8/1/2023 football Edit

COMMITMENT ANALYSIS: What Is Oregon State Getting In OL Rakeem Johnson?

Brenden Slaughter, Dylan Callaghan-Croley, & Adam Gorney

BeaversEdge.com Staff

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With the Oregon State football team adding Idaho offensive lineman Rakeem Johnson to the 2024 recruiting class, BeaversEdge Publisher Brenden Slaughter, Recruiting Analyst Dylan Callaghan-Croley, and National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney break down his commitment and fit!

THE COMMITMENT

A commitment a long time in the making, the Beavers offered Johnson in March, and the two sides quickly struck up a strong relationship. Other schools, such as Boston College and Washington State, would offer shortly afterward. Johnson would take an official visit to Corvallis in early June.

"My official visit was amazing," Johnson told BeaversEdge shortly after his official visit. "It was great to see a lot of Corvallis and see what Oregon State has to offer," he added. "My family was very surprised and loved the way we were being treated," he said. "The coaches sat down with them at every meal and made sure they had a great conversation with them." He also talked about his strong relationship with the coaching staff.

"I feel like I have a pretty solid relationship with the staff," he said. "They have sent many letters, even to my mom and dad, which is totally different from what any other school has been doing, so it shows how much they care."

Johnson would take official visits to Washington State and Boise State, but the Beavers set too high of a bar for the other two programs to overcome. That ultimately led to his commitment over the weekend.

"I like their mentality of wanting to develop their players for four years and wanting to be a part of their whole journey to help them become better people and football players," Johnson previously said about what stood out to him over the course of his recruitment...

That sentiment was likely a major reason the Beavers landed Johnson as part of their 2024 recruiting class.

-Dylan Callaghan-Croley

THE IMPACT

Beavers are known for building dams, but with offensive line recruiting this cycle, they've built up the offensive trenches massively.

Oregon State picked up their fifth offensive lineman recruit in the 2024 class last week when Idaho OL Rakeem Johnson announced his commitment!

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound guard certainly has room to grow into his frame and add more size, but offensive line coach Jim Michalczik has a knack for identifying hidden gem talent and that's exactly what Johnson is.

He may be a tad underrecruited playing in Idaho against lesser competition, but hails from Texas and has a great feel for the game, in addition to his solid athleticism, strength, upper body strength, and footwork.

Diving into his film, the first thing that jumps off the screen at me is how well he's able to get downfield and block in the run game for Bishop Kelly. That's something the Beavers place a high emphasis on and something he seems proficient at already.

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