Dennis Erickson Extends Sun Devils’ In-State Recruiting Domination
Dennis Erickson has coaxed two more local football prospects to Tempe. Will Mike Stoops wine about it? Probably. Here’s a look at the two newest Sun Devils and an update on the Arizona high school football playoffs.
We’re firm believers that no one recruits Arizona like Dennis Erickson. In fact, we’d argue that Pete Carroll has had more success in the Grand Canyon State than Mike Stoops—and when Carroll whiffs on a prospect he doesn’t sit around crying about it.
Well, Erickson sealed the deal with two more local prospects last week when Ahwatukee Desert Vista running back Marcus Washington (pictured above) and Phoenix South Mountain offensive guard Fred Thornton committed to the Sun Devils. That brings our in-state tally for the Class of 2009 to six souls.
The full list of 10 nationwide commitments is below. But in the meantime, here’s a look at how ASU’s in-state commitments have fared thus far in the state playoffs.
- OT Koby Koebensky, Scottsdale Saguaro. Considering our struggles on the offensive line, this 6-foot-3 292-pounder can’t get to campus soon enough. Saguaro beat Lake Havasu last week and will continue its march toward a third straight state title when it hosts Glendale Cactus in the 4A-I quarterfinals on Friday.
- RB Shane McCullen, Apache Junction. McCullen averaged over eight yards per touch for Apache Junction, which was ousted last week by Vail Cienega.
- LB Anthony Rose, Tempe Marcos de Niza. Rose has over 100 tackles including a season high 16 against Davonte “Highlight Reel” Neal and Laveen Cesar Chavez. Marcos hosts Mesa Skyline in the 5A-II quarterfinals on Friday.
- TE Max Smith, Scottsdale Saguaro. Erickson offered a scholarship after personally watching Smith score two touchdowns against Chaparral. Saguaro beat Lake Havasu last week and will continue its march toward a third straight state title when it hosts Glendale Cactus in the 4A-I quarterfinals on Friday.
- OG Fred Thornton, Phoenix South Mountain. Like Koebensky, we can’t wait to get some big boys like this 6-foot-2 306-pounder into the program. South Mountain was ousted by Tucson Sunnyside last week.
- RB Marcus Washington, Ahwatukee Desert Vista. The teammate of Devon Kennard, Arizona’s top prospect, picked up nearly eight yards per carry this season but was limited by a stress fracture in his leg. Desert Vista was upset by Gilbert Highland last week.
Class of 2009
Last week’s additions put the number of Class of 2009 commitments at 10. Here’s the list:
| Name | Position | Hometown |
| Chris Coyle | TE | Westlake Village, CA |
| Osahon Irabor | DB | Upland, CA |
| Kody Koebensky | OL | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Shane McCullen | ATH | Apache Junction, AZ |
| Brock Osweiler | QB | Kalispell, MT |
| Anthony Rose | LB | Tempe, AZ |
| Max Smith | TE | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Fred Thornton | OG | Phoenix, AZ |
| Matthew Tucker | ATH | Aurora, CO |
| Marcus Washington | RB | Phoenix, AZ |
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Hope we get the Devon Kennard. Then stoops will really cry. I would also like to see DE go and get some studs out of CA, TX and FL.
Glad to see we are getting some prospects in-state, but this class will really come down to locking down the big dogs — Kennard, Adams, Lewan. Craig Roh already got away to Michigan, Adam Hall is likely USC bound, and guys like Bryce Lamb and Markus Wheaton from Chandler also seem determined to go out of state.
The good news is that au isn’t even really in on ANY of these guys, other than maybe Hall, and is picking up the same type of need-some-development type guys as we are, we’re just getting them in larger numbers. But then, I’m not particularly interested in measuring ourselves against a program that will play in its first bowl game in a decade, I want to get the type of guys that will allow us to compete with the elite teams on our schedule.
The road to the Rose Bowl is not paved with 2- and 3-start recruits. It is only important to get the best AZ recruits if they are great recruits. The fact is, ASU will probably have the third best recruiting class of AZ recruits as the out-of-state schools are getting good recruits out of AZ.
Generally speaking, guys from Arizona fill out our roster. But there aren’t enough difference-makers from this state to carry the program. As long as we’re not beating out Colorado State and Idaho for recruits any more.