Oregon State has been on fire on the recruiting trail, specifically the past 7-10 days as the Beavers coaching staff have now landed nine verbal commits in just one week’s time.

Kudos to Jonathan Smith and the rest of this still very new Beaver coaching staff for identifying “their guys” and pursuing them all the way throughout their recruitment. This staff has done a really good job of identifying talent that they see fits what style of play they want to implement as we enter a new era of Oregon State football.

However, on Friday evening, the staff finally landed the headliner in the 2018 class. 247Sports 4-star ATH Matthew Tago, who projects to play linebacker with the Beavers, committed to Oregon State over finalists Nebraska, Utah. Tago took to Periscope to make his announcement and shared it for fans via his Twitter account:

Tago, who is a former UCLA commit, also held offers from Boise State, BYU, Colorado, USC, Washington State, and others. Tago also took his official visit to check out Corvallis on January 19th followed by an official visit to Lincoln, Nebraska the following weekend.

At 6-foot-3, 230-pounds, Tago played both quarterback and linebacker for Quartz Hill in Lancaster, CA was recruited by new linebacker coach Trent Bray and will come into the 2018 season as a linebacker either on the inside or outside.

Having that sense of family already established truly helped seal the deal for Tago as he has mentioned previously numerous times about how close he is with current Oregon State commits such as Isaiah Smalls and current players like Charles Moku Watson. In the end, the ability to play in the PAC-12 under a new energized staff while also playing close to home helped Tago’s choice that much more clear by Friday evening.

247Sports ranks Tago as the No. 15 athlete in the country and comes in as the No. 258 overall prospect in the 2018 class. Oregon State is now up to No. 57 in 247Sports team recruiting rankings as well which is seriously impressive jump considering where they were just a month ago down in the high 80’s.

It’s important to note that the No. 57 ranking is coming from 247Sports alone, not their composite rankings. The composite rankings takes the rankings from 247Sports, Rivals, Scout, and ESPN and compiles them all together to find the average. In this case, Oregon State’s team rankings according to 247Sports composite team recruiting rankings is at No. 68. Still a big jump compared to where the Beavers were not too long ago.

With Tago’s commitment, the Beavers now have 19 total commits in the 2018 class, with 11 of them already signed, and will finish with anywhere from 3-6 more commits to complete this class. High praise to Jonathan Smith and this staff for coming in right away and making their presence felt on the recruiting trail. Beaver fans should at least feel optimistic about this team’s ability to recruit. There is still a long ways to go moving forward but considering how much time they have had since the staff was completed, I would say they've done an admirable job.

Tago’s Hudl highlights:

Want more coverage of Oregon State recruiting? Want to know who the Beavers are targeting before National Signing Day on February 7th? Make sure you give @lucas_aguilar27 and @BuildingTheDam a follow on Twitter to stay up to date at all times.