Trent Bray, Oregon State football head coach

College football has become transfer palooza, but Oregon State coach Trent Bray remains steadfast that the high school ranks remain the most viable path to success.

The Beavers announced Wednesday an early signing day class of 18 players, 17 who are high school seniors. It was a class heavy on defense, particularly at cornerback and linebacker.

Bray is committed to developing young players, and it’s what he sold during his first year as Oregon State’s head coach. He believes OSU’s history of taking a freshman and molding them into a potential NFL talent during his most recent tenure — 2018 as an assistant coach, 2021 as defensive coordinator, 2024 as head coach — “is always intriguing to a young person,” Bray said.

It’s undeniable, though, that many players aren’t taking the traditional four-to-five year path to develop at one school. That “show me” window may only be two years for some. Bray agrees that is the case at many schools.

“It’s really the administration you’re working for. I feel good about Oregon State and their ability to allow you to develop a roster,” Bray said. “You saw it with coach (Jonathan) Smith, and what we did over that period of time. High school recruiting, to me, and junior college recruiting is going to be the main area that we attack.”

Bray also believes the new Pac-12 with schools located in the West, has appeal to certain players.

“It’s really the only conference in the country that you can play regionally anymore. For a California kid, a Washington kid, an Oregon kid, the ability for your family to truly watch you play every weekend has been an intriguing thing for some of these guys,” Bray said.

To that point, 13 of the 18 Oregon State signees live in Oregon, Washington, Washington and Nevada. The Beavers’ two in-state recruits are West Linn offensive lineman Jake Normoyle and Crane tight end Cody Siegner. Just north of the Columbia River in Vancouver is offensive lineman Noah Thomas.

Bray said the focus to sign several cornerbacks and outside linebackers had to do with senior losses, and juniors with a year left at those positions. Bray anticipates moving one or more of the outside linebackers, like Niklas Fisher and Jesse Myers, inside as that has worked for Oregon State in the past.

The early 2025 class also includes three players from Liberty High in Nevada, one being running back Skyler Jackson, son of former OSU great Steven Jackson. Although it appears that the Beavers have a pipeline to Liberty, Bray said they were recruiting Jackson and linebacker Jeremiah Ioane before they transferred to Liberty.

Seven signees plan to enroll early and participate in Oregon State spring practice. They are safety Sean Craig, linebackers Bleu Dantzler and Ioane, cornerbacks Trey Glasper, David Madison and Jalil Tucker. A seventh is Normoyle, who will enroll for spring quarter and participate during the second half of spring drills.

With a few exceptions, Bray said enrolling early, “if they’re going to have a chance to play as a freshman, it’s really, almost the only way.” It’s not just the 15 spring practices. It’s getting accustomed to school by attending winter and spring quarters at Oregon State, and participating in winter conditioning.

The only player who verbally committed to OSU but wasn’t announced with the class is quarterback Tristan Ti’a. Bray said “everything’s good with him,” and that Ti’a plans on signing in February so he can celebrate with other signees from his high school, Amador Valley High in Pleasanton. Calif. A source told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Ti’a is completely committed to attending Oregon State.

December 4 is the earliest start for the early signing period. It was moved to take stress off coaching staffs preparing for the College Football Playoff and bowl games, as well as prepping for the transfer portal period, December 9-28.

Bray laughed when he was asked about the start of the transfer portal.

“The portal window technically has been open for a couple months now, when you talk about coaches recruiting our guys and guys saying they intend to enter the transfer portal,” Bray said.

Asked how many of his players have been contacted by parties from other schools, Bray said “anyone that started for us.”

As for Oregon State getting busy in the portal, Bray doesn’t expect to be as active as a year ago, when the Beavers’ roster was rocked by the sudden departure of Jonathan Smith. Bray said he’ll be looking for about a half dozen players, with the heaviest concentration at offensive line due to the loss of multiple starters, then perhaps a pass rusher, a defensive lineman, cornerback and quarterback.