Good morning. I’m introducing a new series intended to take a look at each team in the new Big 12. I’m not sure how many I’ll get done each week, but the only way for me to really know about these teams is to actually do the research so I can be relatively informed when the season hits. So I spent time doing the research this weekend. There are links to everything below so if there isn’t a link, then I didn’t write it, but I always link back to the originator of the content. I wanted to take a quick look at the team: get a feel for the best players; look into their portal class consisted and how they ranked overall; a look at the 2024 recruiting class; and ending on the graphic from Sharp College Football.
Previous Snapshots: Arizona
Snapshot: The biggest issue with Arizona State was that they lost QB Jaden Rashada to Georgia after the spring. It’s one thing to lose a quarterback after the season, but you sort of invest in a quarterback for the spring and then he darts. And Rashada was talented so this is a pretty big loss. Michigan State transfer QB Sam Leavitt is expected to be the starter, but you never know and he was relatively highly rated coming out of high school, a 4-star. Offensive line gelling will be imperative with a new quarterback. Head coach Kenny Dillingham is an Arizona State alumnus and so he’s motivated to do good there. Dillingham is an offensive guy, most recently at Oregon as the offensive coordinator. Leading rusher Cam Skattebo returns and is a senior. He’s essentially a bowling ball, 5’10” and 225 and having rushed for 783 yards on 164 carries and 4.8 yards a carry with 9 touchdowns. Defensive back Shamari Simmons had 73 tackles last year with 6 passes defended and an interception. Prince Dorbah is a pass rusher to watch, he had 6 sacks last year is that tweener type of player at 6’2″ and 230.
Do the Sun Devils play Texas Tech? Yes, Texas Tech’s 4th game of the year is hosting Arizona State on September 21st.
Returning Starters: Offensive returning starters – 7 (72% of offensive production); Defensive returning starters – 3 (63% of defensive production).
Transfer Portal Arrivals: 26. The focus here is on the defensive line, with 6 transfers, which seems like a lot, but then you add in 4 linebackers and 5 defensive backs and the focus on the defense is apparent. Texas Tech benefited from a tight end from Arizona State and they signed 3 to get the numbers back up. That’s 15 of the 26 transfers on defense.
QB Sam Leavitt (from Michigan State)
QB Jeff Sims (from Nebraska)
RB Raleek Brown (from USC)
TE Markeston Douglas (from Florida State)
TE Chamon Metayer (from Colorado)
TE Cameron Harpole (from San Diego State)
OL Joey Su’a (from Arkansas)
OL Jalen Klemm (from Washington)
OL Josh Atkins (from Hawaii)
DL J.P. Deeter (from Purdue)
DL Zac Swanson (from Texas)
DL Jeff Clark (from Louisville)
DL J’Mond Tapp (from Texas)
DL Jacob Kongaika (from Arizona)
DL Justin Wodtly (from Cincinnati)
LB Jordan Crook (from Arkansas)
LB Roman Pitre (from Purdue)
LB Keyshaun Elliott (from New Mexico State)
LB Zyrus Fiaseu (from San Diego State)
DB Javan Robinson (from Washington State)
DB Laterrance Welch (from LSU)
DB Kamari Wilson (from Florida)
DB Cole Martin (from Oregon)
DB Myles Rowser (from New Mexico State)
K Parker Lewis (from Ohio State)
LS Tyler Wigglesworth (from Northern Arizona)
On3 Transfer Index Score: -19 (Big 12 high is 68 with Colorado and low is -30 with Houston)
2024 Recruiting: The Sun Devils landed four-stars on both sides of the ball with running back Jason Brown and defensive back Tony-Louis Nkuba leading the way. Four other players were one notch away from four-star status as Arizona State did an especially good job loading up with talented defensive backs. But the challenge to win with in-state standouts remains tough as only one of the top-20 prospects in Arizona picked the Sun Devils.
Grade: B
Sharp College Football Beta Rank Deep Dive: Sorta mid, not sure how the offense will fare with a new quarterback and how that will go, but just middle of the road to not really great on offense. Sorta the same for the defense, not great at any one spot, but just sort of okay and the transfer portal focus on defense seems like a good idea, plus taking into consideration the lower number of returning production.
