As you know, this Saturday is going to be Senior Day, and one thing Kenny Dillingham wants to avoid is having a situation where somebody who technically does still have eligibility in 2025, and with no determination being established at this point whether he will play next year, is going to be honored on Senior Day this weekend, but potentially honored again a year from now when he plays in 2025.
Bo Barnes, a former ASU basketball player, was basically told by Herb Sendek following his junior year that he could only come back next year as a walk-on, Barnes he politely declined, and when ASU needed him back next year as a scholarship player, he accepted the offer, so he had back-to-back Senior Day honors so to speak. Pretty Sure Bobby Hurley III is gonna have the same thing happen to him this spring.
So this year, you have left guard Ben Coleman, easily one of the best offensive linemen for the Sun Devils who redshirted in 2019, eligibility freeze of the Covid year in 2020 took place, and missing the entire last season due to an Achilles injury is technically eligible to play in 2025 assuming of course that the NCAA would accept his waiver which there is no reason for them not to do so. You don't have to look further than fellow offensive lineman Emmit Bohle who is playing his 7th year of college football this season.
Dillingham said that he's going to meet with the players' leadership council and come to a joint decision on what to do. I'm assuming that Coleman is not adverse at all to coming back next year, so it's not like this is a moot point. I believe his standing in the NFL draft can only get better with one more year under his belt.
In my opinion, it should be a no-brainer decision for ASU to have him return for next year. I can't think of anybody on the roster who would even play at his level, let alone ahead of that, in 2025. Sure, in theory, you could maybe get somebody from the portal who would fit that criteria, but that is a big roll of the dice.
