: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Opinion piece contributed by Mike Slifer, editor of Devils in Detail.
When I talk to or listen to people talk about Arizona State football, the term “sleeping giant” is used quite often. ASU is one of the biggest universities in the nation. It’s in warm weather climate. It’s in a big city.
So, experts in college football cannot understand why ASU still hasn’t quite joined the elite of the PAC-12. Now, one could argue that the Sun Devils are just fine, after beating both USC and UCLA this past season and winning the PAC-12 South. But, I think what they are curious about is why ASU isn’t a perennial contender in the conference, why it isn’t a “destination job” for coaches and why talented recruits don’t flock to Tempe like they do to Los Angeles.
To me, the answer is quite simple. Hype. Yes, the weather in southern California is gorgeous. Yes, the beach is fun to look at and walk around. But it’s the Hype that kids are after. In the minds of 17-18 year olds, LA is a glamorous town. It’s where all the action is. It’s where movies are made and where rap stars live. The perception is that if you are in LA, the lights shine brighter on you.
Of course, nowadays with the media being what it is, every team is covered instantly and every program is on TV every week. But the allure of Los Angeles/Hollywood is real. Top prospects believe they will get more coverage and exposure if they are in SoCal. Because of this, UCLA and USC have no problem landing almost every recruit they target.
Some will argue that the tradition of USC and UCLA attract great players. Fair enough. But tradition is more applicable to people of a generation or two older than these high school kids. They want attention and they want to rub elbows with famous people. I know for a fact that several high school kids want to go to USC because they know that Snoop Dogg (amongst other celebrities) will come hang out at practice and be on the sidelines during games. I have a friend that played at USC in the early 90’s. He was an all-conference defensive back. He got invited to the Playboy Mansion for a party during his senior year. He got invited for no other reason than he played for the Trojans. The all-conference DB from Washington got no such invitation. In fact, last year ASU lost out on a local player to UCLA because in the player’s own words: “Being in LA will help me develop my brand.” His brand. That’s a 17 year old. The reality is that even though they don’t all say it, many of them are thinking the same thing.
This allure of Stardom allows both USC and UCLA to recruit nationally, while ASU and everyone else (except for maybe Oregon—that’s another story) has to recruit regionally and take a lot of kids that USC/UCLA don’t want.
To his credit, coach Todd Graham and his staff have put together a solid recruiting class. But it’s the result of hard work and it is an uphill battle.
Bottom line, no matter how successful ASU is on the field, they will always have to fight for a seat at the table with highly touted recruits.