likes of Washington, Arizona, Washington State, and Arizona State, this proves the Beavers are trending upwards in terms of winning the big-time recruiting battles against conference foes. Landing Mascarenas is a huge coup for Jonathan Smith and Co. any way you slice it.

- Brenden Slaughter