One of our Huddle members, Chris Tatsumi, penned this column about fans support in a crucial 2017 season

Here is my interview with Lewis, ironically a second Utah defensive back commit to visit this weekend along with Jaylon Johnson, who according to Lewis seems more solid with his pledge.

I wrote this article for the Iowa site following his official visit but I wanted to pass along the portion of the article that concerns Arizona State here in advance of his official visit next month.

Here's the Arizona State portion:

On what he's excited to see at Arizona State: "The atmosphere. Coach Lindsay has been recruiting me since he was at Southern Miss and we have a great relationship. He has a great relationship with my dad so with him being out there I would feel comfortable knowing that I have someone that I know."

You can read the rest of the article by clicking here.

any update?
What are you hearing, Hod?
Is the declaration cutoff 1/15?

Maintenance will last approximately three hours. The site will be placed into maintenance mode for short periods when users will not be able to access the forum.

Thanks for your patience.

Bobby Hurley's comments from today:
Login to view embedded media

Watching Alabama this year, I am not impressed with their QB Jalen Hurts. In fact, I would venture to say that he would not be able to start at ASU. I know he is a freshman but he is a below average passer and he is an average runner. But since Alabama has such a good defense he is not exposed and he does not have to be very good or even good. I guess I am just jealous of Alabama's defense.

Also, something that I have been harping on for many years from our DL is get your hands up and knock down passes. Clemson has done that 3 times in the first half and they stopped drives. We need to emphasize that this year. Quit just putting your head down to try and get to the ball, be aware of where you are and get your paws up.

Throughout this recruiting process ASU was recruiting two of Cal's commits ATH Michael Onyemaobi and WR Taariq Johnson . Wouldn't be surprised if ASU would gauge their interest now that Sonny Dykes has been fired.

One thing to keep in mind though, is that with 14 commits and no more than 9 vacancies in the 2017 class, ASU will naturally be very judicious in terms of who they will pursue from here on out.

It obviously has prospects that have already visited Tempe who have been extremely receptive to ASU's recruiting efforts such as Pola-Mao, Fields, Jarrell, Dean and Gary Johnson. So just those five would fill up more than half of the vacancies.

ASU will wait as long as needed for prospects such as Bolden, Ruiz and Austin Jackson. I'm not suggesting that ASU will bat .1000 on all of those names I just mentioned, but even landing half of them won't leave much room to spare in the class.

So I'm not expecting ASU to pursue a handful of Cal commits/prospects just because they may be having second thoughts due to the coaching change.

If you're planning to participate in Pat's Run, I strongly suggest you register TODAY as there is a special discounted entry fee of $40 good until midnight MST on January 10th. From there the fee will increase incrementally, so take advantage of this deal!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Is staying close to home and playing at Kansas.

Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein 15m15 minutes ago
Arizona State transfer Sam Cunliffe tells me that he has committed to Kansas.

This game challenges you to select the winners of each of the NCAA college football bowl games. We will play with a Confidence scoring system (assign confidence points to your picks)

Get in the action now

Group: DevilsDigestcom
Password: Devils2017

On the road at Utah and Colorado to go to 12-3 and 3-1 in conference.

Joe Healey examines the players who came with no recruiting fanfare but exited Tempe with impressive accolades

Well, Bubba Bolden committed to ASU against the wishes of some in his camp. Those voices have won their case. Bolden to announce to USC today.

New to the board but a long time Sun Devil fan. I love college football, by far my favorite sport. I truly believe the new format is going to ruin our game in the long run. If we have a 4 team playoff and this committee, I think things should be simplified as follows:

1. Must win your conference (5 major conferences) to be in the playoff (Notre Dame / BYU join a conference).
2. Committee only decides which of the 4 champions are in the playoff (one gets left out). No need to start meeting in the middle of the season, no need for their lame rankings the last half of the season.

Just these two things would change the season as follows:

1. It makes every conference game matter, ESPECIALLY the conference championship games. Really, how many of us watched the conference championship games? Would we have watched each one if the only way to get in was to win?

2. It would allow every Power 5 team to schedule excellent non-conference games. They would be great for the fans, great to get teams ready for conference play, and losing them would NOT affect the teams chance to win the conference, it would only enhance their year end resume should they win their conference.

3. If by chance an average team wins their division and then pulls an upset in the conference final (like if Florida pulled a HUGE upset this year over Alabama), the committee could make that the Conference Champ that did not make the playoff.

4. The National Championship would be decided on the football field and not some hotel room in Dallas. Ohio State had no business being in the playoff. The committee basically invalidated the entire Big Ten season. ALL teams would know they HAD to win their conference and EVERY game would matter.

Thought after yesterday and the Bubba Bolden drama a little debate on the playoffs would be good. There is no perfect system but the one in place now is CERTAINLY not the right one. I would rather have the old system (Pre-BCS) than the current one, the bowl games used to mean something.

GO DEVILS!!!

As you already know, news broke earlier in the week that former Georgetown forward Isaac Copeland transferred out of the program. Numerous reports listed Arizona State (among others) as a potential landing spot for the former 5-star prospect.

I reached out to a fellow Rivals' writer from the Texas affiliate (Orangebloods.com) who recently spoke with Copeland about his transfer plans. This is what my source shared with me:


The 6-9 junior is working quickly towards finalizing a visit list.

Copeland told my source that he wants to enroll in January, so he wants to get the transfer process finished as quickly as possible. Copeland said he's not sure if he'll take all five visits, but there's one school that will definitely get a visit.

“Nebraska, and that’s the only one I’m 100-percent for sure taking,” Copeland said. “I really want to visit Arizona State. Already sat down with NC State. Arizona State and Nebraska are the main two [to get an official visit], and maybe Texas.”

