Historical Analysis: Diamonds In The Rough '02-'06

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In a new article series that we're starting at BeaversEdge, we'll be diving deep into the history of Oregon State's football recruiting classes in the Rivals era.

Today, we begin the first of a multi-part series that will focus on under-the-radar and under-recruited guys who turned out to be diamonds in the rough.

To be eligible, the recruit had to be ranked two stars or less as an incoming prospect.

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The first recruiting class in Rivals history saw then-Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson sign 20 recruits, ranking 51st in the nation. The Beavers were coming off a 5-6 campaign in 2001 but were still fresh off a BCS Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame in the prior season.

The diamond in the rough of this recruiting class goes to offensive lineman Adam Koets (CA) who came to Oregon State as a meer two-star recruit but ended up being one of the Beavers' most productive linemen during that timespan.

Koets went on to be drafted by the New York Giants in the 6th Round of the 2007 NFL Draft and played five seasons for the Giants, winning a Super Bowl in his rookie season against the then-undefeated New England Patriots.

Based on the timing of Erickson's February departure, this recruiting class is a bit of a mixed bag. Erickson left Oregon State in February for San Fransisco and Mike Riley was plucked from the New Orleans Saints organization for a second-stint in Corvallis.

There are two obvious gems from this class and it's not close.

Yvenson Bernard will go down in history as one of the most complete running backs in OSU history as Beaver fans are still reminiscing of him poking his nose across the goal-line to beat Missouri in the 2006 Sun Bowl.

Jeff Van Orsow will also live on in OSU folklore for a long time as who could forget his masterful tip at the line of scrimmage against John David Booty & USC in 2006 to preserve the 33-31 victory.

Both Bernard & Van Orsow came in as two-star recruits but emerged as two of the better players the Beavers had in the mid-2000s.

If there was a capstone for Riley in this timespan (03-06) in terms of unearthing star potential, 2004 might just have been the most impressive.

Starting with Keenan Lewis and Brandon Hughes, both guys turned out to be huge hits from the Oregon State coaching staff as they turned out to have really good careers. Sure, there were some struggles early from both guys, but you can't argue their effectiveness as both Hughes and Lewis combined to play about a decade in the NFL.

Levitre might be the most impressive of the list as he was recently nominated for the college football Hall of Fame by Oregon State. Levitre was a standout in Corvallis and went on to play in the NFL for a decade before retiring after the 2018 season.