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Usher re-opens his recruitment

Oregon State scored one of their biggest recruiting coup in recent years a few weeks ago when they landed Los Angeles (Calif.) Jefferson wide out Austin Usher. Usher, one of the nation’s premier receivers has now backed off his commitment and said he’s no longer considering the Beavers right now.
“I’m going to go in a different direction now,” Usher said. “Basically, the main reason I committed to Oregon State was because of my brother (Whitfield). We’re real close and the idea of having him around so he can guide me and show me the ropes was something I wanted.
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“Well, I’m sure you heard about the recent story where four Oregon State players were suspended and he was one of them. The thing is, he had nothing to do with it and even walked away while it was going on. The papers really made it sound like a big race thing but it wasn’t. It was two people arguing, it carried outside and a fight broke out but Whitfield had nothing to do with it and I even heard that from other people there because me and my coaches called around to find out what really happened.
“They still suspended him for a game and that was just kind of the icing on the cake for him because all year, he has felt like he was getting much love from the coaches. Then they go and suspend him for something he had no part in, it really upset our whole family.
“I talked to him about it recently and he just sounds miserable there right now and told me it might be better if I look around more, which I was thinking about doing anyway. So I’ve decided to open things up again and have scheduled a trip to Cal (Dec. 17) and Arizona (Jan. 14). I’m also looking at Washington and Oregon too but Oregon State is pretty much out of it right now.
“The school I’m really liking right now is Cal. I camped there over the summer and I got along really well with the players and coaches. That’s where I was leaning for a long time but then I just felt like I wanted to be at Oregon State because of Whitfield. I probably committed a little too soon but I plan to take a few more trips this time before I make my decision.”
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