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ASU Football: Dominate the State- A Look into Recruiting in ASU's Very Own Backyard

Arizona State fans and alumni hope that ASU will dominate the state in recruiting here soon.

"Dominate the State." For recruiters and coaches across the collegiate football world, that’s often the mantra used to describe a typical recruiting strategy: Ensure you secure recruits within your home state to establish a pipeline in your own backyard, and the rest will follow suit.

That’s the old school train of thought, anyways. 2020’s recruitment process vastly differs from the past, as graphics with said recruit’s top 10 schools and long announcement videos have become the new norm. It’s up to each school’s recruiting department to adapt to change and mold themselves as the perfect place for kids to rack up Instagram followers while playing.

Arizona State has long been the superior football program within the state of Arizona, and that reflects on the recruiting trail as of late. Through the last five years, the Wildcats have yet to have a higher ranked class than the Sun Devils, and often times were socially distanced from ASU in the rankings before it was the cool thing to do.

Head coach Herm Edwards, now going into his third season at the helm of Sun Devil football, currently finds himself chasing a second consecutive top-25 finish in the recruiting ranks, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished by ASU since the classes of 2015/2016. One of the greatest strengths Edwards brings to the table is his ability to walk into any living room in the country and appeal to both player and guardian.

When it comes to in-state recruiting, however, there’s a different tone surrounding ASU.

While not considered on the level of states such as Texas, Louisiana or Florida, Arizona has managed to produce top high school football talent with players such as Austin Jackson and Spencer Rattler in recent years. While it’s assumed elite talent may favor traveling elsewhere for more traditional powerhouses, the last time Arizona State secured a top ten in-state talent was 2017.

In Edwards’ first two full recruiting classes (2019/2020), eleven different states across the country sent some of their best to Tempe. Combining both classes, the home state of Arizona is represented by a total of five players. The state of California accounted for 21 total players, exceeding a 4-1 ratio for home-grown recruits.

While talent isn’t exclusive to local recruiting, the recent inability for the Sun Devils to secure top talent within the state has struck a minor chord with alumni and fans. I reached out to high school coaches within the state who have first-hand experience with Arizona State in hopes of finding some explanation for the lack of interest from players who play in ASU’s backyard.

As one prominent coach explained to me (we’ll call him coach X), ASU is very much involved in recruiting his players but understands why players may feel the desire to leave the state. Coach X told me some kids just want to build something on their own or may have family that influences them towards another program. That’s a point hardly anybody can argue, as the majority of high school kids jump at the chance to become independent whenever possible.

When asked if he noticed any differences between Edwards/former ASU coach Todd Graham, it was purely geographical. Coach X explained while both staffs still recruited in-state, Graham mostly planted his recruiting flag in states such as Texas and Louisiana, whereas Edwards has a strong pipeline to California partly due to co-defensive coordinator and head recruiter Antonio Pierce hailing from the Southern California area.

Coach X was also quick to shoot down the narrative that Sun Devil recruiters aren’t focused on players within reach and points to a coaching staff littered with experience and accolades at every level that will eventually find their feet in terms of recruiting AZ players.

ASU’s coaching/recruiting department should only get better moving forward, as many are within their first or second year in their current roles.

I was also curious to gain a player’s perspective on the issue, so I reached out to players who opted to play their college ball outside of their home state. One player, who will remain anonymous (we’ll call him player x to remain super original), explained what the process was like receiving an offer from ASU but ultimately packing his bags for another school.

Player X on deciding to forego ASU:

“When I received the ASU offer, I was very blessed and excited to have the opportunity to go. Over my recruitment process with ASU, they built a tight relationship with my family and I. I planned to drop a top three with ASU in it. ASU was a serious option for me. It came down to where was the best fit for my family and I academic wise and on the field,” said player X.

Through our conversation, player X was adamant ASU did everything possible, and he appreciates still to this day, regardless of his decision.

“Having your family at every game was a beautiful thought,” said player X. “I wouldn’t say ASU lacked anything because they are both two powerhouses (ASU and his current school), but (my current school) was home for me.”

When I asked if he would share any advice from one former ASU recruit to any current players, he offered this:

“I prayed and prayed and talked to so many coaches, family members, Mom/Dad, I listened to everyone. At the end of the day, it’s your decision. To another ASU recruit, I would just say no matter what other school comes, don’t forget about ASU. Never push them off; they have a great coaching staff and great environment.”

Through talking with players and coaches, it became apparent to me that some things simply aren’t in your control. As coach X explained to me, you can’t loop every recruit together. Every player is a different case. Some players do want to stay home and play at ASU. Others, whether it be to establish a new tradition, forging their own path or simply wanting to experience a new environment, are going to trust their young gut and mind regardless of outside influences.

As ASU’s recruiting coordinator, coach Pierce went on the Brad Cesmat Show and spoke on in-state recruiting:

“We’re recruiting (this state) as hard as we’re recruiting anybody else,” said Pierce.

“There’s gonna be various conversations and opinions about that. But I know we’ve offered them (in-state recruits), they’ve been in our building, they’ve been invited to multiple games throughout their high school career… But I want to say this: To be a Sun Devil, you got to want to be a Sun Devil. It works both ways. We can throw out offers, and maybe sometimes we’re not big enough… What I’m gonna say to everybody is this: When we start winning, then you’ll understand what we’re doing. There’s a process to us building a roster and program the way we want it to look. Sometimes it matches in-state, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Pierce went on to explain how ASU is ahead of the curb in terms of offering recruits and what they’re looking for in certain classes.

“In the 2022 class, about 12-18 months ago, we offered about 18 student-athletes in the 2022 class, so nobody can say we’re ahead of the curb. We knocked that out. Those guys are just one year into their high school career, and we offered them.

Now there’s some kids we were late on… Some guys get caught up in the numbers game. You’re looking for certain things in this class, height and length. I doubt we’ll sign anybody shorter than 6-1. We’re not on that track… Listen, we want all of these hometown heroes to stay here, in the state of Arizona, with the Sun Devils, but they got to want it as much as we want them.”

Recruiting appears to be a battlefield that’s rarely conquered if your name isn’t Alabama or Ohio State. As Pierce alluded to, programs oftentimes search for specific things within a recruiting class, whether that criteria is met in/out of state remains a lesser issue. Just two years into the reign of coach Edwards and the Sun Devils have seen considerable progress, as 2020 looks to be a pivotal year in terms of momentum for the program.

The class of 2021 is currently well within reach of ranking in the top 25. California looks to remain a staple next year, with five current commitments hailing from the golden state and just one current commit from Arizona.

For the coaches, it doesn’t matter where the talent comes from; they just seek performers. Fans and alumni share the same sentiment, and while ASU has ground to make up in their own backyard, the presence is there on all levels from a recruiter, coach and player’s perspective.

Perhaps the mantra “Dominate the state” can’t be applied to the Sun Devils. However, Arizona State will settle for dominating the scoreboard regardless of geographical composition.