(Photo: Brendan Belfield/WCSN)
The losses for Arizona State Football keep on coming, as sophomore linebacker Eric Gentry and senior wide receiver Ricky Pearsall have both entered the transfer portal, according to a report from Doug Haller of The Athletic on Thursday morning.
The announcement comes as a shock for the Sun Devils, who looked to both Pearsall and Gentry as possible leaders on each’s respective side of the ball in 2022.
While only a sophomore, Gentry was praised by the coaching staff as one of the leaders on defense this upcoming season. During his freshman campaign, the Philadelphia-native showed flashes of his potential with 45 tackles, five of which were tackles for loss.
Pro Football Focus had Gentry ranked as the third-best linebacker in the Pac-12 in 2021 with a grade of 73.3, two spots ahead of former ASU linebacker Darien Butler. His stats and PFF grade were jointly the best by a returning ASU linebacker in 2022, and as a result, Gentry figured to be a huge part of the Sun Devils’ defensive plans next year.
However, the most significant blow for ASU is the exit of the third-year Sun Devil in Pearsall. The Tempe-native was coming off his best year in 2021, leading the team with 580 yards and four touchdowns. After losing starting quarterback Jayden Daniels to the transfer portal, the Sun Devils looked toward Pearsall for his leadership to help a new quarterback adjust.
Pearsall was one of the players in the ASU locker room that garnered praise from seemingly everyone – whether it be from teammates, the coaching staff and others.
With both looking for new homes, ASU’s rebuild looks to be back at square one after what was already a troubled offseason for the program. The NCAA investigation into the program for alleged recruiting violations saw the departure of five coaches on the Sun Devils’ staff and led to the departure of many key players to the 2022 NFL Draft or the transfer portal right before and after the season concluded.
The emotional toll keeps on coming for this program, as the two intended leaders for the 2022 season now intend to leave ASU in the rearview mirror. The deadline for players to be eligible to transfer is May 1, so the idea that some teammates might follow the two figureheads for ASU is not out of the question.
During spring practice, ASU head coach Herm Edwards discussed the good and bad that the transfer pool can bring, mentioning that ASU still intended to add to the roster via it before fall camp.
It now seems like Edwards and the program still have much to watch out regarding subtractions, not additions, to the Sun Devils’ roster before fall camp.
