Just a couple of hours after he signed with ASU I talked to one of the newest members of ASU's 2017 recruiting class. Quite the life story.

In his own words: Doug Subtyl

Story by Fabian Ardaya

Here's a link to watch a replay of ASU signee Remy Martin score 22 points tonight in Sierra Canyon's win over national powerhouse prep program Oak Hill

Longtime Turner Sports broadcaster Craig Sager has died at the age of 65, the network confirmed in a statement.

"Craig Sager was a beloved member of the Turner family for more than three decades and he has been a true inspiration to all of us," Turner president David Levy said in a statement. "There will never be another Craig Sager. His incredible talent, tireless work ethic and commitment to his craft took him all over the world covering sports.

Just wanted to take a minute and remember one of the good guys.

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Brad Stewart: https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/4637

Someone just posted a Demario Richard tweet about big news that aint about no recruits. Is he a goner too?

Why aren't Sublty and Barnett not on our 2107 recruiting list as a commitment?

That's one of the things Cowherd was tackling this morning after sports talk host Clay Travis on Fox Sports Radio was interviewing Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre and got around to asking him about his potential interest in other jobs now that he's a big shot and the questioning went something like this...

Travis to MacIntyre...coach have you or your agent been in contact with any other programs about potential jobs?

To which MacIntyre said he had "no comment" on that and abruptly hung up on Travis...

So, Cowherd felt that indicated that Coach Mac was looking around or he would've just said no to the question...

He went on to use the analogy that if a wife or husband asked their spouse if they were having an affair how would the spouse take a "no comment" replay...?

What do you think about Mac's reply and abrupt hang-up when asked that question..?

Go Devils!!!

Bradley's really a safety. He played all season in a cast. I'm a fan of his effort.

I was there for his first varsity TD

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And his breakout game against Serra

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A kid from Indiana just announced his commitment to Arizona State, or more accurately, University of Arizona State. He really framed it in such a way that makes it seem like he's been recruited.

No Hudl, no stats, no mentions of his in-game accomplishments outside of one catch on any social media search.

I have no idea how, nearing 2017, this stuff still happens. I honestly feel bad for him.

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TEMPE, Ariz. – The Tempe Sports Authority Foundation has announced the recipients of its 24thAnnual Courage Awards, including two Sun Devils in head men's tennis coach Matt Hill and football student-athlete Tim White. The Arizona Cardinals' Patrick Peterson is the third honoree for this year.

The Courage Awards celebrate those who have shown courage and heroism in circumstances of adversity.

Two words can be used to describe the Sun Devils' pair of honorees for this year: battle-tested and victorious.

Hill fought and defeated osteosarcoma, a common type of bone cancer, when he was just 19 years old, 16 years ago. Upon bravely winning his battle, life put into perspective, he decided to take his passion for tennis and turn it into a career and a way to help others.

Never having previously played tennis, he battled once again, this time onto the third doubles team at Ferris State University, one of a few schools in the country that offered a professional tennis management program.

From there, Hill worked his way to an assistant position at high-caliber SEC programs at Alabama and Mississippi State before earning his first head coaching opportunity at South Florida. This summer, he moved his family to Tempe to take over the reinstated Sun Devil men's tennis team.

White's battle came in the form of having eight brothers and sisters as part of a family that was often homeless and slept in a car or under a bridge for stretches of his youth. In his younger years, the family would go from hotels to homelessness as his parents fought for their children's safety and wellbeing and picked up what jobs they could find. Adding to the adversity, his only brother whom he considered his "mentor" was killed four years ago.

Not joining organized sports until high school, White competed in track and field, easily posting top times with no prior experience. A natural athlete, he first played football in junior college while running track in the offseason. His triple jump at the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in 2013 would've been good enough for 12th place at the 2012 Olympics.

At ASU, White knew he could be successful in both track & field and football while also getting a quality education and he competes at the highest level on both teams. Most recently, he was named to the Pro Football Focus All-Pac-12 team, ranking third in the conference in punt returns and in the top-10 in punt return yards among all power-5 players this season. Academically, White also excels, tabbed Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention in 2016.

A number of local charities benefit from money raised through table sales and the auction accompanying the event, with the Foundation raising over $1,000,000 to date, benefitting underprivileged children of the Tempe and surrounding communities.

