Spring Practice Roundup: How are Former Arizona State Stars Performing?
Arizona State's football program may know the ins and outs of the transfer portal better than any other team in the nation after the last few months have delivered headline after headline on players coming and going.
Linebacker Eric Gentry and receiver Ricky Pearsall were the most recent notable transfers to hit the portal in search of greener pastures.
While time will tell if those players ultimately made the right decision, the Sun Devils have experienced other losses from the portal to top programs across the country.
Spring practice has come and gone for most of the country, and while fans are eager to answer some of their own questions, former Sun Devils are being talked about at their own respective programs.
Here's a quick look across the nation for updates on how Arizona State's players of the past are holding up:
LSU QB Jayden Daniels
Daniels has garnered mix reviews since his arrival at LSU, and his spring game performance suggests question marks still hang over the former Arizona State quarterback.
LSU Country's Zack Nagy gave the following words about his performance.
"Despite a sluggish start on his first drive and much of the first half, Daniels still showed this coaching staff how dynamic he can be on the field. A three-and-out to start the game, his hesitation showed early in Death Valley. Missing a few throws and taking a couple sacks throughout his first pair of drives, Daniels came out with something to prove in the second half, delivering a 39-yard dime to Brian Thomas, setting up a touchdown run shortly after. Daniels’ wheels were the major takeaway during his reps. Quick and twitchy in the pocket, the scrambling ability he attains is what makes him such a true dual-threat. A play style that complements offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s system, it’ll be interesting to monitor Daniels’ growth throughout the summer into fall camp."
Saturday Down South's Connor O'Gara recently appeared on The Next Round and gave some interesting thoughts on Daniels, which can be found in the tweet below:
Florida State WR Johnny Wilson
Wilson was underutilized and perhaps undervalued during his time at Arizona State, but the early impressions he's left at Florida State leads us to believe he may indeed have carved himself a role in FSU's passing attack next fall despite some inconsistencies.
NoleGameday's Dustin Lewis offered this on Wilson:
The consistency may not have been there, but Wilson could find himself on the field due to his efforts outside of catching passes.
Nebraska DB Tommi Hill
Hill was expected to compete for one of the starting cornerback jobs in 2022 after the departures of Chase Lucas and Jack Jones.
Rather, Hill departed ASU to join Nebraska, and he's already impressed his coaching staff during spring ball.
Per Husker247, Nebraska defensive backs coach Travis Fisher had high praise for Hill, saying, "You ask me who got probably the best skill level, it's (Tommi). His skill level is so high. Now we just got to fix him. How much time can Tommi spend in the film room instead of at the apartment? Or how much time over the summer does he come in the office and get with me and get with Quinton (Newsome) and learn this stuff? It helps this team."
Parker Gabriel of the Lincoln Journal Star believes Hill is heavily in the mix to start next season, as he could even see significant time as a rotational third defensive back.
"Quinton Newsome is going to be awfully tough to unseat for a starting cornerback job after working opposite Cam Taylor-Britt in all 12 games for 2021. After that, the primary competition for the second starting job appears to be between fifth-year Husker Braxton Clark and Arizona State transfer Tommi Hill," said Gabriel.
"Clark is 6-foot-4 and Hill is 6-foot, but has tremendous length, making the duo a physically imposing pair."
Other Top Players
Ohio State LB Chip Trayanum: There's very little being said about Trayanum at Ohio State's spring-ball period, which likely isn't a good thing. Making the switch from running back to linebacker, Trayanum may not see significant time on the field next season.
New Mexico WR Geordon Porter: Porter was initially committed to Buffalo before switching to his new home at New Mexico. There's almost nothing on him or New Mexico's spring practices (info possibly stored at Area 51; will report back) but UNM's social-media team gave him a nice shoutout.
Washington WR Lonyatta Alexander: A Washington native, Alexander said (via the Seattle Times) he felt odd being on the away side during ASU's most recent trip to play the Huskies, and admitted he wanted to return to his home state.
That's now a reality after transferring to play for the Huskies. UW associate head coach/receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard had this to say about Alexander thus far:
“He’s got to get really dialed into the playbook. Obviously he just got here, so that comes as no surprise. He’s got great hands. He’s got one of the best sets of hands in the room right now, so he can catch the ball really well. He does a great job releasing at the line of scrimmage. He’s actually got more foot quickness for a bigger, thicker guy than what you anticipate. We’ve got to work with him a little bit on being able to stem his routes the way we want him to, and then also we’ve got to work on some speed up and down the field. So those things we’ll work on with him through the offseason, get him in our speed school and things of that nature to really help him with those things and get better. But certainly, you talk about a kid who’s hungry, extremely hungry. He wants it. He believes in himself. Very confident. I’m excited just to coach him.”
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