After experiencing snow in Corvallis, Oregon State football coach Mike Riley didn’t have to be asked twice about accepting a bid to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.
"We landed in a great spot for the Beavers, I’ll tell you that," said Riley, whose team arrived in town Thursday for its Dec. 24 game with Boise State.
"It is like icing on the cake," Riley said.
And, weather was only part of it.
"Anytime we can go and play (a bowl game) in a place where we recruit, that’s a bonus for us," Riley said. "And we’ve always put a lot into recruiting Hawaii. Hawaii has been so good to the Beavers over the years. We’ve had so many good players and developed so many relationships with the schools, teachers and coaches."
The 6-6 Beavers have five players from Hawaii on their roster and commitments from at least two more for national letter of intent day in February, Kaiser linebacker Fitou Fisiiahi and Kapolei defensive tackle Kalani Vakameilalo, according to recruiting services.
They are pursuing at least two others prospective recruits.
Though it is currently a recruiting "dead period," Riley said the Beavers will "continue to explore" other recruiting possibilities here when things open up.
The game comes with the added benefit of allowing the Beavers to become familiar with Aloha Stadium, where they are scheduled to play the second game of the 2014 season (Sept. 6) against Hawaii.
"That will give us some familiarity there, that’s a positive, for sure," Riley said. "There are a lot of residuals for us here."
Boise State hires 2 new coordinators
BOISE, Idaho >> New Boise State coach Bryan Harsin has convinced top assistants at Texas A&M and Stanford to come back and coach at their alma matter.
Harsin announced this week that former Broncos player and assistant Marcel Yates will return to be defensive coordinator. On the other side of the ball, Harsin tapped former Boise State quarterback Mike Sanford Jr. to be the offensive coordinator.
Yates played defensive back at Boise State and joined the coaching staff from 2003 to 2011 before taking the job of co-defensive coordinator at Texas A&M.
So far, Harsin has officially announced the hiring of four assistants.
Harsin accepted the job last week and will take over from his mentor, Chris Petersen, who is now at Washington after eight highly successful seasons with the Broncos.
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Associated Press
