ASU setting early standard in one important conference race

Arizona Sports News online

Arizona State head coach Todd Graham promised a shift in the Pac-12 standings and recruiting wars when he arrived in Tempe.

After winning the Pac-12 south title last fall Graham and his staff are seeing the fruits of their labor pay off on the recruiting trail.

The Devils are beefing up on offensive line help landing recent verbal commitments from 2015 prospects Cade Cote and Steve Miller (Gilbert, AZ)  and Mason Walter (Temecula, CA) in the past week.

“All three kids can play,” FOX Sports national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins told Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat in a phone interview Tuesday morning. “They all play tackle which I love…all three guys are real quality players.”

Biggins, who’s based in southern California, has seen Walter blossom from a skinny freshman to a bulked up junior with the height (6’5) to add bulk and muscle to his 280-pound frame.

He believes all three have the skill-set to be dominant players in the Sun Devil system.

More importantly ASU beat out Oregon for the services of Miller and Walter who both had offers from the Ducks.

Biggins believes, although very early in the recruiting season, the Devils are setting the recruiting standard in the conference heading into the fall.

“Right now you got to put ASU as one or two in the Pac-12 and definitely the Top 25 nationally.”

The Devils in-state rivals Arizona have also had a productive summer luring Scottsdale Chaparral’s Keenan Walker to give a verbal commitment.