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15 of 25 (60%) four/five star recruits over 5 cycles have been or appear to becoming successful. Two of the 15 were Jucos with one being successful for 2 seasons while the other was only successful for 1 season.

Could go down to 13 of 25 (52%) depending upon Lucas,Robinson. Could go up to as high as 16 of 25 (64%) depending upon Subtyl

Either we need more 4/5 star recruits that 20% of our total recruits, or we need better evaluation of those that we take to increase the success rate.

2012
Marion Grice-great Juco pickup for 2 years, 2 yr starter
DJ Foster-recruited for years by CDE and closed over 3 week period by CTG, 3 yr starter/4 yr major cotributor
Evan Goodman-recruited by CDE and followed brother to ASU, 2 yr starter

2013
Marcus Hardison-another great Juco recuit, 1+ yr starter.
Ami Latu-3 yr starter
Chans Cox-injured and left program after unable to heal

2014
Eric Lauderdale-over ranked Juco, never played
Jalen Harvey-multiple yr starter
Connor Humphreys-didn't pan out, bounced between O&D (could contribute later)
Tyler Whiley-didn't pan out, bounced between O&D (could cortibute later)
Dalvon Stuckey-never made it to campus
Kalen Ballage-multiple yr starter
Derik Calhoun-multiple yr starter

2015
Joseph Wicker-multiple yr starter
Jay Jay Wilson-should be multiple yr starter but who knows, bounced between O&D
Stanley Norman-never made it to the roster
Zach Robertson-probable multiple yr starter
Davon Durant-never made it to Fall camp
Jason Lewis-never saw the field, bounced between O&D
Brady White-has multiple yr starter talent, very serious injury

2016
Chase Lucas-has multiple yr starter talent, redshirted 2016
N'Keal Harry-definite multiple yr starter
Robbie Robinson-over rated at 4 stars but has multiple yr contributor talent
Christian Hill-drastically over rated at 4 stars out of Juco. Perhaps a contributor in his final season in 2018
Doug Subtyl-hasn't made it to campus yet

Have a defense that statistically sucks in pass defense but creates a ton of turnovers....

OR

A defense that is middle of the conference/nation statistically but doesn't create turnovers all too often.

This is the question it all boils down to. Now before everyone automatically picks the second option, let me submit to you that in CTG's first three years we had exactly the first option and won 28 games with that option. Some may forget that our pass defense was atrocious those years too, but the stats were masked because of the turnovers and the fact that we lost only 11 games over those three years.

Also keep in mind that during the Erickson/Koetter years we routinely had very vanilla defenses that rarely created turnovers but for the most part we were usually somewhere in the middle of the Pac statistics-wise.

Also put aside the "square peg/round hole" arguments about personnel and scheme. Put aside recruiting deficiencies and just pretend we have the personnel to make either scenario work. What would you rather have?

Hansen had an interesting story in the Daily Star this morning about Colorado's rise under coach MacIntyre...

Here are some of the key points...

Prior to this season, the Buffs had only won three PAC games in four seasons, three of those under coach Mac but this season, as we all know, the Buffs won the South title and will play Wash this Friday for the PAC championship...

Coach Mac did not do this with 4 and 5 star recruits as he only had one 4 star player during his first three recruiting classes...

He didn't do it using JC players either but with 38 three star players and 21 two star players over those three years...

So, as Hansen points out and what many here would agree with is that he did it through "accurate evaluation and skill development"...

The Buffs were usually competing for players against the likes of Colorado St, Hawaii, Fresno St and UNLV to name but a few of the lower echelon schools out west...

Mac has also recruited Texas well and now has strong ties there versus taking left-overs from California...

The Buffs also had very good luck this season as far as injuries were concerned where their 11 defensive starters made 126 starts out of a possible 132 starting spots and their offensive starters were 113 out of 132 slots...

I'm still a Talent Is Destiny guy but there are obviously all kinds of ways to have a successful season or two, here and there, but if you want to compete for championships annually you better have a roster like USC does every year...

Coach MacIntyre deserves and will get the PAC COY award this season...

Go Devils!!!

I think we can safely assume 2 things are going occur before the 2017 season begins:

• There will be changes made with the coaching staff.
• Todd Graham is not going anywhere between now and the start of the season. Most commentators agree this is a make or break year for Graham.

