Oregon State WR Jesse Legree flying under the national radar amid incredible season

The Oregon State Beavers always seemed to be a "second-tier" Pac-12 football program, and that was when the Pac-12 was the "Conference of Champions."

That iteration of the conference is no more, but the Pac-12 has made a comeback with Oregon State and Washington State acting as the headliners.

The Beavers are trying to dominate this new-look conference, and so far they're 2-2 on the season. They're about to head into Pac-12 play in Week 5 with a game against Colorado State, though.

In the meantime, Oregon State is making news because of the incredible play of freshman wide receiver Jesse Legree.

Earlier this week, Legree was named the Pac-12 Conference's Freshman of the Week. It's the fourth week in a row that he's won the award, which points to just how good of a season he's having for the Beavers.

Legree was given the honor after notching six catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-7 win over UTEP.

Jesse Legree has been quietly dominant for Oregon State

On the season, Legree has caught 23 passes for 585 yards and six touchdowns. Only Ohio State Buckeyes superstar Jeremiah Smith has more receiving yards this season, and Legree is tied for fourth nationally in touchdown catches.

At one point, Legree didn't have any committable FBS offers. He's now on his way to a freshman All-American season.

“I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I decided to play football at a collegiate level,” Legree told James Crepea of Oregon Live. “To go through these past nine months and coach (JaMarcus Shephard), (offensive coordinator Mitch) Dahlen and (receivers) coach (James Finley), the amount of trust they have in me and allowing me to make them big plays, it’s been amazing to feel and be a part of.”

Legree is averaging an incredible 25.4 yards per catch as a 5-foot-10, 172-pound freshman from Baltimore, Maryland.

Not only is he doing this straight across the country from where he grew up, but he's doing it as a relatively new wide receiver. He only started playing wideout during his senior season in high school.