Eric Sorenson
From the day Herm Edwards was hired as head coach at Arizona State he vowed to make California a high priority on the recruiting trail. Just two years later, Edwards and his mostly hand-picked group of assistants have taken the Sun Devils to unprecedented success landing some of the top prospects in the fertile west coast state.
California Top 20 recruit signings in 2020 class (247Sports Composite)
ASU — 4
Alabama — 2
Ohio State — 2
Oregon — 2
Georgia — 2
Washington — 2
Clemson — 1
UCLA — 1
Stanford — 1
Utah — 1
USC — 0
Undeclared — 2This is an amazing and unprecedented accomplishment by ASU football.
— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) January 3, 2020
The diligent work of the Edwards’ and his staff hasn’t gone unnoticed to local coaches and players.
“I feel that is directly related to Herman Edwards being a former NFL head coach and the NFL staff members he has on board,” Chandler High head coach Rick Garretson said to Sports360AZ.com. “In my opinion, Coach Edwards is a player’s coach and both parents/athletes understand what he brings to the table. ASU wins over Oregon and Florida.”
ASU has also stretched their recruiting footprint to other parts of the country, thanks in large part to Garretson’s former head coach at Chandler, Shaun Aguano who just completed his first season as Edwards’ running backs coach.
Updated look at ASU’s 2020 class, which now includes seven four-star signees and is ranked No. 24 nationally and No. 4 in the Pac-12.
Pictured at Under Armour All-American Game week: @Elijhahbadger2, @chadjohnsonll, @dngata2https://t.co/smhpdeX6eH pic.twitter.com/aEinkjWdis
— SunDevilSource.com (@SunDevilSource) January 3, 2020
“I think calling them a national brand is a bit premature but they made a huge step in the right direction with this signing class,” Brophy head coach Jason Jewell said to Sports360AZ.com. “They played to their strengths. Coach [Jamar] Cain and Antonio Pierce have strong ties to California and Aguano landed that big-time back from Ohio [DeaMonte Trayanum].
There are a lot of things that would make ASU attractive to recruits across the country. The weather, easy flights into Sky Harbor [Airport], upgraded facilities and coaches with NFL ties.”
This is a program on the rise ?
We earned our first 8️⃣-win season since 2014❗️ pic.twitter.com/3lLPB0X6Os
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) January 1, 2020
Coming off a Sun Bowl win over Florida State with several key players returning next season, most notably quarterback Jayden Daniels (arguably the biggest recruiting win in ASU history), the pieces appear to be in place moving forward.
“I definitely think ASU has made themselves a force in southern California and have put together a tremendous signing class,” Saguaro head coach Jason Mohns said. “Credit to Coach Edwards and his staff for landing some big-time prospects! If they are able to do that consistently and win at a high level, there’s no question that ASU can become a national recruiting brand.”
The impact is also being felt by ASU’s 2020 in-state signees who see bright things ahead in Tempe.
“It’s a very exciting moment [for] ASU football,” Saguaro athlete and incoming Sun Devil Will Shaffer explained. “This 2020 class is going to show why we are the best, hands down.”
