With the pre-spring practice roster seemingly in place now for the Sun Devils, let’s take a look at the current status of the Arizona State roster and what we can expect in terms of potential additions and attrition at each position.
For reference, here’s a link to the updated 2024 scholarship distribution chart. It will show you that ASU currently has 87 scholarship players, which is two over the 85 limit.
https://arizonastate.rivals.com/news/2023-football-scholarship-distribution-chart
To reiterate, that maximum of 85 scholarship players is a number
that could be reduced if the negotiated sanctions agreement with the NCAA includes a reduction to that figure. I don’t see any reduction going beyond three players, and thus a new 82 scholarship limit for 2-3 years would be the worst-case scenario, in my opinion.
And you also have the issue of whether that scholarship player reduction takes place effective immediately or deferred to the 2025 season. While I do think chances are fairly low that the can will be kicked down the road, and ASU will only have to deal with that headache next year, as I’m writing this piece, the negotiated settlement hasn’t been announced, and every week that passes by would make it harder for ASU to juggle the numbers for this year’s roster. If the NCAA sees it that way as well, that
could lead to a scenario where the scholarship number would have to be juggled only starting in 2025, but that’s far from a guarantee.
Let’s get the breakdown position by position:
Quarterback (3 scholarship players)
Current scholarship players (in order of 2024 eligibility):
Senior Trenton Bourguet
Redshirt freshman Jaden Rashada
Redshirt freshman Sam Leavitt
Position snapshot: ASU is done adding quarterbacks unless unexpected attrition takes place, which would then put ASU in quite a bind trying to land a quality signal caller in the April portal. Curious to see mid-spring if the depth chart at this role is more defined or if we end spring without really knowing who has the edge for the starting role.
Running back (6 scholarship players)
Current scholarship players (in order of 2024 eligibility):
Senior DeCarlos Brooks
Senior Cameron Skattebo
Senior George Hart III
Sophomore Raleek Brown
Sophomore Kyson Brown
Freshman Jason Brown
Position snapshot: We correctly predicted that Tevin White was the only candidate for attrition here, and that did take place a couple of weeks ago. Six scholarship running backs is certainly a healthy number to have, and there’s no reason to believe that we will see post-spring attrition and, thus, no additions expected.
Wide Receiver (9 scholarship players)
Current scholarship players (in order of 2024 eligibility):
Senior Elijhah Badger
Senior Xavier Guillory
Senior Melquan Stovall
Senior Jake Smith
Senior Troy Omeire
Sophomore Jordan Tyson
Redshirt freshman Kaleb Black
Redshirt freshman Korbin Hendrix
Freshman Zechariah Sample
Position snapshot: This is another position where I don’t expect to see much movement in terms of players departing and/or portal additions since the nine scholarship players are an ideal number to have. Said for months now that I fully expect Elijah Badger to remain at ASU due to his back injury, which will limit him in spring practice and thus greatly reduce any chance he would enter the April portal. The more likely attrition would be Korbin Hendrix, who, unlike his fellow redshirt freshman Kaleb Black, wasn’t able to distinguish himself during his first year in Tempe and may seek a better opportunity for playing time because this depth chart certainly won’t offer that. Now having Jake Smith eligible and Jordan Tyson healthy for the entire year is going to truly kick up the competition level a good few notches.
As a reminder, Cullen Charles, who is part of the 2024 class, didn’t sign a Letter of Intent since he’s only expected to arrive in 2025, basically exercising the old-school greyshirt approach that we rarely see these days.
Offensive Line (16 scholarship players)
Current players (in order of 2024 eligibility):
Senior Emmit Bohle
Senior Ben Coleman
Senior Leif Fautanu
Senior Cade Briggs
Senior Max Iheanachor
Junior Kyle Scott
Junior Shancco Matautia
Junior Bram Walden
Sophomore Jalen Klemm
Sophomore Sean Na’a
Sophomore Josh Atkins
Redshirt freshman Joey Su’a
Redshirt freshman Sirri Kandiyeli
Freshman Semisi Tonga
Freshman Champ Westbrooks
Freshman Terrell Kim
*Freshman Filiva’a Saluni will be on campus in 2026 after serving an LDS Church mission.
Position snapshot: The ideal number here is 15 scholarship players, and ASU has just that number. But even with the very recent addition of transfer Jalen Klemm from Washington, I think we can expect to see some movement in this position. For starters, I don’t believe that ASU will pass on a good offensive tackle if one should present itself when the April portal window opens. When it comes to attrition, players such as Sirri Kandiyeli and Kyle Scott, who were recruited over in the 2024 class, may not be part of this team after spring practice.
Tight Ends (4 scholarship players)
Current players (in order of 2024 eligibility):
Senior Bryce Pierre
Junior Markeston Douglas
Sophomore Cameron Harpole
Freshman Jayden Fortier
Position snapshot: Adding Douglas and Harpole from the portal was big for ASU. But since Fortier tore his ACL in the state championship, and fully practicing in fall camp following his summer arrival is not a given. ASU, being in the market for a spring portal addition, is a guarantee.