13 Days until Football: Chris McGaha was a model of consistency

With 13 days to until kickoff, we have almost reached the promised land. Yesterday featured Dan Kush, who powered the Devils to victory in the 1975 Fiesta Bowl with his three field goals. Today, we focus on one of the more prolific wide receivers in Sun Devil history, Chris McGaha.

Hailing from Moon Valley High School in Phoenix, Chris entered the college scene with numerous accolades to his name. A multi-sport athlete, he lettered four times in football, three times in basketball, and twice in track and field, earning himself Big School Player of the Year honors from the Arizona Republic after wrapping up his high school career with 55 touchdown receptions.

Chris had his options of where to commit coming out of high school, choosing Arizona State over offers from Arizona, Boise State, and San Diego State. He would end up redshirting his freshman season in 2005 with a crowded wide receiver room that included Derek Hagan, Rudy Burgess, and Terry Richardson.

The 2006 season saw Chris establish himself as one of the top freshman receivers in the Pac-10. He appeared in all 13 games for the Devils, starting the final 5 games, and finished third on the team with 238 receiving yards on 16 catches.

He recorded the first touchdown reception of his career on September 16th at Colorado, finishing the season with three touchdowns. The Sporting News would award Chris Pac-10 All-Freshman honors at the end of the year.

The 2007 season turned out to be a career year for Chris as a redshirt sophomore. He started all 13 games, leading the Sun Devils with 61 catches and 830 receiving yards, adding one touchdown reception in the 52-34 loss to Texas in the Holiday Bowl.

He showed versatility on special teams as well, returning five kickoffs for a total of 100 yards, and one punt return for six yards. He was a ball magnet, catching at least 4 passes in ASU's final 9 games of the season, including a season-high 9 catches both against UCLA and Texas. That game against UCLA also produced his first career 100 yard game, finishing with 123 yards in the 24-230 win in Los Angeles.

He wasn't just a stat padder, he was an efficient receiver. A whopping 72% of his catches (44 of 61) resulted in first downs. His performance earned him Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 honors at the end of the season, as well as the Mike Bartholomew Most Improved Offensive Player Award at the end-of-season team banquet.

In the offseason, Chris underwent surgery on his toe, and while he still started all 12 games of the season, his production suffered as the recovery bothered him throughout the year.

Despite the struggles, he finished second on the team with 35 catches for 501 yards, adding one touchdown reception. He had multiple catches in 10 of 12 games, and was one of two Sun Devils to record a catch in every game, the other being Michael Jones.

Determined to put on a better showing to finish his college career, Chris returned for his senior season in 2009. Once again he started all 12 games, giving him 42 consecutive starts to end his career. He finished second on the team in receiving with 56 catches for 673 yards behind Kyle Williams (57 catches, 815 yards), and set a career high with 4 touchdown receptions.

Easily the best game of his season and career came at home against Oregon State on October 3rd when he hauled in 15 catches for 165 yards, both single-game highs for him in his career, and four catches shy of Ron Fair's program record of 19 catches in a game.

He would add another 100 yard game a month later against USC, catching 9 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown. He was the only Sun Devil receiver to catch a pass in every game, recording multiple catches in 10 of 12 games for the second straight season. His bounce back season was recognized when he was named Second-Team All-Pac-10 at the end of the year.

At the time of his graduation, Chris was one of six Sun Devils to record 150 career receptions and 2,000 receiving yards, finishing with 168 catches and 2,242 yards. He finished 3rd all-time in receptions (currently 5th) and 7th all-time in receiving yards (currently 10th), setting a standard of stability that was much needed in the late 2000's. He went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft, getting signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent but waived before ever seeing a down on the field.

A fan favorite for his ability to make tremendous catches as well as his consistent play, Chris McGaha often tops the list of some of the more overlooked wide receivers in program history. Not overlooked here, he makes our list with 13 days until kickoff.