Report: Former Oregon State commit Brandon Smith charged with attempted murder

Former Oregon State football commit Brandon Smith is facing an attempted murder charge, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported Friday night. The incident took place the same day he announced his commitment.

Smith was a running back at Santa Barbara City College for the past two seasons and was gearing up to take his talents to Oregon State, announcing his commitment to the Beavers June 2. However, that same day, he was involved in an incident in which police responded to a fight, according to Rittenberg. A 20-year-old man was injured and four people — including smith — were arrested June 7. All four faced charges of attempted murder, robbery and conspiracy. Smith is still in jail, facing a $2 million bond.

Smith never signed with Oregon State, Rittenberg reported, and he won’t be joining the Beavers. This past year at Santa Barbara, he rushed for 1,231 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Oregon State is coming off an impressive 2022 season. The Beavers went 10-3 overall and 6-3 in Pac-12 action, but made a big-time addition at quarterback this offseason via the transfer portal.

DJ Uiagalelei is now in at quarterback from an up-and-down career at Clemson. He threw for 2,521 yards and 22 touchdowns last year, but saw Cade Klubnik take over for him as the starting quarterback and he decided to take his talents elsewhere. Now, Uiagalelei is joining an offense that ranked sixth in the Pac-12 in scoring offense with 32.2 points per game in 2022.

In fact, On3’s J.D. PicKell predicted the Beavers can be a sleeper team in the Pac-12 this season.

“In the Pac-12, I like Oregon State,” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “I like Oregon State a whole heck of a lot. They’re at plus-900 odds, fifth best to win the Pac-12. And they’re a team that just knows who they are. They got an identity about themselves. Breaking in a new quarterback, a lot of talent, I think [they’ve] got something to prove in DJ Uiagalelei. And I like the schedule. Anytime you pick a dark horse, you gotta take a look at the schedule. They got Utah, UCLA, Washington all at home.

“It’s where you insert the eyes emoji. Right here. You’re looking around and saying, alright, (are) you see what I’m seeing? Fifth best odds, a team that won 10 games a season ago? Alright. Jonathan Smith has those boys playing. So I like Oregon State to be a dark horse within that conference.”