According to my source, Copeland is very close to players at Nebraska, NC State, and ASU, and he lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. As it currently stands, it appears these three schools are the leaders to land him.

Copeland told my source that playing time and skill development are two important factors in his decision. He said he wants to go to a school where he will be challenged every day to get better.

“I pride myself on being able to do multiple things on both ends. I feel like I can guard multiple positions, and play inside or outside, handle the ball, push the break, run the floor. Just a place that allows me to do those types of things,” he said.

According to my source, Copeland is pretty tight with ASU assistant Levi Watkins so that could aid the Devil's chances.

Copeland will have a back procedure on a herniated disc and apply for a medical redshirt to gain another year of eligibility. He only appeared in seven games this season before sustaining the injury.

Copeland said he's going to wait to have his back procedure done at his new school, so he can rehab with his new staff. He said he’d be out about six weeks after the surgery, and will be eligible to play January 2018. (Note: If Copeland wins his appeal, he will technically have 1.5 years years of eligibility once he becomes eligible.)

Loren Mondy was unable to qualify to enroll in the spring, due to some online classes he took earlier. Will sign in February now and make up the course work over the spring. Should be eligible when fall camp begins.

All other mid-year signees will arrive over the weekend. Barnett just a few weeks ago won an appeal that allowed him to enroll in the spring.

Login to view embedded media
This news broke a few days ago...

According to multiple reports, former USF guard Jahmal McMurray, who was recently granted a release from the school, is considering a transfer to a number of schools including ASU.

The 6-foot sophomore combo guard was a member of the All-AAC Freshman team last season after averaging 15.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the Bulls.

McMurray is a high-volume shooter/scorer with good burst and ball handling skills. He missed the first 6 games of the season due to a violation of team rules. He played in only 3 games this season, averaging over 20 points per game, before he decided to transfer out of South Florida.

-----------------------------------

Login to view embedded media
Then yesterday, news broke that another high-profile transfer (former Georgetown forward Isaac Copeland) is interested in ASU. Copeland was a five-star prospect coming out of high school and has a ton of upside...but for whatever reason he hasn't reached it at Georgetown. His minutes sharply decreased this season and was having a down year by his standards.

A 6-9 junior stretch forward with impressive athleticism and versatility, Copeland is a great option for teams looking to bolster their frontcourt.

NOTE: Copeland is planning to having back surgery after playing in only seven games this season, and per FanRag Sports, he will apply for a medical waiver (to get back this season).


****************

Now remember with Cunliffe's departure (and Mickey Mitchell's arrival), ASU is currently sitting at 12 scholarship players for the 2016-17 season. And since both McMurray and Copeland would be mid-season transfers, they would count toward this season's (scholarship) numbers.

So long story short, it looks like the Sun Devils would only be able to add one of these guys (as a mid-season transfer).

This 2016 list was provided by Jon Wilner from his College Hotline blog and comes directly from the NFL just before the start of the NFL season last year...

Here were the rankings...

1) USC = 36 NFL players

2) Cal = 27

3) Stanford = 25

4) Oregon = 24

5) UCLA = 22

6) Utah = 19

7) Oregon St = 17

8) Wash = 13

9) Arizona = 11

10) ASU = 10

11) Colorado = 8

12) Wazzu =4

Clearly, the Sun Devils have under-performed in this regard and so has UCLA and Washington, while Utah and Oregon St are over-performing, it appears...

Elite players want to get to the NFL rather than get a degree from a school, at least in my humble opinion, and is why ASU better work that much harder to be able to sell that NFL dream to blue chip players...

Go Devils!!!

Game recap by Justin plus postgame video

Sidebar from tonight's game by Fabian

Mornin Mates...

Today's Topic = ASU Recruiting

I like where the Devils are these days with their recruiting because it looks like we are adding quality at most positions, where needed...so far we've improved the competition at the all-important QB position, added two quality RBs, got a big DL and some LBs and DBs and, most importantly, a player who looks like he could be our D-backer of the future, even though he isn't listed on our recruit list...

Not getting Bolden yesterday was a circus ride and a part of recruiting that is entertaining if nothing else...it will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the ensuing weeks...this is a strange world we live in where the Twitter universe and other social media components of that world exert an influence on the mind that are a part of it...

Being a tech dinosaur has its advantages since I don't get carried away with most anything out there in that universe but I certainly recognize the appeal and draw of that universe...

In any event, the big news of the day is that ASU got the commitment of a highly regarded RB by the name of Eno Benjamin and he and his family seemed to be very pleased to be Sun Devils...

Welcome to the Sun Devil family Eno and may the Fork Em Force always be with you...

In other news, the new AD at Oregon St, Scott Barnes, will be paid $850,000 that is higher than Colorado's Rick George at $754,000 and Arizona's Greg Byrne at $675,000 and I'm not sure where Ray Anderson falls in the AD salary category but I doubt he is making as much as Barnes...

You know the world is out of whack when head football and basketball coaches and now athletic directors make more than the presidents of colleges and universities...

However, if you consider how much a successful football and/or basketball program can bring to a university, some of those salaries are actually bargains...

For instance, the AU basketball program brings in three to four times what the ASU basketball program brings in revenue annually, plus it has a lot of big time prestige associated with the program that ASU cannot even come close to matching...

I sure hope and trust that Ray Anderson can elevate some of what we are doing with sports at ASU because I don't think we captured any Territorial Cup points this Fall in athletics which is pretty pathetic...

Oh well, 2017 is a new year and, hopefully, will be a much better year than 2016 was in Sun Devil land...

At least we have this site, where Hod and his staff keep us informed and entertained on a regular basis...

G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!