Past recipients include Jim Abbott, Anthony Robles, Mike Utley, Tommy John, Cory Hahn, Amy van Dyken-Rouen, Joshua Sweeney, Sam Schmidt, John Wilhite, Eric LeGrande, Colonel Greg Gadson, Joe Brown, Mark Herzlich, Aaron Ralston, and Ron Santo, among others.

The awards celebration will take place on Monday, Mar. 20, 2017 at the Tempe Mission Palms in Tempe, Ariz. A no-host cocktail reception and silent auction (6 p.m.) precede the live auction, dinner, and awards ceremony at 7 p.m.

To reserve a table for the event, visit the event website HERE and click "Reserve Your Table Today" at the top left. For more information, contact Susan Brow at (480) 940-4039.

I threw some spaghetti against the wall. Let's see if any sticks. Hey, I called Chip Lindsey as an OC finalist. Maybe my luck will continue.

Story: https://arizonastate.rivals.com/news/examining-potential-replacements-for-jay-norvell#

ASU Football tweeted it out.

Bruce Feldman

✔@BruceFeldmanCFB
HUGE hire for #Oregon & Willie Taggart. The deal Jim Leavitt gets will make him the highest-paid coordinator in Pac-12 history, per source.

2:42 PM - 14 Dec 2016

• https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?in_reply_to=809151541164679169
  
• 
  151151 Retweets
  
• 
  117117 likes

That's a huge get for them. and 4 years for a DC contract is nearly unheard of isn't it?

The National Letter of Intent period for the mid-year transfers begins on December 14th, 2016 and ends on January 15th, 2017. In actuality, high school mid-year transfers sign a Financial Aid Agreement form (aka Grant-in-Aid form) which binds the school but doesn't bind the prospect until they attend the first day of classes.

These prospects cannot be officially announced until the first day of classes at the earliest (a school may elect to just wait until February 1st's National Letter of Intent day to announce). So for example, if Loren Mondy signs tomorrow, ASU cannot officially announce it at least until January 9th, 2017.

This NCAA rule change that was enacted in August stems by the way from what LSU did this time a year ago, when they announced more than a handful of high school mid-year transfers signings and just two of them ended up enrolling and attending school.

We will obviously pass on any updates on Mondy and other high school mid-year transfers we hear that have signed with ASU.

To my knowledge, ASU currently is not pursuing any mid-year junior college transfers, aside from former signee Doug Subtyl. In the event that they did land such a prospect they could announce this once the prospect signs.

I hope this clarifies what we can expect for tomorrow and the rest of the National Letter of Intent period for the mid-year transfers. Please feel free to post any questions you have on this here on this thread.

Story/Interview: https://arizonastate.rivals.com/news/juco-ol-ronald-rudd-decommits-from-ucla-after-visiting-tempe

No surprise here, but good to get this out of the way

Alex Perry‏@alexperry4lv
Proud to say that I'm committed to Arizona State University. #ForksUp

The article on AZCentral about restricting the uniforms to mainly Maroon and Gold is a joke right? Do they realize that this will put us at a competitive disadvantage? Hopefully CTG fights this until the bitter end. The copper and anthracite are the best uniforms we have. Did whoever issued this mandate graduate UA and is jealous of our genius use of copper and anthracite?

TEMPE, Ariz.-- Arizona State University and Sun Devil Athletics proudly announce 13 student-athletes will graduate with their undergraduate or graduate degrees this week as part of fall commencement ceremonies.

Sport representation includes beach volleyball (1), men's cross country (1), women's cross country (1), football (6), women's golf (1), women's soccer (1), and volleyball (2).

Seven Sun Devils graduated in under four years, football's Marcus Ball, Matthew Haack, Raymond Epps, Coltin Gerhart, and Mark Cosgrove, beach volleyball's Kwyn Johnson, and women's golf's Saki Iida. Cosgrove, Gerhart, Haack, Johnson, volleyball's Kizzy Ricedorff, and women's cross country's Jenna Maack each graduated with honors.

