Sun Devils Labeled as Losers in Pac-12 Post-Spring Grades

Arizona State was by far impacted the most from the transfer portal in the offseason.

Author:
Donnie Druin
Publish date:
Jun 6, 2022 10:20 AM EDT

We're merely months away from the regular season, and the Arizona State Sun Devils still can't quite turn the corner from public perception surrounding the program.

The arrivals of players such as Florida quarterback Emory Jones wasn't enough to outweigh the significant losses suffered on both sides of the ball.

Now, the Sun Devils head into their season opener with plenty of questions to answer, perhaps more than before despite settling the quarterback issue.

The good news? Arizona State is positive the holes left by talent across the board will be sufficiently replaced.

The Athletic's Antonio Morales isn't so convinced.

Morales recently compiled a winners and losers list of Pac-12 schools following the spring transfer portal reset. USC, Oregon and UCLA were tabbed as winners while Arizona State was the lone school to end up in the loser's category:

Arizona State Labeled as Losers in Pac-12 Post-Spring Grades

"It’s been almost a year since word of the NCAA’s investigation into Arizona State became public, and the hits to the program haven’t stopped coming since. Herm Edwards has seen five assistants be fired or leave for other jobs, and his roster has felt the effects of the uncertainty through the transfer portal," said Morales.
"The Sun Devils have lost their starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, two of their top three receivers from 2021 (Ricky Pearsall and LV Bunkley-Shelton) and two talented defensive standouts, lineman Jermayne Lole and Eric Gentry. All have landed at Power 5 programs: Daniels picked LSU; Pearsall and Bunkley-Shelton ended up at Florida and Oklahoma, respectively; Gentry went to USC and Lole chose Louisville. That has made for quite the talent drain in Tempe.
"But it hasn’t been all bad for Arizona State in the portal this offseason. The Sun Devils recently brought in former Florida starting quarterback Emory Jones, on top of the earlier lauded additions of Wyoming running back Xazavian Valladay and Miami defensive lineman Nesta Jade Silvera. Keeping Omarr Norman-Lott, who briefly entered the portal but chose to return to the program, was another positive. But it’s hard to argue those additions will offset the losses the Sun Devils have suffered. No other program in the conference has lost as much since the initial portal wave ended."

A few months prior, the Sun Devils were listed as simultaneous winners and losers in early offseason rankings thanks to ASU plugging in holes at running back and defensive line while also losing major pieces from the 2020 recruiting class.

Ultimately, it's up to Arizona State to deflect the current cloud of doubt and prove outsiders wrong.

Until then, the noise of non-believers will continue to reverberate.

Arizona State Labeled as Losers in Pac-12 Post-Spring Grades

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