Beavers build LV pipeline

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2002 | 10:41 a.m.

Spencer Patterson

Local high school athletes expected to sign letters of intent this week:

Football

Boys Soccer

Girls Soccer

He had traveled more than 1,000 miles, but Kellen Marshall found himself surrounded by familiar faces when he visited Corvallis, Ore., last month.

Four former Southern Nevada prep football stars -- all pencilled in as starters for next year's Oregon State squad -- toured the campus with the Cimarron-Memorial senior, making him feel quite comfortable so far from home.

Today, Marshall officially joined the group, inking a letter of intent with the Pac-10 school as the nation's college signing period kicked off.

"When I went up there I could really relate to them coming from Vegas, and that was a pretty big factor (in my decision)," Marshall said. "From what I've seen, every Vegas guy that's gone up there has had success. Hopefully I can continue that."

Marshall becomes the fifth area player to join the Beavers in just four years, remarkable when you consider the conference's other nine schools boast a total of just four Southern Nevadans on their rosters over that period, with two of those having already finished their playing career.

"Three or four years ago, Oregon State started saying, 'There's talent down there,' and it's grown from there," said Beavers assistant coach Greg Newhouse, the program's primary Las Vegas-area recruiter.

Though prohibited by NCAA rules from discussing Marshall or any other member of the class of 2002 before today's signing period opened, Newhouse offered general thoughts on his school's recent string of successes in a city often passed over by the western states' top football programs.

"We feel it's a growing area, and (head) coach (Dennis) Erickson wants to keep the pipeline going," Newhouse said. "There's a good corps of athletes down there, and we really comb that area."

Though Bonanza graduate Jonathan Jackson attended OSU from 1995-99, the Vegas-to-Corvallis pipeline began in earnest when Erickson signed on as head coach in early 1999.

Among the former NFL coach's first recruiting class was former Chaparral linebacker Richard Seigler, who joined an Oregon State program which had gone 11-34 over its previous four seasons.

That quickly changed, however, as the Beavers improved to 7-5 under Erickson in 1999, a redshirt year for Seigler. That success attracted the attention of Las Vegas High linebacker Jon Pollard, who quickly signed on.

The following season, Seigler emerged as a force for OSU, starting all 12 games and racking up 72 tackles to earn freshman All-American recognition. Better still, his Beavers squad went 11-1, beating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and finishing fourth in the AP poll.

Once again, the program's success paid dividends in Southern Nevada, as Eldorado running back Steven Jackson -- the state's leading rusher -- chose the school from a long list of suitors. Suddenly, in three years, the campus in the Pacific Northwest had taken on a very Vegas look.

"I was up here by myself for a minute," Seigler joked. "Then Jon came up here and then we thought we could help bring in Steven. They saw how I put my faith in Coach Erickson and how the coaches gave me an opportunity to play."

Though Matt Lubick, the Beavers' assistant coach primarily responsible for recruiting Siegler, Pollard and Jackson, left Oregon State in early 2001 to join his father, Sonny, at Colorado State, OSU's Las Vegas-area recruiting passed into the capable hands of Newhouse, the program's linebackers coach.

A former UNLV assistant coach under Tony Knapp and a former player for Nevada-Reno, Newhouse's familiarity with Southern Nevada made him a natural choice to recruit here. From the start, he recognized Corvallis' small-town feel made it a good fit for Las Vegas seniors looking for a quieter atmosphere.

"I coached in Vegas and lived in Vegas, and I know you've got a lot of distractions there and you don't have time for that at this level," Newhouse said. "Here, we eliminate distractions.

"We play at a high level of competition in the Pac-10, we've got a dynamic head coach and we've got a college town environment. It's easy to sell that."

Former Cheyenne star Lawrence Turner, who played for the City College of San Francisco last season, became the fourth area grad at OSU when he enrolled there this spring. He is expected to play safety next year, joining a starting defensive unit that should also include Seigler and Pollard.

Jackson, meanwhile, will likely be the team's primary ball carrier on offense. Initially expected to redshirt last season, the bruising back instead ran for 405 yards and five touchdowns as Ken Simonton's backup on a squad that finished 5-6, staking his claim to next year's starting job.

Now, the 5-11, 175-pound Marshall joins the group. A running back throughout his prep career with nearly 5,000 yards to his credit, the Cimarron product was recruited to play cornerback for the Beavers, with a redshirt year likely next fall.

"We'll have the 'Fab Five' from Las Vegas up here next year," Seigler said. "And hopefully, the guys from Vegas will help carry this team back to the championship stand."com