Looks like the big DT from Independence bailed on UW

It is a bummer isn't it.

But,  probably more of a bummer to UW honks than anyone at this moment.  Nice.

I grew up in Corvallis, I am a HUGE Beaver fan.... and yet... I did NOT go to Oregon State University... Sometimes when you are 18, and you have been in a place for most of your life, and mom and dad are just down the road breathing down your neck... you just need to get out of dodge. Yeah it would be nice to have the kids who live close come here, but I totally understand why a bunch of them don't.

Think about Colt Lyerla... How different could his life had turned out if he had gone out of state, or even a whole 2 hours away to a school in Portland?

NOW, with hind sight I wish I had gone to OSU, but only really because I am a Beaver fan. However at the time leaving the state for me was the exact right decision.

Good luck Marlon, I hope you are happy with your decisions and I hope they treat you well in Southern California. And, hey, if it doesn't work out? You can always come home

Speaking of another home town guy... I wonder what would have become of Tanner Sanders if he had gone a little further away (maybe a smaller school even), and chose a sport to concentrate on....

Well...  IMHO Tanner always had plenty of talent, but was an "ATH" that never chose a sport, let alone a position to concentrate on and so became a "Jack of all trades master of none".  Maybe a different school, set of friends, being further away from his family, etc. would have helped with that.

Further if he had gone to a smaller school (say, PSU, or SDSU), his absolute personal talent wouldn't have changed, but his relative talent would have.  Instead of being a talented walk-on playing mostly scout team, maybe he would have been the starting small forward and blossomed into a great BBall player.  Or maybe instead of being at the end of the QB/WR line he would have gotten consistent playing time, and again, blossomed...  

Just saying, staying close to home, or going to the best school you can get an offer from, even if it is a stretch, isn't always the best decision, for the kid.  Hindsight is 20/20, but if I was Tanner I woudl be quite curious how things would have turned out at a smaller, out of state school...