Eric Sorenson
With National Letter of Intent signing day just two weeks away Brad Cesmat caught up with Fox Sports National Recruiting analyst Greg Biggins to discuss the latest on news on Arizona’s top prep recruits, ASU Elite 11 quarterback commit Joshua Dobbs, and how the Sun Devils and Wildcats classes are shaping up. Below are some exerts from the interview Tuesday on ‘Big Guy on Sports.’
Is UCLA still the frontrunner to land Marcos de Niza defensive back Priest Willis? “I received some minor backlash earlier in the year after I said UCLA is leading for him and that’s only strengthened throughout the year. He’s gotten to be really close with the coaching staff there at UCLA. They’ve taken several unofficial trips. What people don’t realize is that’s his dream school…before he got any offers at all I asked him who’s the one school [he] wanted to get an offer from and it was UCLA.”
Is Georgia prep star quarterback and ASU commit Joshua Dobbs still planning on visiting a couple schools like Tennessee and Mississippi State? “Not so much with Tennessee…I heard Mississippi State being an option. It kinda surprised me a little bit…if you know Josh…he’s such a solid, solid character guy I’d be surprised to see him flip just two weeks before signing day. I know he picked ASU for a lot of reasons and to see him head somewhere else this late in the process, I’d be surprised by that.”
How big a blow would it be to ASU if does flip? “It would be a huge blow. He’s a guy I think is a legit top 10 national quarterback. He had a great camp at the Elite 11. He’s got a ton of upside. Smart, athletic, nice arm. He’s got a great feel for the position. You’re not going to find another high-quality quarterback this late in the process so it would be a huge blow.”
What do you make of ASU’s class to this point? “Ya know, I like it. A lot of JC guys…you look at ASU’s class and they have at least five, six, seven guys that are out of the JUCO ranks which means they are talented that can come in and play right now. The experience is already there. The guy who I like the most out of that group is Jalen Strong who’s a receiver. A legit 6’3, 6’4 kid that can run…a big, tall, physical fast receivers. [Linebacker] Chans Cox is obviously the in-state guy. They love him as a linebacker. I also think he’d be a great fullback prospect. Top to bottom they filled a lot of needs. Overall, a pretty solid class.”
How has Rich Rodriguez done with his recruiting class at UofA? “I like his class, too. They did a really good job in San Diego. They have five players out of San Diego and all five are really legit, high caliber prospects. The quarterback position was a huge area of need. They brought in Jesse Scroggins who played at a JC who was a USC signee just two years ago. They also brought in Anu Solomon from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. I can see those guys competing for that job from day one. Both are really talented. Really nice DB class they have. They have two really good looking running backs [coming in].”