That stated, this is next logical question given the current state of the program:

• Is it possible for Graham to correct the woeful defensive issues the team is facing in a single off-season?

If your answer is "no", are we just delaying the inevitable? I'm not sure that I can answer that question. I do think it is possible improve the defense to something that can be viewed as acceptable. I think Colorado's defense is a prime example when they hired Jim Leavitt. Let's hope Graham can make a similar change and rebuild the goodwill that's been lost over the past two years. I'm curious what others' thoughts are...

2011-(yr prior to CTG's arrival)-104/79.8 (dead last in FBS)

2012-56/35.3 ypg (incredible turnaround between mid-December 2011 and then end of 2012 season)

2013-56/31.4 (this was the peak as there were 14 games vs 13 in every season except the 12 in 2016)

2014-58/32.4

2015-60/39.8

2016-66/52.0 (highest per game by a significant amount 5.5 vs 4.0 in 2013. still not bad and ranked 57th in FBS)

According to an article on another site, only 74 teams qualified for bowl games this year with a .500 record. 80 spots are available, so similar to last year, they are going to have to dip into the 5 win team pool to fill the remaining spots. Given how we have looked this year, would you even want to see ASU get an invite? Based on some sentiment I've seen on the boards, I'm wondering what kind of support they would drum up. Is it better just to pack this season away and move on to next year?

Personally I think they should jump at the opportunity, even if they are likely to lose. The extra 15 practices they would get can't do anything but help. I'd like to see them spend each and every practice working on tackling drills, but that probably resonates across this board. Does anyone think we will get the call for one of these 6 spots? Who is our stiffest competition we have to win out over? Depending on location, would you make the trip to see them play?

Hurley's teams have actually held up rather well vs. Ky in the Past. Buffalo had lead vs. them at halftime and we held our own and fell to them by 'only' 14 last year in Lexington. If nothing else, this will give a view to our mental toughness as a team, do we come out tentative or do we give them our best shot and see what happens?

Yes, being facetious here, but after yesterday's game two things have now been determined:

One, and this was in all actuality determined on Friday, Arizona's 88 passing yards ensured that ASU's 357.4 passing yards yielded per game, won't eclipse the all-time FBS high of 367 yards that Cal posted in 2014. The bad news is that ASU in this category will finish last in the nation for a second year in a row.

Second, since UTSA won its sixth game of the year last night, ASU avoided the dubious distinction of not beating any bowl-bound teams this season.

did ASU recruit this stud RB who is off to OSU?

Should have found a way to keep this kid'

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...vie-mussie-out-asu-volleyball-coach/94521476/

Crazy that after one year she gets fired. Hod any news as to the reason on why? Shocked that they would fire a coach after one year on the job.

What if RA hears the fans and offers the following deal:

He will terminate CTG, effective immediately, but the costs of the next four years of CTG's salary will be passed on to the fans.

CTG makes $3.5 mil per season. For ease of math, let's assume there are 35,000 season tickets. So, for the next four years, each season ticket will have an additional $100 coaching replacement surcharge added.

Take that deal?

I want us to go back to our tradition....we played the Cats in grey and white. They stayed with their colors.... Grey is not our color...it's Maroon and Gold. The least we could do is play UA in our True combination of those colors. These combos are starting to get tacky.

@Hod Rabino, @Ralph Amsden and the DD staff. I know I'm jumping the gun big time but I'm sure that I'm not the only impatient one. Have any of you heard any murmurs as to what might happen just yet in terms of coaching and/or off-season changes? Any unexpected meetings at Ray Anderson's office? If not any idea when we might hear something?

Inquiring minds want to know....

I was talking with a friend on Facebook and came across this little interesting tid bit in our discussions...

A coach gets hired at a school that didn't have much prior success. In his first year he goes 5-6. His next year he goes 10-2, followed by 8-3, 11-1, and then 10-2. Then in his next six years he wins only 6, 9, 7, 7, 9, and 7 again. Pretty mediocre huh?

Well for the next 14 seasons after that stretch, this coach would never win less than double digits each season, reaching #1 four times and winning two national titles.

The coach's name was Bobby Bowden.

Now imagine had the fan base got antsy and fired him after that mediocre stretch, especially the third seven win season in four years? Imagine had they said "well the guy won with the previous guy's recruits but hasn't done much since then with his own guys."

