Arizona State Football’s Remarkably Small 2023 Class
By Kyler Burd
What is going on at Arizona State? As of June 20th, the Sun Devils only have one recruit in the 2023 class.
There is currently just one player committed to Arizona State for the 2023 season. Quarterback Israel Carter from Centennial HS in Corona, CA is the only player who is slated to play in Tempe after this upcoming season.
The 3-star recruit is the 42nd-ranked QB in his class and had offers from 12 other Division 1 schools before finally settling on Arizona State.
Greg Biggins of 247Sports had this to say about Carter after he participated in the SoCal Elite 11:
"Carter was our top guy in the ’23 class. He’s mechanically strong and we really like the way the ball comes out of his hand. He’s a plus athlete who is devastating in the open field when he can tuck it run but has really improved as a pocket passer over the last year. The Arizona State commit has a lot of physical tools in terms of his arm strength and athleticism and his game is trending in the right direction."
Whether or not Carter will be the quarterback of the future for the Sun Devils is obviously up-in-the-air, but he is a talented addition to the roster and a worthy addition to the quarterback room.
Why so few recruits to Arizona State?
The obvious answer seems to be the pending NCAA allegations against the Arizona State football program.
It must be hard to pitch out on the recruiting trail when there are so many unknowns for the future of the program. If Arizona State is suspended from postseason play that alone could sway the decision of plenty of recruits and would likely trigger another wave of transfers that could rock the team to its foundations.
When resolution could come regarding the ongoing investigation is a big unknown. In February, ASU President Michael Crow indicated it could be up to a year before decisions are handed down by the big-wigs at the NCAA.
That will seriously impact recruiting not only for 2023, but potentially 2024 as well, which could have serious repercussions for the future of the team.
Luckily, Arizona State had a good deal of success in the transfer portal this offseason and their experience working that system might be critical to finding any success in the coming years.