2021 3-Star Athlete Martin Lucas Makes it Official and Commits to Arizona State
Martin Lucas, a 2021 3-Star athlete (running back/linebacker) out of Virginia, has made it official on twitter and will be furthering his academic and athletic career at Arizona State University. Lucas chose ASU over Virginia Tech, Marshall, Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina and Villanova.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound athlete plays for Abingdon High School in Abingdon, Virginia. That's a long way away from Arizona, and the athlete told AllSunDevils "it is pretty far," but it's something he could get "used to."
AllSunDevils had a chance to speak with Lucas about his commitment to Arizona State and he said he chose ASU because, "The relationships I had with the coaches, how the program will be dominant in the Pac-12 and the NFL experience."
Brian Dohn of 247Sports (LINK) reported that most schools have been recruiting him as a linebacker. Whether it's linebacker or running back, one thing is certain, that his versatility gives ASU a leg up on the competition.
On offense, Lucas is a big, tall wrecking ball type of running back. He runs strong, enjoys contact and it consistently takes more than one defender to bring him down. He shows a nice vision for running lanes and nimble feet at the line of scrimmage to get to his spot. He also shows an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.
As a defender, he shows good pursuit. The agility he shows at running back will certainly benefit his play at linebacker. Regardless of what side of the ball he's on, Marcus loves to hit.
The newest ASU commit is ready, he expressed to AllSunDevils. "I think I’ll impact ASU with my size, strength, speed and all of the different positions I can play.... I’m ready to work!"
One aspect of ASU football that is so intriguing to recruits is the amount of NFL experience on staff. Having coaches like Herm Edwards and Marvin Lewis, who were NFL head coaches, and former NFL players like Hall of Famer Kevin Mawae, Antonio Pierce and Derek Hagan amongst others on staff is of keen interest to recruits. Also, the fact that for the last two years an ASU player has been taken in the first round of the NFL draft doesn't go unnoticed to Lucas as well,
" I know for a fact they could make me the best version of myself ... I like how they have that history of going in the first round. It's definitely a big part of the recruiting process seeing that they are putting people out there. "
Lucas also told AllSunDevils he plays N'Keal Harry in MADDEN and " I like that guy. He's good." So the ASU connections, whether on the real field or the video game field, are already there.