Oregon State Beavers show off for fans at spring game

The Oregon State Beavers played their spring game, the first in Corvallis for new head coach Gary Andersen, in front of fans at Reser Stadium on April 18, 2015. Randy L. Rasmussen/Staff

(Randy L. Rasmussen)

Oregon State football has gotten its 2016 recruiting class rolling in early June, earning two commitments in as many days, including Thursday's Twitter announcement from junior college safety Michael Johnson:

Its official im a beaver #OrangeAndBlack — Michael Johnson (@Chosen_MJ1) June 4, 2015

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound defensive back, who is currently enrolled at Mt. San Antonio College (Walnut, California), has flown under the radar over the past year, but could represent a significant addition for the Beavers.

Johnson, originally from Hialeah, Florida, was an ESPN four-star recruit in the class of 2014, signing with Louisville over offers from UCF, Nebraska, LSU, West Virginia and others, but he failed to qualify academically.

After a grayshirt season at ASA College in Florida, the defensive back transferred to Mt. San Antonio College and re-established himself as a prospect on major conference programs' radars with an improved academic profile.

Oregon State offered the Floridian in mid-May, positioning itself as the first in line for a promising JC talent whose stock was sure to rise this fall.

That approach paid off Thursday with the defensive back's announcement that he had committed to a future with the Beavers.

Johnson, who has four years to play three, is set to graduate in December and will be ready to enroll at Oregon State in January, according to Johnson's Champagnat Catholic High School football coach Michael Tunsil.

The safety is the second Beavers pledge this week, as Chandler High School (Arizona) quarterback Mason Moran committed Wednesday.

Oregon State's coaching staff has gotten creative this week, adding a quarterback who has never started a varsity game and a former four-star defensive back who was sidetracked for a year, but the end result is the addition of two intriguing, high-upside prospects.

-- Andrew Nemec

anemec@oregonian.com

@AndrewNemec