Mason Moran

Mason Moran took an unofficial visit to Oregon State this past weekend

(Courtesy of Mason Moran)

The class of 2016 is largely devoid of talented quarterbacks on the West Coast. None of Rivals' top 20 dual-threat signal-callers hails from west of Texas, and only a handful of elite quarterbacks remain available, as the clash for their commitments has grown fierce.

Sensing that increasingly intense recruiting battle, Oregon State got its man Wednesday evening, as Rivals three-star quarterback Mason Moran committed to the Beavers just days after a weekend unofficial visit to Corvallis:

It has been such a blessing and I am excited to say that I have committed to Oregon State University!!🔶🏈🔶 pic.twitter.com/Xz7JsY3wcj — ℳo (@Mason_Moran3) June 4, 2015

"Oregon State, I felt a really good connection with the coaches during my unofficial visit. I feel they give me the best future I could possibly have. They have all the tools, the best coaches for me to pursue my quarterback career," he said. "They've put people into the league. That's my dream. I know it's baby steps, because I just committed to Oregon State, but I feel that's my dream and they give me the best shot at my dream."

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound signal-caller was a unanimous team captain for Chandler High School (Arizona) last season, leading the school to its first football state championship since 1949.

Moran was named all-Arizona at the safety position, but was primarily the back-up quarterback behind Arizona State commit Bryce Perkins.

"Mason Moran is very, very, very vital to our team, because he's an amazing player. It's not what he does on the field, but off the field," U.S. Army All-American running back and teammate Chase Lucas said. "He leads our youth church group and goes to church every Sunday. He's the leader of our team and he's a well-rounded kid on and off the field. There's not a lot of people like Mason."

This year, however, it's Moran's turn to take the reins. And according to Lucas, that's an exciting proposition for Chandler this fall.

"I call him white lightning," Lucas joked. "I think he's the fastest quarterback in the state right now."

Lucas isn't the only one who believes in the talented two-way player, as Oregon State offered Moran without him having started a varsity game.

"It means a ton, because it means they have full faith in me without having started at the varsity level," he explained. "It means a ton that they had full faith in me to give me an offer. With that, they held a special place for me, offering me as a quarterback."

Moran will join a 2016 depth chart that will consist of then-sophomore Seth Collins, this year's likely starter, Utah State transfer Darell Garretson and redshirt sophomores Nick Mitchell and Marcus McMaryion.

Given the possibility of two experienced quarterbacks on the depth chart during his true freshman season, the Arizona product said he's aware that he might redshirt.

"I'm okay with redshirting. I don't look at redshirting as a bad thing at all," he explained. "I look at it as a year to get bigger and stronger and get another year of experience under my belt to learn the offense."

Despite an exciting visit and a commitment to Oregon State, Moran has had a trying week, as his grandfather passed away while the quarterback was returning from Corvallis.

"My papa had been going through a lot of awhile. He was fighting not being able to breathe, not being able to eat, for months on end," he said. "I knew going to Oregon State that he was still (struggling), then before we got on our plane back to Arizona, we got the news my papa passed away. It was devastating news, because we're coming back from an exciting trip. It turned out to be really hard."

This week will be one that Moran will remember for the rest of his life, and he hopes that his commitment to Oregon State ends up being a positive epilogue at the end of a difficult past few days.

My Papa's fight as of last night is over, no more suffering!! God has welcomed him into His Kingdom! I love you Papa! pic.twitter.com/JviVUXPuFU — ℳo (@Mason_Moran3) June 1, 2015

-- Andrew Nemec

anemec@oregonian.com

@AndrewNemec