ASU Football: Comparing ASU’s Signees Versus the PAC-12 North
By Mike Slifer
While a side-by-side, player-by-player comparison is nearly impossible, it is still interesting to analyze how the Sun Devils fared with recruiting against their opponents to the North.
As class rankings go, the only PAC-12 North team that recruited better than ASU was Stanford. The Cardinal came in at #15 with their class, while ASU finished #19. The Sun Devils even bested the “machine” at Oregon, whose class was ranked 27th nationally. The rest of the North is rounded out with Washington at #45, Cal at #46, Washington State at #61 and Oregon State at #67.
Stanford landed three recruits from Arizona, the headliner being OL Casey Tucker from Chandler. They also took OL Austin Hall from Brophy Prep and LB Lane Veach from Gilbert Perry High School. Tucker was recruited by ASU and had narrowed his choices down to Stanford and the Sun Devils. Two players stand out to recruiting analysts: First is defensive end Solomon Thomas from Texas. He is regarded as an impact player who can contribute right away. The other is QB Keller Chryst. Chryst is rated the #3 pro style quarterback in the country. These two, amongst others, make the Stanford class a heralded one. Chryst will obviously have to sit and watch current Stanford quarterback Hogan play for a couple of seasons unless he really asserts himself as a superior player. Either way, the PAC-12 will face a formidable quarterback at Stanford for years to come.
The Cal Bears landed QB Luke Rubenzer from Scottsdale Saguaro High School. Even though the Bears have a solid quarterback in returning sophomore Jared Goff, Rubenzer is talented and will play someday. Cal also landed a couple of sorely needed wide receivers in Erik Browne and DeVonte Downs. ASU does not play Cal next season, and unless there is a colossal shake up, they won’t see the Bears in the PAC-12 championship game, either.
Oregon signed 4-star receiver Jalen Brown from Phoenix Mountain Pointe. Brown is a highly ranked player and is very talented. It’s a huge loss for the Arizona schools to let him get away. The Ducks also landed defensive lineman Jalen Jelks from Phoenix Desert Vista. But the big recruiting splash from Oregon was signing 4-star running back Royce Freeman. Freeman is somewhat of a departure for Oregon. He is not the elusive speedster that the Ducks have typically recruited recently. Freeman is more of a bruiser. He’s actually been compared to Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey–an NFL type body with the talent to go with. Oregon’s other prized recruit is QB Morgan Mahalak. Mahalak is in the mold of current Oregon QB Marcus Mariotta at 6’3″ 190 pounds and rated the No. 5 dual threat quarterback in the nation. In addition to these 4-star recruits, the Ducks also added some athleticism to their secondary by signing some JUCO transfers. As with Cal, the Sun Devils don’t play Oregon in the regular season next year. But Oregon is always in the running to represent the North in the PAC-12 championship game.
The Washington Huskies are in somewhat of a rebuilding year. They have a new coach and lost several key players including their leading passer, rusher and receiver. With the loss of Price, Sankey and Sefarian-Jenkins, Washington has to overhaul the offense and probably the entire culture in general. However with new coach Chris Peterson, opponents would be mistaken to underestimate the Huskies next year. Peterson signed 5-star safety Budda Baker, a local kid that was recruited by just about every school in the nation. Peterson also secured QB K.J. Carta-Samuels, a highly rated pro-style quarterback. The signing of Carta-Samuels might be more significant than previously expected with the suspension of returning QB Cyler Miles. ASU plays Washington again in 2014. At the very least, the Washington players will want some payback for the thumping the Sun Devils put on the Huskies in October. That loss to ASU was essentially the knockout punch for the Huskies season.
Oregon State took an Arizona player in OL Trent Moore from Hamilton High School in Gilbert. The Beavers also flipped an ASU commit from California at the eleventh hour. OL Kammy Delp was all set to become a Sun Devil, but changed his mind the night before signing day. His flip caused ASU to only be able to sign two offensive linemen in the entire class. The other curious fact about Oregon State’s class is that they signed four quarterbacks. Four. That’s a lot–especially with Sean Mannion returning. ASU plays Oregon State again in 2014. Time will tell how that matchup will play out. But without WR Brandin Cooks, the line is that Oregon State will struggle to put up points.
Washington State didn’t “steal” any Arizona high school players. They didn’t fare very well in the national rankings as far as recruiting, but head coach Mike Leach doesn’t appear to care. He’s happy with his signees. They did signs 6 defensive backs, which was a big need for them. They also picked up a pro-style QB from Florida. The Cougars are not generally thought of as a threat to do any damage, but as always, if they are underestimated, they’ll beat you. Just ask Arizona.