Arizona State Recruiting Round-Up

Kimball Niumatalolo returning an INT for a TD

Recent Commits

Kimball Niumatalolo, LB, 6-1/235 (NR): a fast player with a ton of determination; don’t be fooled by his size.

Jake Sheffield, DT, 6-3/275 (NR): gained versatility after two years in Marine Corps, which drew ASU’s attention towards him; at the ripe age of 25, he brings maturity to the table.

Kody Kohl, TE, 6-3/220 (NR): possess a good football mentality plus showed off impressive skills in camp; a brother on the team helped making the decision to commit easier

Trending on the Trail

Kenny Lawler, WR, 6-3/185 (***):  Despite rumors about his soft commitment, Lawler’s father claims ASU is still his No.1.

Darreus Rogers, WR, 6-2/194 (****): despite being a verbal commitment to USC, Rogers said might not be 100% sold on Trojans. ASU and Washington are still in the mix

Jamar Allah, CB, 6-1/180 (**):  an impressive passing tournament drew an offer from ASU and it catapulted them to the top of his list. 

Top Commits for 2012

·         Dejon Allen, OG, 6-3/265 (***): can play on both sides of the ball but prefers OG; needs to add weight to his frame to be an interior lineman.

·         Randall Goforth, WR/CB, 6-0/175 (***): coverage troubles probably means he is better suited for offense; great hands and decent instincts could also make him a good target.

·         Salamo Fiso, OLB, 6-1/215 (***): drew comparisons to Vontaze Burfict by some ASU coaches; use of hands are still a work in progress

·         Milo Jordan, DT, 6-2/265 (NR): a strong run stopper that needs work on the pass rush

***Check out how the rest of the Pac-12 is doing on the recruiting trail here.  

Arizona State Football: Can Brock Osweiler Contend for the Pac-12 Passing Title?

The names atop the Pac-12's quarterback list for the 2011 season include two potential top 10 NFL draft picks and a player that has already been to a National Championship game. Unfortunately for Arizona State, neither of these names will be stitched to the back of a Sun Devils' jersey this fall.

Brock Osweiler certainly is not at the caliber of Andrew Luck or Matt Barkley and he sure as hell doesn't have the flashy style possessed by Darron Thomas. However, would it be absolutely insane to consider Osweiler a contender for the top quarterback in the Pac-12 conference?

Pac-12 Football: Arizona State Sun Devils Spring Game Report Card

Spring Game Type: Offense (Maroon) vs. Defense (Gold)

Final Score: Maroon 83, Gold 27

Arizona State’s offense danced circles around its defense in the 2011 spring game.  Although many believe that the Sun Devil’s offense will be a handful next season, the spring game unveiled several egregious holes within their defense.

Offense:

Brock Osweiler made it rain touchdowns in the Sun Devils’ spring game, slicing the skies with five touchdowns and 237 yards.  Five different receivers caught touchdowns from a corps that kept busy for most of the day. 

Arizona State’s running game also shined, scoring two touchdowns and rushing for over 140 yards.  Kyle Middlebrooks led the pack, gaining 66 yards on four carries.   James Morrison saw most of the load, rushing the ball 10 times for 25 yards.

Grade: A-

Defense:

Although Arizona State’s offense is expected to be good next season, the Sun Devil’s defense made Osweiler look like Peyton Manning.

While it appears that Defensive Coordinator Bill Miller has his work ahead of him, the secondary seems to be the biggest problem.  If they can’t pull it together before the Fall, the quarterback-laced Pac-12 could eat them alive. 

Despite their ineptitude, the Sun Devil’s defense managed to collect four sacks. However, the unit is still extremely suspect as whole and needs to vastly improve in order to truly contend for the Pac-12 South Division title. 

Grade: D

Pac-12 Football Breakfast Links: 05.05.2011

*Keith Price is named the No. 1 QB on the Washington Huskies depth chart.  The road to replacing Jake Locker starts with Price.  However, no one truly knows how high his price will go.  [Seattle Times]

*Colorado officials were granted their request to move its game with USC from Saturday Nov. 4th, to Friday Nov. 5th.  Now the entire world can see them get absolutely corn-holed in prime time. [LA Times]

*The Sun Devils lure Gonzaga's guard Demetri Goodson to play football for them.  Apparently, Arizona State's hype for next season is so big that it is pulling in recruits from other sports.  [ESPN]

*According to Darren Everson, Oregon's high speed offense is the work of geniuses. They just weren't smart enough to keep up with Cameron Newton. [Wall Street Journal]

*Utah is expected to earn $20M more with the Pac-12 next season.  Even if they lose every game next year, AD Chris Hill has to feel pretty secure with his job. [Desert News]

*Oregon and Oregon State will use Pac-12 TV money to pay bills.  Sounds like what I did with my graduation money.  [Oregon Live.com]