ASU Football: Sun Devils ink 11 early signing day recruits to Herm Edwards’ first ASU class

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

Arizona State signed 11 players on Wednesday morning, the first day of the new “Early Signing Period” in NCAA Football recruiting.

New head coach Herm Edwards addressed the media on Wednesday afternoon and was proud of the work he and the rest of the program did to lock up all but one of their 12 verbally committed players despite the coaching turnover.

“It’s an effort by a lot of people who work here that have done a fabulous job. I’m late on this, been hanging around with (recruiting coordinator Donnie Yantis) for the last 3 weeks now. I haven’t gone home since my send-off in Bristol [at ESPN]. I don’t know what my family looks like anymore,” he joked. “Doing this has been quite refreshing to me. It’s what I anticipated obviously, when you go into a home and you sit down for dinner with those families, you know that there is a big decision about to be made.

“The thing we have to offer is here is one of, they are going to be a complete student athlete when they leave here, and that’s very important.”

Recruiting coordinator Donnie Yantis applauded the signees for sticking with the university despite changes at head coach and both coordinator positions.

“The loyalty these kids had throughout the process has been great,” he said, before later adding: “We are trying to build a championship team and I think we are on a good start here in this December signing class.”

Reloading at Running Back

ASU replaced its three graduating running backs (Demario Richard, Kalen Ballage and Jacom Brimhall) with a new trio of 3-star tails backs on Wednesday.

Brock Sturges headlines the group, having given his verbal commitment to the Sun Devils back in early June. The Allen High School (Allen, Texas) product, who has led his school to next week’s 6A-Division 1 state title game, was ranked as a top-30 running back in the nation by ESPN. With his 5-foot-10, 190-pound frame, Sturges registered a 4.75-second 40-yard-dash and 4.24-second 20-yard-shuttle according to ESPN.

Sturges was joined by Demetrious Flowers, another long-time verbal commit, and late commit A.J. Carter. Carter, a Many High School (Many, Louisiana) prospect, had previously given verbal vows to UCLA and LSU before eventually backing away from both schools — he had actually committed to UCLA twice before ultimately signing with the Sun Devils. At 6-foot, 223-pounds, Carter averaged over 200 rushing yards per game in his senior high school season in Louisiana.

“(Running backs coach John) Simon has done an outstanding job recruiting running backs,” Yantis said. “We are losing two great ones (Richard and Ballage), but I think we are signing three great ones as well…We really reloaded the stable with that area.”

Simon relayed the same message via Twitter on Wednesday morning:

Sun Devils Beef Up at Linebacker

Thanks to the likes of Christian Sam, DJ Calhoun, AJ Latu and Koron Crump, linebacker was one of ASU’s strongest position in 2017. ASU is hoping to continue that trend with a group of early signees at the position, highlighted by 4-star/3-star prospect Reggie Hughes.

The 6-foot-1, 209-pound prospect from Calabasas, California was consistently rated as one of ASU’s highest commitments this recruiting cycle. He was ASU’s lone 4-star recruit according to Rivals.com.

The Sun Devils also inked 3-stars linebacker Christian LaValle and Stanley Lambert on Wednesday. LaValle is a good-sized 6-foot, 215-pound Southern California product out of Mission Viejo High School, while Lambert is an over-sized 6-foot-4, 215-pound athlete that the Sun Devils recruited as a pass rushing devil-linebacker.

Yantis raved about Lambert’s size and versatility, and claimed “when it’s all said and done, this guy could be one of the better ones in our class.”

JUCO Cornerback Targets

After the successful additions of JUCO-transfer cornerbacks Joey Bryant and Kobe Williams in 2017, ASU went back to the junior college ranks to bolster its depth at cornerback again.

The Sun Devils secured the signature of Dominique Harrison on Wednesday, a 4-star/3-star recruit ranked in the top-50 of all JUCO prospects by ESPN. The Sun Devils had to hold off a late push from a trio of Big 12 schools, namely West Virginia, chasing the Houston, Texas native to officially sign their only ESPN-rated 4-star recruit.

ASU also nabbed Terin Adams, another JUCO cornerback from Kirkland, Washington. Adams made his official decision late Wednesday morning after narrowing his pick down to ASU, Illinois, San Diego State and Kansas.

“We improved the back end of our defense which I think is important,” Yantis said. “As steadily it has gotten better this past year, this coming year we think we signed two big time back end players.”

Frias the Lone Arizona Commit

While the Sun Devils were active in Southern California (4 signees) and Texas (4 signees), ASU signed just one in-state product sign on Wednesday, 3-star offensive lineman Ralph Frias.

Frias will bring his monstrous 6-foot-7, 300-pound frame to Tempe after finishing his high school career at Safford High School in the southeastern region of the state.

The Sun Devils also have a verbal commitment from Hamilton High School (Chandler) offensive lineman Hunter Mayginnes, but he will wait until February to make his decision official.

ASU will keep pursuing other in-state targets leading up to the traditional early-February signing day. Phoenix North Canyon High School (Phoenix) 4-star receiver Solomon Enis is still considering ASU’s offer, as is 3-star Phoenix Mountain Pointe High School safety Kenny Churchwell.

The Sun Devils are also making a late push to flip BYU-commit receiver Gunner Romney, a 3-star prospect from Chandler High School.

