Saguaro coach Jason Mohns had high praise for Sabercat athlete Will Shaffer last year, putting him in the conversation of Brandt Casey and Stone Matthews.
These were Sabercats that were the secret sauce to Saguaro’s six straight state titles. Guys who set the tone on the field and in the locker room, doing whatever is asked of them.
Shaffer fits that mold.
As a junior, he played on both sides of the ball, at times out of position while linebacker Clay Randall was coming back from injury. He was top-ten on the team in tackles and led the Sabercats with nine receiving touchdowns.
He plans to do the same thing as a senior.
“As it’s going right now, I’m playing both ways as I did last year,” Shaffer said. “Most of my time will be spent on defense as of right now, but (there will be) time spent on both sides of the ball.”
Shaffer currently has offers from Memphis, Air Force, NAU, Abilene Christian and Texas State.
But when hometown Arizona State came through with an offer, Shaffer’s first from a Power 5 program, it wa a moment he will never forget.
“We used to go to ASU games often, like every other week” Shaffer said. “Especially watching the big games like Reggie Bush and USC, it was big. I loved the environment, everything was huge to me.”
Shaffer said ASU linebackers coach Antonio Pierce doesn’t want to force the Sabercat on one side of the ball right now but could see him thriving on the defense.
“He was saying they want to put me as an athlete knowing my background playing both ways, but mostly linebacker,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer and his family are currently lining up visits and setting a timeline for his commitment.
