New ASU football coach Dennis Erickson gushed Wednesday about how his staff had widened the Sun Devils' recruiting board, broadening its horizons.
On the team's list of new signees were players from Louisiana and Florida. Players hailing from that far away have been few and far between at ASU. But what was sorely lacking among this year's recruits were locals from Arizona, something ASU has had a stranglehold on in recent years.
Only four high school players from the state signed with the Sun Devils this week. By contrast, the Nebraska Cornhuskers swooped in and signed a whopping five Arizonans. Perhaps even more disturbing was the fact the top two recruits in the state - Avondale's Agua Fria's Everson Griffen and Tucson Salpointe's Kris O'Dowd - signed with USC.
Criticize former ASU coach Dirk Koetter all you want, but he consistently convinced the state's most coveted high school football players - Kyle Caldwell, Zach Miller, Kyle Williams - to stay home and shun offers from the likes of Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Hopefully Erickson can establish himself in Arizona quickly. It's hard enough plucking players around the country. The Sun Devils need to wrap up the best locals first.
