CORVALLIS - Brent McNeil left home after graduating from Birmingham High in the Los Angeles area for the Big Apple in search of his future.

A year living with relatives in a new world helped him mature and gain focus.

It was the roundabout route, but three years later and after two seasons of playing at a junior college,

McNeil is part of the Oregon State football team and considered an important part of the offensive line for the next two seasons.

"I had to define myself," McNeil said. "In high school, I was a good kid. But I was in a mixed crowd. I told my dad I want to go somewhere to start over. So I moved to New York and I found myself."

One of McNeil's first tasks when moving into his bedroom in his uncle's house was to put up a poster on the wall. It had a checklist of his 10 goals for his life.

First was to play college football, and then earn a four-year degree. So far he's on pace.

"I always wanted to play college football," McNeil said. "I knew sitting out a year allowed me to regroup and get everything right. And now I'm right here, and I have two years to get a BA."

It wasn't hard to become inspired in his new surroundings. McNeil's uncle is former NFL standout, Freeman McNeil. He works with the New York Jets organization, helping athletes deal with life away from the field.

McNeil's time there was spent working out, hanging out at the Jets facility and bagging groceries. Doing the latter job humbled him, and allowed a bad taste from Birmingham to fester.

"In high school my coach didn't put me out there," McNeil said of his recruiting process. "My coach told me I was too short. At that time I was 290, so I was too small. I lost confidence. I sat out a year, went to New York and got bigger. Then I came back. That's what's driving me now, to prove him wrong. Once I prove him wrong, I can show him I can play Division I."

It may have been a motivational tool by the coach because former OSU player Dorian Smith had the same story coming out of Birmingham, and he was a first-team All-Pacific-10 Conference defensive end last season.

McNeil returned home and played for El Camino College, where he was a first-team All-Mission Conference selection. He bulked up there into a

6-foot-3, 325-pound frame, and used his size well.

That led to most of the Pac-10 and other schools interested in his services. Arizona State was a close second to OSU, and UCLA came in late because his uncle is an alum.

Since the Bruins weren't interested in McNeil out of Birmingham, he wasn't interested in them.

The Beavers, however, need immediate help on the offensive line, especially at tackle. McNeil has played both tackle spots and left guard before.

"I was looking around at schools, and I had a lot of back east schools interested in me and they sugar coated everything," McNeil said. "But coach (Mike) Cavanaugh told me man-to-man that he liked me, but didn't promise anything to me. I thought to myself that I'm going to have to prove myself to him. And I didn't want to go to a college and have them throw me a job and I get lazy and be a failure to everyone."

Like before, a coach's words made an impression on him.

He signed with the Beavers in the early signing period and prepared for the season. He dropped 15 pounds, and wants to lose 15 more.