California recruiting heating up for ASU football

It’s not strictly true that Arizona State football had no players from California in its 2017 recruiting class.

Quarterback Blake Barnett, after all, made a name for himself at Santiago High in Corona, Calif., even though he came to ASU via transfer from Alabama. Post-signing day, ASU added defensive backs DeMonte King and Kobe Williams from Long Beach City College, defensive back Darien Cornay from Cerritos College and tight end Ceejhay French-Love from East Los Angeles College. Also, defensive back Jalen Russell, originally headed for Navy out of Vista, Calif., now is at ASU as a redshirt freshman.

All played at California high schools before junior college.

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Still, staff changes including both coordinators before signing day in February hurt ASU with some California prospects, and a revamped recruiting strategy now has all nine Sun Devil assistants recruiting in-state and in California.

Results of the blanket approach already are promising.

Three Southern California high schoolers committed to ASU last week for four total from the state out of six commits in the 2018 recruiting class. On Scout.com, ASU’s average recruit ranking is 3.5 stars, top-15 in the country as of Monday, so location also is paying off in quality so far.

“For me, it was the brotherhood, being one big family plus the educational side,” said linebacker Reggie Hughes of Calabasas, Calif., ASU’s highest rated recruit to date. “For playing time, it was a no-brainer. There’s a spot wide open if you work hard enough to go get it. Talking with my mom and sister and a few close friends, we kept on picking ASU over all the other schools.”

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The position Hughes references is Devil backer, where Koron Crump and A.J. Latu are going into their senior seasons. The 6-2 Hughes, with 19 sacks as a junior, seems perfectly suited for the hybrid linebacker/pass rush position once filled by Carl Bradford, now with the Buffalo Bills.

“I looked at it as which place was going to help me get to where I want to be in the future,” Hughes said. “I want to play in the NFL. Sitting on the bench is not going to help you. You want to get out there and play and show your talent.”

There are connections, casual to deep, between Hughes and ASU’s other California commitments — running back Demetrious Flowers of St. John Bosco High School, safety Elyjah Doyle of Bishop Alemany HS and linebacker Christian LaValle of Mission Viejo HS. The largest mileage spread between the four is 199 miles (Mission Hills, north of Santa Barbara, to Mission Viejo in Orange County.

“It’s heating up over here,” Hughes said. “A lot of my friends are talking about ASU and now looking at them.”

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Wide receiver/defensive back Nikko Hall, who is a teammate with Hughes at Calabasas, is among ASU’s other California recruiting targets as is defensive back Bryan Addison of Junipero Serra HS in Gardena. 

Under a new NCAA rule, high-schoolers now can sign their letter of intent early if they choose. That window is Dec. 20-22, same as for junior college transfers. Those not signing early will do so Feb. 7, 2018.

Doyle was the first of the California players to commit June 3. Then came Hughes on June 19 followed by LaValle and Flowers on the June 20.

“Right now, we’ve started the (California) legacy,” Doyle said. “We’ll start getting more coming to Arizona State and eventually a lot of kids will commit.”

It’s too soon to judge the recruiting impact of ASU’s new football facility at the north end of Sun Devil Stadium. Coaches are moving in this summer – and players after Camp Tontozona in early August.

“It’s everything they told me it was going to be,” Hughes said. “It had some impact on me. I can’t wait to go back and see it when the guys are in there.”

For Flowers, who plans to major in business, academic support was more important than facilities. Hughes wants to study sports medicine. LaValle, who also was considering Army and Navy, already aspires to be an ASU scholar baller while studying kinesiology.

“I thought ASU was my spot every since I stepped on campus the first time,” said LaValle, who committed early to avoid being shut out later. “Every coach on the staff hit home with me. Two losing seasons don’t really bother me as long as I know the coaches. This year we’re going to have a really good season from what I saw at junior day. Our class coming in could do something special.”

California has been a natural recruiting area for ASU, periodically yielding great success. Twenty of the top 50 all-time Sun Devils in a 2013 azcentral sports ranking played at California high schools or were natives of the state. Those include Mike Haynes, David Fulcher, Ron Pritchard, J.D. Hill, Jeff Van Raaphorst, Mike Richardson, Derek Hagan, Pat Tillman, Luis Zendejas, Eric Allen, Shante Carver and Aaron Cox.

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