COMMITMENT ANALYSIS: What Is Oregon State Getting In OL Dylan Lopez?

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Oregon State and head coach Jonathan Smith landed their fifth commitment of the 2022 class in IMG Academy (FL) offensive linemen Dylan Lopez on Thursday.

Below, Managing Editor Brenden Slaughter, Recruiting Analyst Jared Halus, & Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney discuss what the Beavers are getting in the 6-foot-3, 275-pound prospect.

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It has been a long and interesting recruiting process for Dylan Lopez.

Lopez started getting attention early on while playing at Rancho Verde and picked up multiple offers before making his first commitment to USC in November.

The 6-foot-3, 275-pound center would later announce his transfer to the prestigious IMG Academy in Florida, and decommitted from USC after about five months of being pledged to the Trojans.

Oregon State, Cal, Colorado, Washington State, and others were quick to get involved.

Over time, offensive line coach Jim Michalzcik, head coach Jonathan Smith, as well as director of player personnel Darrick Yray were able to create a tight relationship with Lopez, and it only got better once he got to campus for his first official visit.

"The biggest thing that me and my entire family noticed was that off the bat the entire staff from top to bottom is like a family," said Lopez. "They treated us the same way all weekend and everyone on my side loved it."

After taking another official to Cal and taking some time with his family to think, Lopez made his commitment to Oregon State official.

- Jared Halus

Talk about a big-time commitment!

Oregon State offensive line coach Jim Michalczik has a reputation as being one of the best offensive line coaches on the west coast, and that reach certainly paid off in landing a marquee prospect in Dylan Lopez.

The 6-foot-3, 275-pounder represents one of the finer additions to the class as he's a very skilled and agile center who could see the field in quick order.

Center is a position that requires a lot of skill and technique and the Beavers have had very reliable options in years' past in Nathan Eldridge & Nous Keobounnam, but both are seniors this season. By landing Lopez, it gives the Beavers nice depth at the spot with a couple of others currently in the program being able to play center as well.

Also worth noting is that he's the second player from the Sunshine State to pick the Beavers this recruiting cycle, indicating that the Beavers' recruiting pitch and reach are becoming more and more national.

Lastly, it's not to be missed that Lopez was a one-time USC commitment... not to mention Cal was recruiting him very hard down the stretch, so in all aspects, this commitment has a huge impact on the programs' continued ability to beat out other Pac-12 schools.

While he's the first offensive lineman to join the fold in 2022, he's definetly not going to be alone as I expect Michalczik and Co. to continue to stay hot on the trail in search of potential teammates.

- Brenden Slaughter