Pretty sure 'Noles fans were happy they were patient and didn't try to capture "lightning in a bottle."

Rivals.com has extended its Cyber Monday promotion for monthly subscribers as well.

Any monthly subscriber upgrading to an annual membership will receive a $50 digital gift certificate code to Rivals Fan Shop. So you're basically receiving an immediate 50% rebate on your membership to spend on Sun Devil merchandise!

The months to come prove to be a very interesting off-season for ASU with the assistant coaches' changes, forming the 2017 recruiting class and a spring practice that will be crucial to the team's prospects next season.

Upgrading to an annual membership ensures you uninterpreted premium access from now and throughout the 2017 season.

How to upgrade:

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Thanks for your support!

I think this was mentioned previously on this board but just in case. Colorado was ranked #114 in total defense after the 2014 season and are currently ranked #12 under Jim Leavitt. Colorado's recruiting has been less than spectacular so I have to believe that coaching and scheme are playing a major role in the transformation. There is hope but the right changes need to be made.

Disclaimer - I do not advocate letting Graham go. I've appreciated his efforts and he pulled ASU through a very dark time when he first arrived. So, despite one of the worst losses in ASU history, I hope he pulls together a successful season next year and on.

My major gripe is that apparently ASU would have no choice in the matter - due to the financial distress buyout costs would create. So this begs the question: Who guarantees an employee $14 million regardless of job performance? Universities need to take back ownership of their programs from coaches and their agents. I find it incomprehensible and a total misuse of taxpayer money. I'm all for major $$$ paid to employees for quality work produced. However, to guarantee future $ no matter the quality of the work product, with no substantial ways to mitigate future damage, is beyond irresponsible.

You would have thought after Sendek they would have wised up. I seriously hope Crow, Anderson and the Board of Regents step back and rethink the position they are putting the university in.

This needs to go beyond ASU... all universities (especially public) need to stop allowing these agents and coaches to pit themselves against one another. They are being absolutely schooled.

B Kelly is apparently testing the market through representatives to see what might be available per a couple of media sources. He says he has no interest in leaving Notre Dame but the media sources say otherwise. I could see him tiring of the ND spotlight. Also, the leadership at ND might not fight hard to retain him.

Oregon appears to be looking for a new coach based on a USA Today story. The buyout is around $11M if the story is correct. Apparently the Ducks have been testing the market for several days and were very interested in Tom Herman but the interest wasn't reciprocated. If Knight is behind this, money probably won't be a problem.

If these jobs open up, it should be fun to speculate on the successors and domino effect, and the availability of some good assistants.

We all are expecting a change at DC.
With that will hopefully come a new scheme.

I was wondering this morning if our defensive scheme is the biggest thing holding back these players. I look around and see nothing but a bunch of players out their natural positions. They come to ASU and have to learn an unfamiliar position. RBs and WRs are being asked to be corners and safties. Linebackers are asked to be safeties and vice versa. DTs (Wicker) are being asked to be Devilbackers.

My hope is that we hire a new DC that brings in a scheme where we recruit LBs that are LBs and Safties that are Safties, etc.

Thoughts?

2005 454.2 (Rice-year before CTG's arrival)

2006 418.2 ypg (Rice)

2006 288.4 ypg (Tulsa the year prior to CTG's arrival)

2007 469.0 ypg (Tulsa)
2008 379.6 ypg (Tulsa)
2009 397.0 ypg (Tulsa)
2010 450.8 ypg (Tulsa)

2010 305.1 ypg (Pitt the year prior to CTG's arrival)

2011 350.6 ypg (Pitt)

2011 422.6 ypg (ASU the year prior to CTG's arrival)

2012 350.8 ypg
2013 372.4 ypg
2014 417.1 ypg
2015 463.8 ypg
2016 520.5 ypg

Really only had a majority of players that he recruited in year 4 at Tulsa and years 4&5 at ASU. The average ypg in those seasons was 478.5.

hod,

Given pressure on CTG to win and our lack of OV YTD, should we expect 10-12 JC recruits?

Man, we need a stud recruit to commit to break this nightmare last six game run...

This is more than just postage thoughts, which is why my article is coming later than usual and longer than usual too.

Questions abound following Territorial Cup Defeat, 5-7 season