Two prep football stars commit to Oregon State

Adam Candee

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2003 | 9:51 a.m.

The Las Vegas-to-Corvallis, Ore., football pipeline continues to funnel the area's best high school players to Oregon State.

Desert Pines' Curtis Coker and Foothill's Jeff Vanorsow, a pair of first team All-State defensive linemen, made verbal commitments to the Beavers Tuesday.

Coker and Vanorsow visited the Oregon State campus this past weekend, and Beavers head coach Dennis Erickson arrived Tuesday in Las Vegas to visit both players and their families.

"He said, 'Welcome to the family,' " Coker said.

At 6-foot, 288 pounds, the massive Coker will play defensive tackle at Oregon State. A first team All-South choice on the offensive and defensive lines, Coker became an instrumental force in the Jaguars' drive to the 4A state championship game.

All this from a guy who did not even play football when he began high school.

"I was in the band," Coker said, crediting Jaguars coach Leon Evans for bringing him into football. "I didn't know what to do. My freshman year, I didn't think I'd be signing with a college."

After also considering Colorado State and Nebraska, Coker said his visit to Corvallis sealed his decision.

"I liked the campus, liked the program," Coker said. "They have a good established coaching staff."

Vanorsow, a 6-4, 220-pound standout, also said his time on the OSU campus made the difference. Former Eldorado running back Steven Jackson hosted Vanorsow's visit, and the Foothill senior was sold.

"I took the trip and loved the campus and the small-town atmosphere," Vanorsow said.

UCLA initially showed great interest in Vanorsow, but that disappeared when Bruins head coach Bob Toledo was fired in December. Vanorsow began to lose hope before Oregon State arrived late in the process.

"I was kind of stressing about it for a while because I hadn't heard a thing," Vanorsow said. "It's a good payoff for all the offseason work I've done."

Vanorsow played defensive tackle during Foothill's push to the Sunrise Region semifinals, but he will likely move to defensive end in college, where the Beavers can take advantage of his speed.

Oregon State's recent fondness for Las Vegas area players is evident on its roster. In the 2002 season, the Beavers featured five Valley athletes -- Jackson, Kellen Marshall (Cimarron-Memorial), Jonathan Pollard (Las Vegas), Richard Seigler (Chaparral) and Lawrence Turner (Cheyenne).

The parade to Oregon State may not end with Coker and Vanorsow. Local sources indicate that Erickson also visited Palo Verde's Gerard Lawson as well, but Lawson is said to be considering both the Beavers and UNLV. The athletic 6-1, 170-pound wide receiver/defensive back came on strong late last season.