Signings

Here is a list of all 11 of ASU’s signees based on when they officially signed their letters of intent of Wednesday:

6:16 a.m. – Michael Matus

Katy, Texas (Katy High School)
Consensus 3-star defensive lineman
Committed on July 10, 2017
Yantis: “What separates him from a lot of guys in that position is his intelligence. 4.1 GPA, he’s already been admitted into Barrett Honors College, which is a huge deal for us. Not only getting a great player, we’re getting a great student. This young man is very athletic. He can play a lot of different positions…We think he is probably going to put on 20-30 pounds and be a big-time pass rusher for us and also be a guy who can stop the run in the Pac-12.”

6:27 a.m. – Stanley Lambert

San Antonio, Texas (John Marshall High School)
Consensus 3-star devil-linebacker
Committed on July 28, 2017
Yantis: “Got a high, high ceiling. This young man is very long, played every position on the field except quarterback and offensive line. He’s played running back, wide receiver, cornerback, safety, he’s a kickoff returner and had a number of kickoff returns for touchdowns. He’s just an outstanding athlete. Rushes the passer. We envision him being our devilbacker in the future…When it’s all said and done, this guy could be one of the better ones in our class.”

6:35 a.m. – Dominique Harrison

Houston, Texas (JUCO: Blinn College)
4-star/3-star cornerback, rated as a Top-50 JUCO prospect by ESPN
Committed on May 16, 2017, but showed interest in West Virginia before signing on Wednesday
Yantis: “A press corner that can get after it. He’s a good tackler, he’s going to be a guy who can play in space. Expect him to come in and compete right away. He will be here this spring.”

7:03 a.m. – A.J. Carter

Many, Louisiana (Many High School)
Consensus 3-star running back
Entering Wednesday undecided and was previously a verbal commit to both LSU and UCLA
Yantis: “He’s a big back…Chose ASU over the school here locally (LSU). Coach Simon’s relationship with him was great.”

7:17 a.m. – Brock Sturges

Allen, Texas (Allen High School)
Consensus 3-star running back
Committed on June 9, 2017
Yantis: “Coach and I went into his home this past week, and what a great family…Brock has 3,000 yards and 43 touchdowns over the past 2 years so, big-time back.”

8:05 a.m. – Christian LaValle

Mission Viejo, CA (Mission Viejo High School)
Consensus 3-star linebacker
Committed on June 20, 2017
Yantis: “Pound for pound, probably the best linebacker in California…Very intelligent linebacker, knowns the game, understands football — he is a football junkie. Knowns everything about every player in California [and] I think he is critical for what we do recruiting in California.”

8:19 a.m. – Ralph Frias

Safford, AZ (Safford High School)
Consensus 3-star offensive lineman
Committed on October 27, 2017
Yantis: “Hometown hero. He is a big man…(Special teams coach Shawn) Slocum recruited him last year, went and watched him, watched his feet, watched him bend. We think he has a lot of potential developing into a great offensive tackle…Really good feet for his size.”

8:44 a.m. – Demetrious Flowers

Bellflower, CA (St. John Bosco High School)
Consensus 3-star running back
Committed on June 20, 2017
Yantis: “Very physical. Had an injury this year, so he cut out most of his season. But he is ranked the 5th-best back in California.”

8:53 a.m. – Ely Doyle

Mission Hills, CA (Bishop Alemany High School)
Consensus 3-star defensive back (SPUR)
Committed on June 3, 2017
Yantis: “We envision him being a strong safety type, our SPUR…Chose us over a number of Pac-12 schools, was really one of the first guys to commit here and has been instrumental in being loyal to our program.”

9:02 a.m. – Reggie Hughes

Calabasas, CA (Calabasas High School)
4-star/3-star devil-linebacker
Committed on June 19, 2017
Yantis: “One of the most dynamic guys on our board…Very twitchy guy. We envision him being a pass rusher, but he is a multiple position player. We could see him playing a strong safety, outside linebacker, possibly even an inside linebacker.”

10:36 a.m. – Terin Adams

Kirkland, WA (JUCO: City College of San Francisco)
2-star cornerback (Rivals. com rating; was not ranked by ESPN or 247 Sports)
Entered Wednesday undecided. Had ASU, Kansas, Illinois and San Diego State on his shortlist
Yantis: “Big-time physical kid, very athletic. Great ball skills, he is a ball hawk.”

What’s Next

ASU locked up 11 of its 12 commitment recruits on Wednesday, meaning in will turn its attention to adding more undecided recruits to its ranks between Wednesday and the traditional national signing day on February 7, 2018.

The Sun Devils have some work to do in the national class rankings, as their 2018 recruiting group currently ranks No. 80 in the country according to Rivals.com, just 10th-best in the Pac-12.

Yantis says ASU still has 10 scholarships they are looking to fill in this year’s class.

“At this point, with the coaching staff Coach Edwards is putting together, we are going to go back in the next 6 weeks and reevaluate who is available,” Yantis said. “We got a number of guys still on our board we are currently recruiting, developing relationships with. As we get this coaching staff solidified, I’m confident we are going to be able to attract some great players to this program and improve this class from what it already is.”

Yantis identified offensive lineman and all defensive positions as areas the Sun Devils will focus on as they continue to recruit for their 2018 class.

“The long I sit with and Donnie and his guys, we are starting to formulate our DNA, the kind of guys I would like to be a part of this program,” Edwards said. “Scouting is about defining who you are. We’ve got to define who we are. I think we’ve got a pretty good idea about who we are on offense. I think defensively, it might change a little bit, but the players here will fit.”