Arizona State CB Laterrance Welch dismissed from team over theft charges

Earlier this week, Arizona State cornerback Laterrance Welch entered the transfer portal, and it was announced that he had been dismissed from the team. Now, we know the reason why.

On December 2, just two days after the Sun Devils had blown out their rival Wildcats in Tucson, Welch was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona and charged with theft and trafficking of stolen property. The item in question: a watch valued at $300,000.

Once Welch had been arrested, it was discovered that the watch had previously been reported to Arizona State campus police as missing, at which point the Scottsdale police turned Welch over to campus police.

The watch belonged to a fellow teammate, and Welch has supposedly stolen it after the Territorial Cup game. He was arrested while trying to sell the watch at a pawn shop. That led to head coach Kenny Dillingham dismissing Welch from the team entirely, though it was not announced until after the Big 12 championship game.

Welch was in his first year with the Sun Devils after transferring from LSU. The former 4-star cornerback had struggled to see the field with the Tigers, but he had found a role at Arizona State as their third cornerback.

Welch's completion rate allowed of 51.9% and passer rating when targeted of 54.4 were both tops on the team for starting defensive backs, though he also played only a fraction of the snaps as other starters, as the Sun Devils rotate safeties and corners in the slot.

As the Sun Devils prepare for the Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff, Welch's dismissal creates one more hole in the secondary, as safety Shamari Simmons is suspended for the first half of the game after a targeting penalty in the Big 12 title game. Arizona State is appealing the suspension, but the odds don't seem to be in their favor.

The Sun Devils have several young cornerbacks who will likely get a chance to step up into Welch's role, most notably freshmen Rodney Bimage and Plas Johnson.