OSUFootball

The Portland Tribune, Jan 22, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (20 Reader comments)

THOMPSON

Oregon State’s hire of Keith Heyward to replace Nigel Burton and coach cornerbacks was an easy call for head coach Mike Riley and defensive coordinator Mark Banker.

Heyward is a Beaver – a three-year starter at cornerback for Riley and Dennis Erickson from 1998 to 2000 – who impressed OSU coaches with his work as a graduate assistant in 2005 and ’06. He coached linebackers at Division I-AA Cal Poly last fall.

Heyward, 28, is young, black and charismatic. He’ll relate well to the recruits he’ll be dealing with in Portland and Los Angeles.

• Banker, on Burton, who left to become defensive coordinator at Nevada: “It’s a great opportunity for Nigel. When you get the chance to take on more responsibility, you have to take it.”

• The truth on offensive tackle Tavita Thompson, who was suspended for the second half of the 2007 season: He flunked a random drug test and was determined to have used a performance enhancer, which calls for a one-year penalty.

Thompson claims it was a false positive. Oregon State has filed an appeal with the NCAA and hopes to regain his eligibility in time for spring ball.

If not, Thompson – who missed the Beavers’ last six games – wouldn’t be eligible to return until a Nov. 1 game against Arizona State.

• Add three prep verbal commitments to Oregon State’s list, which now numbers 10: Offensive linemen Benji Kemoeatu, 6-3, 315 pounds, and Anthony Siilata, 6-2, 285, both from Kahuku, Hawaii; and Kameron Krebs, a 6-1, 210-pound safety formerly of Kahuku who now lives in Mission Viejo, Calif.

Krebs’ older brother, Kaulin, a quarterback, signed with OSU in 2006 and is on a church mission.

OSU had five recruits in Corvallis last weekend – Krebs and tailback Jovan Stevenson of Tucson, Ariz., who already have committed; cornerbacks Anthony Dye of Corona, Calif., and Kevan Walker of Arcadia, Calif.; and receiver Keynan Parker from Vancouver, British Columbia. Walker is the son of UCLA D-coordinator DeWayne Walker.

Quarterback Nate Stanley and receiver Randy July of Tahlequah, Okla., are expected in for a Wednesday visit. This weekend, the Beavers will play host to 10 recruits, including Kemoeatu, Siilata and linebacker Paipai Falemalu of Kahuku, Sprague linebacker Tony Wilson and West Salem receiver Jordon Bishop. Wilson has committed.

• Oregon State continues its recruitment of Simi Kuli, the defensive tackle from El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., who is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 1 JC player in the nation. Riley visited Kuli at his home last week. Kuli would not be able to enroll at OSU until summer at the earliest.

Offensive tackle Vil Nau of Mt. San Antonio in Walnut, Calif., is expected to sign his letter of intent this winter. He is a possibility to enroll in school this spring, along with JC signee defensive tackle Steven Paea of Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.

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