OSU lands Isaac Seumalo

Locally grown, nationally recognized, Isaac Seumalo was a big catch for the Beavers on Wednesday's Signing Day.

Ties run deep with Oregon State and Isaac, starting with his family. His father, Joe, is the defensive line coach for OSU; and his brother Andrew is a starting defensive tackle for the Beavers.

As both a father and a coach in this process, Joe Seumalo was ecstatic Wednesday when it became official that his son would be donning the orange and black.

"I feel privileged, blessed, all of the above," Joe said. "To have him stay with his commitment here at Oregon State and be able to be a part of something special here; I am thrilled, to say the least."

"We've known Isaac for a long time," said head coach Mike Riley. "We left no stone unturned in recruiting Isaac. Because he's Joe's son, we did not take anything for granted. In doing that, we're being fair to [Isaac], because he ended up being one of the most highly recruited guys on the West Coast."

Isaac got eight other offers, including ones from recent powerhouses like Stanford, Boise State and the University of Southern California, but Joe said Oregon State was always going to be where his son landed.

"It was always Oregon State because I'm here, his brother's here, his connection with Mike Cavanaugh … and his relationship with Coach Riley as well, that's been huge," Joe said.

Joe and Cavanaugh coached together at the University of Hawaii in 1999 and 2000, and according to Joe, Cavanaugh's relationship with Isaac was a crucial part of the decision.

As hard as it might have been, Joe had to throw biases aside and let his son choose what he wanted to do, and not be the one pressuring him into coming to OSU.

"I kind of stayed away from the decision making," Joe said. "If you look at Isaac throughout his life — the academic part of it, the social part of it, just the individual part of it — he's been outstanding."

Having a brother on the team will only add to reasons why this was a no-brainer for Isaac. Especially since they'll be banging helmets in practice next year, as Isaac is an offensive guard and Andrew is a defensive tackle.

"That connection's always been there with Andrew and Isaac," Joe said. "I think there was a moment that kind of solidified itself, which was after that Civil War this past year. After the game, I saw them kind of embrace, and it was a good one. I felt like ‘Okay, I think Isaac is set on it. This is where he wants to be for the next four years. And he wants to make sure that we never lose to the Ducks again.'"

While everyone had pegged Isaac as a near-lock to sign with OSU, it was not always an inevitability. USC made a late push for him, and uncertainties started creeping in for the coaches.

Riley said Isaac came to him "man-to-man" and told him he'd like to visit USC. Needless to say, Riley's pleased with the way things turned out.

"When I look back on it, for him I'm glad, because he was able to explore and make a new decision, where he could make the statement ‘I liked USC, but love Oregon State,' and this is where he's going to be. In the end when you hear that, you can say that was a good process."

Now that it's official, the next step will be how Isaac can contribute to the Beavers. With a lot of uncertainty surrounding the offensive line for 2012, it's definitely not out of the question that he could be a rare true freshman offensive line starter.

The ESPNU Scouting Report on Seumalo states, "He mixes a high effort and physical style of play with a good feel for the game," and also "is a physical and tenacious run blocker."

ESPNU ranks him as the 19th overall recruit nationally, and Scout has him as a five-star recruit and top-ranked guard, while Rivals ranks him third among guards. By most who scout high school athletes for a living, Isaac is a can't-miss guy who is on the right track to doing great things for the Beavers.

Another of OSU's signings on Wednesday was linebacker Joel Skotte from Mountain View High School in Bend. Skotte played against Seumalo a few times in high school and knows what kind of upside he brings to the table.

"He's a strong dude," Skotte said. "When I went one-on-one against him, the only way I could get through was to run around him. He's the best blocker I've ever gone against, it's really not even close."

All of the hype surrounding Isaac will probably continue, leading into fall camp once he becomes a student at OSU and a part of the football team. Staying grounded and level-headed is what his father wants and expects him to be when that time comes.

"I think he's excited about just that opportunity to come and compete at a very high level," Joe said. "And then hopefully when it's all said and done, he's earned himself a position in front of the line, but we'll see what happens."

A lot has been made of Isaac Seumalo's recruiting decision for over a year now. The Corvallis High School product will raise a lot of expectations for the offensive line and the Beavers in general, and the hope for the team is that he lives up to those lofty goals.

"He basically could have chosen where he wanted to go in the country," Riley said.

"He had the benefit of knowing us the best, that either helps you or hurts you. We want guys in the end that know exactly why they're coming here, and I think Isaac does."

Isaac did indeed have his pick of the litter, and he chose Oregon State. Perhaps he can be the starting point for the revitalization of a program that's had a losing record the last two seasons.

Warner Strausbaugh, sports writer

Twitter: @WStrausbaugh

sports@dailybarometer.com