Eagles lineman Weinreich commits to Beavers

Fans of Arroyo Grande High football might need to watch one less college game in the near future in order to keep up with some of their alumni.

Garrett Weinreich, an offensive lineman for the Eagles, verbally committed to Oregon State this past weekend, joining his teammate, quarterback Brent VanderVeen, who also gave a nonbinding commitment to the Beavers this past summer.

In addition to protecting VanderVeen, which is “a huge part of it,” Weinreich said, he’ll be reunited with a former childhood friend, Corvallis (Ore.) High senior guard Isaac Seumalo.

Seumalo, Rivals.com’s No. 1-rated preseason recruit in the state of Oregon, is the son of current Beavers defensive line assistant Joe Seumalo, whose family lived on the Central Coast when he coached at Cal Poly from 2001 to 2004.

Now, he and Isaac may soon line up side-by-side in the trenches.

A 6-foot-6, 290-pound senior, Weinreich also had scholarship offers from Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Washington State, as well as from San Diego State, Fresno State, SMU and San Jose State.

Weinreich saw all he needed to after taking in Oregon State’s game against third-ranked Stanford on Saturday, though, before a crowd of more than 40,000 at Reser Stadium.

“I loved it,” Weinreich said. “The coaching staff and everyone up there is just amazing. It’s crazy. My whole life, I couldn’t imagine playing there, and it’s like a reality now.”

Weinreich also said the surroundings of Corvallis reminded him a bit of the San Luis Obispo area, albeit colder.

He said the Beavers are looking at him likely as a tackle, and he’ll be given a chance to compete for playing time as a true freshman rather than automatically redshirt.

During this past track and field season as a junior, Weinreich placed third overall at the state championship meet in the boys shot put with a toss of 59 5 1⁄2 feet.

“Not only is he talented physically, but mentally he does a great job of approaching the game,” Eagles coach Tom Goossen said, comparing his football IQ to that of a 35-year-old veteran. “He’s a humble individual. He doesn’t draw attention to himself, and he goes about his business in a very professional manner.”

Weinreich will be the latest of several blockers coached by longtime Eagles assistant Scott Shepard, a former lineman in the early 1980s at Oregon, to go on to play in the Pac-12.

“He continually amazes me,” Goossen said of Shepard. “He has a calmness about him that I think kids feed off of.”

Nationally ranked Eagles kicker Garrett Owens verbally committed to Air Force prior to the start of the season.

Classmate Seth Jacobs, a highly regarded outside linebacker and strong safety prospect, has offers from every Pac-12 program except USC and Stanford, as well as a few from the SEC and Big Ten. He has said he’ll likely make his decision following the season, leading up to National Signing Day, which is Feb. 1.

“Obviously they’ve been blessed genetically,” Goossen said, “but you don’t get to that next level without putting in some serious work. And their teammates have helped them continually improve.”

Beavers head coach Mike Riley came to the Eagles’ 45-17 win at Templeton on Sept. 16, when Oregon State had a bye week.

The Eagles have also played this year in front of staff members from the likes of UCLA and Arizona State.

“The kids adapt fairly quickly,” Goossen said of such moments. “They know their job at this point is to play a high school football game. It’s an important time for the kids, and I marvel at how well they’ve handed all of it. It’s been a great experience for them, and they’ve done a great job of focusing on their immediate goals.”

The Eagles (8-1, 5-0) are ranked second in the Western Division of the CIF-Southern Section and are looking to clinch an outright PAC 7 championship in their showdown at home against seventh-ranked San Luis Obispo (7-2, 4-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.

GIRLS TENNIS Playoff pairings

Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo will both host first-round Southern Section Division 3 postseason matches at 2 p.m. Thursday.

The Eagles (21-1), the undefeated PAC 7 champion, will face the winner of today’s wild-card matchup between Long Beach Poly (8-7) and Glendora (12-7).

The Tigers (14-3), the league’s runner-up, will take on Warren (17-2).