The following is a list of the student-athletes who will partake in graduation ceremonies this week:

+ Marcus Ball, Football, Sociology (BS)
+ * Mark Cosgrove, Football, Organizational Leadership (BA)
+ Raymond Epps, Football, Interdisciplinary Studies (Communication & Sociology) (BA)
+ ** Coltin Gerhart, Football, Applied Biological Sciences (BS)
+ *** Matthew Haack, Football, Business (Sports and Media Studies) (BA)
Matthew Martinez, Football, Communication (BS)
Daniel Wong, Cross Country and Track & Field, Mathematics (BS)/Computer Systems Engineering (BSE)
+ * Kwyn Johnson, Beach Volleyball, Communication (BS)
BreElle Bailey, Volleyball, Communication (BS)/Business (Minor)
** Kizzy Ricedorff, Volleyball, Communication (BS)/Business (Minor)
* Jenna Maack, Cross Country and Track & Field, Exercise and Wellness (BS)
+ Saki Iida, Women's Golf, Business Data Analytics (BS)
Lucy Lara, Women's Soccer, Sports Law and Business (MSLB)

* Denotes Summa Cum Laude (3.80 to 4.00 GPA)
** Denotes Magna Cum Laude (3.60 to 3.79 GPA)
*** Denotes Cum Laude (3.40 to 3.59 GPA)
+ Graduated In Less Than Four Years
! Denotes Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year
^ Sun Devil For Life Degree Completion

just read on House of Sparky Twitter (after my sister texted me) that Anu Solomon intends to transfer, immediately eligible as he has earned degree. Congrats to Anu!

TEMPE, Ariz. –Arizona State senior place-kicker Zane Gonzalez became just the third player in the history of the storied Sun Devil football program to receive unanimous All-American honors after being named to the American Football Coaches Association’s 2016 All-America First Team Wednesday Morning.

“Zane is one of the best players I have ever coached,” said head coach Todd Graham. “He is the best kicker I have ever coached. He is a tremendous performer and a great teammate.”

Gonzalez, a senior from Deer Park, Texas, joined Terrell Suggs (2002) and Al Harris (1978) as the only three unanimous All-Americans in ASU football history. The ten All American first team honors tied Gonzalez with Suggs for the most first team nods in a single season.

Gonzalez, one of 14 unanimous All-Americans in 2016, joins Utah’s Mitch Wishnowski and Washington State’s Cody O’Connell as the Pac-12’s three unanimous All-Americans this season.

Gonzalez finished his four-year career in maroon and gold as the all-time FBS leader in field goals made (96) and points by a kicker (494). His 23 made field goals out of 25 attempts in the 2016 season led the Pac-12 in both makes and percentage.

Gonzalez made an FBS-leading 14 field goals from at least 40 yards and was a remarkable 7-for-9 on attempts from 50 yards or more. That mark, the second-most ever from long distance in an FBS season, includes the longest FG of the year, a 59 yarder that was also the kick to give him the all-time record for career points by a kicker.

Gonzalez joined Thomas Weber as the second ASU kicker to win the Lou Groza Award, making ASU one of only four schools with multiple winners. Weber set a Sun Devil record in 2007 by successfully kicking the first 17 of his field goals and kicked 22 of his 23 tries during the season. As a conference, the Pac-12 has accounted for five of the 25 previous winners of the award.

“He was the best in what is a long line of great kickers here,” added Graham. “He was a four-year starter here and a captain on this team. He was a guy who had more votes than anyone on this team to be a captain. His leadership is very rare. To have a place-kicker that is a team leader and someone who is a great performer and great kicker. I think he will go down as one of the best, if not the best, kicker in college football history.”

The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. Beginning this year, the AFCA has started selecting a first and second team. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the coaches.

Zane Gonzalez First Team All-America Selections:
Sporting News*
Pro Football Focus
USA Today
Sports Illustrated
Walter Camp*
Associated Press*
Phil Steele Magazine
Football Writers Association of America*
Fox Sports
American Football Coaches Association*

*Denotes All-America teams taken into account for unanimous and consensus All-America recognition.

TEMPE, Ariz. –Arizona State placed six student-athletes on Phil Steele’s 2016 Postseason All Pac-12 teams announced by the publication Monday afternoon, while Freshman N’Keal Harry was announced to the 2016 Campus Insiders All-America Freshman Team, announced Tuesday.

