ASU Targets Play in One of Wildest High-School Games Ever Seen
It's not unusual to see high-school football games televised for a national audience to see. In the modern era of recruiting and social media, broadcasting top high-school athletes is something networks such as ESPN considers valuable.
With so many high schools throughout the country, only the cream of the crop are able to have their talents aired on ESPN.
Florida's IMG Academy currently has recruits committed to powerhouses such as Alabama and Clemson among others. Their resume' speaks for itself.
The opponent on Sunday, Bishop Sycamore out of Ohio, can't quite say the same. Mostly because no resume' exists.
Halfway through IMG handing out a hefty 58-0 stomping of Bishop Sycamore, ESPN's broadcast team revealed that Bishop essentially lied their way into a nationally televised game.
They said, "You look at IMG, and this is the most talented prep team in the country. Bishop Sycamore told us they had a number of Division I prospects on their roster, and to be frank, a lot of that, we could not verify. They did not show up in our database, they did not show up in the databases of other recruiting services.
"So, OK, that’s what you’re telling us, fine, that’s how we take it in. From what we’ve seen so far, this is not a fair fight, and there’s got to be a point where you’re worried about health and safety.
“I already am worried about it. I think this could potentially be dangerous given the circumstances and the mismatch that we have here. And quite honestly, Bishop Sycamore doesn’t have not only the front-line players, but they don’t have the depth in case something were to happen to their roster with a kid or two here throughout the remaining two quarters of this football game.”
As it turns out, Bishop Sycamore is in its second season of playing football as an online charter school. They also played a game on Friday, two days before their nationally-televised matchup with IMG Academy. The school is also not a part of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, and went 0-6 last season.
Arizona State currently has nine offers for IMG Academy seniors on the team, with 10 other offers for players in future classes.
Out of the nine class of 2022 recruits, only two remain without a verbal commitment to a future school: tight end Jaleel Skinner and defensive lineman Paul Hutson, who told AllSunDevils in an interview that the Sun Devils were a top team in his process as the time for his decision comes closer.
IMG Academy houses arguably the strongest roster of high-school players in the country. They also managed to embarrass both Bishop Sycamore and the entire ESPN network at the same time in what is sure to be one of the wildest high-school football games to be played in recent memory.
Donnie Druin is a Deputy Editor with AllSunDevils. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSunDevils @AllSunDevils. Like and follow AllSunDevils on Facebook, and for more ASU news visit https://www.si.com/college/arizonastate/