[ COLLEGE RECRUITING ]
Perry picks
Oregon StateThe Beavers beat out Hawaii and
Arizona for the prize recruit
This time, the papers have been sent and received.
One day after the University of Hawaii pulled its scholarship offer, Kahuku center Jeremy Perry signed a letter of intent yesterday to play football for Oregon State.
Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai faxed the paperwork and it was received by the Beavers' athletic department at about 1:30 p.m. Hawaii time.
The receipt of the document made Perry's commitment official and it ended a weeklong wait. On Feb. 4, national letter of intent signing day, Perry signed papers to play for both Hawaii and Arizona, but he didn't send either one and said he needed more time to think it over. In the meantime, coaches, friends, family, Kahuku officials and media -- as well as college football fans in three states -- were left waiting for his final word.
"The stress is over," Perry said at 2 p.m. yesterday. "I was really stressed."
He added that he picked Oregon State because he felt it was his best option and that he definitely wanted to go somewhere on the mainland.
"When I went on my recruiting trip there, I was really impressed with the coaches and the facilities," the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Perry said. "It was kind of cold, but the coaches were all nice and open. That's not to say that UH and Arizona coaches weren't. I had been leaning toward Oregon State and Arizona for a while, but my family wanted me to stay home, so that's why it was so difficult."
Perry joins three other Hawaii high school recruits at Oregon State --teammates Tevita Finau, a tight end, and linebacker Walker Vave and Saint Louis two-way lineman Tavita Thompson. Vave will go on a church mission and Finau needs to get a qualifying entrance-exam score, according to Beavers defensive coordinator Mark Banker, who does the school's Hawaii recruiting.
Banker compares Perry to former Kahuku and Nebraska guard Toniu Fonoti, who is now with the San Diego Chargers.
"Jeremy is his own person, but he's that caliber of player," Banker said. "We actually feel he is one of the most under-recruited players in the country."
That's saying something, since Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State were among many schools that were also trying to win the Perry sweepstakes.
"We'd like him to play guard," Banker continued. "We need a good, physically strong player who can move those 300-pounders off the ball. Jeremy can do that, and he also has the agility to pull. He's ready to come in here and see playing time and push for a starting position."
Livai is glad the media attention surrounding Perry's decision is over.
"I can go on with my life," said Livai, who fielded calls from reporters in Hawaii, Arizona and Oregon for a week. "It's a relief for many people, including me. All I could tell people all week was that I knew as much as they did. It was up to Jeremy. I think it helped him make a decision when UH pulled out. I can honestly say I didn't know what he was going to do, because it was a surprise to me that he picked Oregon State."
Perry said he would have picked the Beavers even if Finau and Vave weren't also going there.
"But the fact that they're going there, too, makes it even better," he said.
