3 days until kickoff, and Keith Poole was nothing short of dynamic

96 down, only three to go.

Yesterday's turn in our countdown series highlighted Cam Skattebo, a player who fans need little reminder of just how much he reinvigorated the Arizona State football program. Today we step back 30 years to examine another player who had a hand in reviving this program after a down period, the one and only Keith Poole.

The late 80's and early 90's were a rough time for the Sun Devil football program. The high point came in 1986 with the Rose Bowl season, but from 1988-1992 the Devils never finished higher than 5th in the Pac-10, and had been winless against the school from Tucson since 1981. The 1993 season of course saw the arrival of Jake Plummer, arguably the face of the Devils in the 1990's, but also saw Keith Poole come in from Clovis High School in California.

Keith's freshman season in 1993 saw him in a very limited role, appearing in 10 games in mostly a bench role, recording 7 catches for 119 yards and one touchdown. He would become a full time starter in 1994, building rapport with Plummer and boosting his productivity to 31 catches for 669 yards and 6 touchdowns, leading the Pac-10 with 21.6 yards gained per reception.

Keith enjoyed a coming out party as a junior in 1995. Firmly entrenched as WR1 following Clyde McCoy's graduation, he single-handedly accounted for nearly half of Plummer's passing yards, surpassing 150 yards in a game three times on the way to a career-high 1,036 passing yards on 55 receptions and a conference-leading 18.8 yards per catch, while also leading the Pac-10 with 7 touchdown receptions.

His rushing ability was first utilized this season as well, running for 82 yards and two touchdowns on the year. His true breakout game came in a thorough 77-28 dismantling at the hands of the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, hauling in 6 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Keith received his first postseason accolades in 1995, getting named First Team All-Pac-10 at the end of the season.

After a heartbreaking collapse at home in the Territorial Cup that saw the Devils fall 31-28 after leading 28-14 in the 4th quarter, the stage was set for redemption in 1996. Keith's production dipped slightly from his junior season, but he still led the Devils with 857 receiving yards on 46 catches, leading the Pac-10 with 7 touchdown receptions, none more memorable than his second quarter touchdown in the 56-14 Territorial Cup win in Tucson.

This touchdown not only produced one of the most iconic photographs for Arizona State football, but sent the Sun Devils to the 1997 Rose Bowl as one of two undefeated teams in the 1996 season (the other being Florida State), with a chance of claiming a share of the national championship despite not playing in a Bowl Alliance bowl game (Rose Bowl would not join the BCS rotation until the 1999 edition).

Unfortunately David Boston and Ohio State had other thoughts, handing the Devils a 20-17 defeat for the only loss of the season, but Keith was well recognized for his performance. He would end the season with First Team All-Pac-10 honors for a second straight season, adding Second Team All-American honors to his resume.

He would end his career in Tempe with 140 receptions (currently 13th in program history), 2,691 receiving yards (6th all-time), and tied Doug Allen's program record of 25 touchdown catches, since broken by Derek Hagan (27).

Keith's career would continue into the NFL when he was drafted in the 4th round (116th overall) by the New Orleans Saints in the 1997 NFL Draft. He would appear in 54 games over 5 seasons in the NFL (26 starts), recording a career stat line of 96 catches for 1,734 yards and 11 touchdown receptions.

Keith returned to Arizona in 2022, stepping into the wide receivers coaching position with Arizona College Prep High School in Chandler.

While not the most prolific receiver in Arizona State football history, Keith's taunting celebration (while worthy of a penalty flag in today's game) has him worthy of induction into the Sun Devil Hall of Fame as far as I'm concerned. Until that day comes, his legacy will live on as the greatest player to don number 3 for the Sun Devils.