Senior place-kicker Zane Gonzalez and linebacker Koron Crump claimed first team Phil Steele honors, while defensive lineman Jojo Wicker and punter Matt Haack claimed second team recognition. Senior punt returner Tim White and linebacker Laiu Moeakiola rounded out the Sun Devils’ selections with third team accolades.

Gonzalez, a senior from Deer Park, Texas, won the 2016 Lou Groza Award after making an FBS-leading 14 field goals from at least 40 yards out this past season. He was a remarkable 7-for-9 on attempts from 50 yards or more, a mark that represents the second-most ever from long distance in an FBS season, including the longest field goal of the year, a 59 yarder that gave him the all-time record for career points by a kicker.

Crump appeared in all 12 games for the Sun Devils. The Junior College transfer led the Sun Devils with nine sacks in 2016 leading to 10 tackles for loss effort that resulted in negative 70 yards of total offense by opponents. Crump recorded a career-high 10 tackles in the Sun Devils' game at Oregon, and played a major role in leading a defense that held four opponents to less than 100 yards rushing in 2016.

Wicker, an outstanding defensive lineman from Long Beach, Calif., earned second team honors after recording 39 total tackles in 2016, that included 11 tackles for loss. His 27 solo tackles led all defensive lineman last season. Wicker also recorded a forced fumble, three pass breakups, a fumble recovery and one quarterback hurry in 2016.

Haack, one of the nation’s best punters, joined Wicker on the All-Pac-12 Second Team following a season where he carded 66 punts for 2,897 yards. His 43.9 yards per punt ranked 19th-nationally and included a career long 76-yard punt.

Moekiola earned third team honors after finishing his 2016 campaign with 55 total tackles while adding nine pass breakups and one interception that all but sealed a Sun Devil victory in San Antonio over UTSA. He received All-Pac-12 honorable mention accolades, marking his second all-conference honor after receiving post season accolades following the 2014 season.

White, a senior wide receiver from Santa Clarita, Calif., joined Moekiola on the All-Pac-12 Third Team as a punt returner. White ranked third in the Pac-12 with 20 punt returns on the year. He averaged 12.7 yards per return, a mark that ranked in the top-10 in punt return yards averaged among all players in the power-5.

Harry earned freshman first team honors from Campus Insiders following a stellar 2016 season. The Chandler, Ariz., native became the first true freshman to start a season opener at ASU. Harry broke Zach Miller's freshman record of receptions by a freshman, finishing the season with 58. He also set the school freshman receiving yardage record with 659 yards.

Gonzalez also earned All-America recognition from both Phil Steele Magazine and Fox Sports. His nine All-America First Team honors are the most for an ASU player since Terrell Suggs claimed 10 first team nods en route to becoming ASU’s second unanimous All-American in 2002. He is now just one First Team recognition away from becoming ASU’s third unanimous All-American since Suggs and Al Harris were named unanimous All-Americans in 2002 and 1978, respectively.

Zane Gonzalez First Team All-America Selections:

Sporting News*
Pro Football Focus
USA Today
Sports Illustrated
Walter Camp*
Associated Press*
Phil Steele Magazine
Football Writers Association of America*
Fox Sports

*Denotes All-America teams taken into account for unanimous and consensus All-America recognition.

...I'm hearing from multiple sources that running back Kalen Ballage is probably going to declare for the NFL draft. FWIW hearing that Ballage himself doesn't feel an urge to do so, but some in his camp are pushing him in that direction.

Per the NFL official site:

Underclassmen have until Jan. 16 to file declaration papers with the league. The official list of underclassmen accepted by the NFL will be released on Jan. 20.

So for good or for bad we have just over a month until we will know officially on this, unless Ballage makes a public announcement prior to that date. My understanding is that if he hasn't already, Ballage will ask the NFL for a draft projection report.

With the peaks and valleys he has had in 2016, hard for me to see him get a draft projection higher than the 4th round. Whether he forgoes his senior year or not under those circumstances remains to be seen.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman is reporting that freshman Sam Cunliffe, easily the most anticipated recruit of the Hurley era, intends to transfer after just 10 games. I reached out, but have not been able to confirm this report yet.

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