... the more it makes sense when it comes to the NCAA investigation and Herm Edwards continuing in 2022.
I've mentioned at least a month ago, maybe longer, that ASU was moving to try and wrap up this NCAA investigation sooner rather than later. As we know Michael Crow and Ray Anderson do have connections with some of the higher-ups in the NCAA. And yes the NCAA from its point of view still wants to do all their due diligence and wants to interview the ASU staff as well as other high school players mentioned in the allegations. These interviews are something that is more likely to happen in 2022 rather than by the end of this calendar year.
But something that I mentioned before and is worth repeating is that if the NCAA truly had the hard evidence so to speak against Herm Edwards and Antonio Pierce for that matter, then the school would have been forced to take action just like they did with the three assistant coaches who were put on admin leave strictly due to the fact that the paper trail regarding the allegations was impossible to ignore. I know some will argue that establishing goodwill with the NCAA does not make sense at the end of the day but you can also say that when the NCAA provides overwhelming evidence against members of your staff and you basically tell him that you choose to do nothing about it you're definitely setting yourself up to harsher rather than lenient sanctions down the road. Again, with Crow's and Anderson's connections that would not make sense.
But on that note, it does not appear that the evidence the NCAA does have at this point is something that would force ASU to take action on Edwards and or Pierce. So while I did believe that it did not make sense for Pierce to stay on board next year I will say that based on this theory here I might be scaling back my prediction on this and say that Pierce staying in Tempe may be closer to a 50/50 proposition. I still don't think he makes any move before the December signing period (although I still can see him not doing any recruiting off-campus in December) and I still think that even if it's proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that any NCAA notice of allegations is not going to mention him in a negative light so to speak that he still may opt to go to the NFL. Another aspect I mentioned is the fact that now that his son and ASU safety DeAndre exhausted his eligibility that maybe it's easier, if you will, for him to leave ASU. Then again, now that the players he brought on board in his first year in Tempe such as Butler, Robertson and Lole are all expected back in 2022, but that compels him to stay.
I don't think it's out of the question that ASU and the NCAA may have a behind the scenes understanding as to what ultimately the sanctions on the program will be and again we're not talking about anything that will be announced probably before the spring of 2022 and could even spill over to the summer of next year. Again, I do think the NCAA is still going to want to conclude its final round of interviews no matter what before they submit the notice of allegations. But I don't think it's out of the question that ASU has clearly communicated to the NCAA what self-imposed sanctions they are willing to take which I believe will be limited to a reduction of the 2023 recruiting class' size and a reduction of on and off-campus visits during that recruiting cycle.
Time will tell if this theory does come to fruition but I think it's something to at least consider based on what has, and more importantly what hasn't, happened to date.
I've mentioned at least a month ago, maybe longer, that ASU was moving to try and wrap up this NCAA investigation sooner rather than later. As we know Michael Crow and Ray Anderson do have connections with some of the higher-ups in the NCAA. And yes the NCAA from its point of view still wants to do all their due diligence and wants to interview the ASU staff as well as other high school players mentioned in the allegations. These interviews are something that is more likely to happen in 2022 rather than by the end of this calendar year.
But something that I mentioned before and is worth repeating is that if the NCAA truly had the hard evidence so to speak against Herm Edwards and Antonio Pierce for that matter, then the school would have been forced to take action just like they did with the three assistant coaches who were put on admin leave strictly due to the fact that the paper trail regarding the allegations was impossible to ignore. I know some will argue that establishing goodwill with the NCAA does not make sense at the end of the day but you can also say that when the NCAA provides overwhelming evidence against members of your staff and you basically tell him that you choose to do nothing about it you're definitely setting yourself up to harsher rather than lenient sanctions down the road. Again, with Crow's and Anderson's connections that would not make sense.
But on that note, it does not appear that the evidence the NCAA does have at this point is something that would force ASU to take action on Edwards and or Pierce. So while I did believe that it did not make sense for Pierce to stay on board next year I will say that based on this theory here I might be scaling back my prediction on this and say that Pierce staying in Tempe may be closer to a 50/50 proposition. I still don't think he makes any move before the December signing period (although I still can see him not doing any recruiting off-campus in December) and I still think that even if it's proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that any NCAA notice of allegations is not going to mention him in a negative light so to speak that he still may opt to go to the NFL. Another aspect I mentioned is the fact that now that his son and ASU safety DeAndre exhausted his eligibility that maybe it's easier, if you will, for him to leave ASU. Then again, now that the players he brought on board in his first year in Tempe such as Butler, Robertson and Lole are all expected back in 2022, but that compels him to stay.
I don't think it's out of the question that ASU and the NCAA may have a behind the scenes understanding as to what ultimately the sanctions on the program will be and again we're not talking about anything that will be announced probably before the spring of 2022 and could even spill over to the summer of next year. Again, I do think the NCAA is still going to want to conclude its final round of interviews no matter what before they submit the notice of allegations. But I don't think it's out of the question that ASU has clearly communicated to the NCAA what self-imposed sanctions they are willing to take which I believe will be limited to a reduction of the 2023 recruiting class' size and a reduction of on and off-campus visits during that recruiting cycle.
Time will tell if this theory does come to fruition but I think it's something to at least consider based on what has, and more importantly what hasn't, happened to date.
