This week, ASU football secured a verbal commitment from stud linebacker Malik Lawal. Lawal, from Temecula, CA, is considered a three star recruit as an outside linebacker. At 6’1″ and 225 pounds, Lawal is already built for the Spur or Devilbacker position at ASU. And he’s still got another year of high school football to play. The ASU coaching staff is hoping to sign him in January 2015.
The only “knock” on Lawal is that he is coming off of knee surgery due to a torn ACL. Because of that injury, many big-time programs have backed off of recruiting him or making official offers. However, it’s a good bet that during or after his senior season, several PAC-12 schools, including USC and UCLA will be recruiting him heavily.
Lawal joins seven other high school players that have verbally committed to play for coach Todd Graham at Arizona State. Of course, all of these commitments are verbal only and are not official until they sign in January. But these eight are considered to be pretty firm commitments. Although one of the two quarterbacks in this class may change his mind and consider another option.
QB commit Brady White is considered a pocket passer type quarterback, while fellow 2015 quarterback commit Bryce Perkins (Chandler High School) is considered a dual-threat quarterback. White is a four-star recruit and an ESPN top 300 in the nation. Depending on how the season plays out and all they hype that goes with recruiting, one of those two might have a change of heart.
The Sun Devils also have a couple 2015 recruits that for the time being are being recruited and listed as “athlete”. Morie Evans, Tony Nicholson and Alfred Smith could play either offense or defense. Their potential place on this team will have to be determined later, depending on the needs of the team and the college-level skills they possess.
However, landing a legitimate talent at linebacker in Malik Lawal is an excellent “get” by the ASU coaching staff.