Diablos del Sol | Arizona State Sun Devils

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Getting Keisean would be

ionno, he looked pretty rough when we played him

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Arizona State Leaving No Stone Unturned In Pursuit Of Starting Quarterback

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Arizona State preparing to host as many as eight quarterbacks in the coming days

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By: Emilio Suarez

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It's safe to say that Jake Fette's decision to enter the 2027 transfer portal has left the Arizona State Sun Devils with nowhere else to turn.

With Austin Mack heading to the NFL while Fette and Tommy Goldberg entered the portal, the only QB ASU had on their roster was former three-star recruit Alex Hoke, who spent the entire season on the bench.

Sure, Weis Jr. had commitments from both Alan Chubb and Josh Sturgis, giving him two more warm bodies for their quarterback room, but Weis Jr. was blunt when speaking with the media about the Sun Devils' quarterback situation.

"Yeah, we're going to be looking hard at some guys in the portal,"admitted Weis Jr. before raising both his hands as the questions started pouring in, "I can't name any names. Just know, they'll be here."

When asked if that meant he didn't see a future starter in Hoke or the incoming quarterbacks, Weis Jr. pushed back on the narrative.

"Our interest in experienced quarterbacks has nothing to do with the incoming talent or the talent currently on the roster. We've got National Championship aspirations and that means you explore every avenue to get there. All three of those guys have talent or they wouldn't be a part of this program."

While Weis Jr. publicly defended the incumbent Hoke and the incoming recruits, behind the scenes is an entirely different picture according to a source close to QB coach Tommy Rees.

"They expected to have Jake as a fall back option, flat out," revealed the source. "Jake had taken the news of Mack being named the starter well and for all intents and purposes, had been a stellar teammate to Mack and everyone else in the building. Then he walked into his exit interview and made a demand, and here we are."

When asked what the odds are that Arizona State rolls into the season with two true freshmen and a redshirt freshman as the lone quarterbacks, Anthony Peerman with On3 laughed.

"Zero. If I could pick a number lower than zero, I would. They are absolutely getting somebody."

Who that will be remains the million—or even three million—dollar question. The Sun Devils have official visits lined up with eight different quarterbacks as they have made the position priority number one, two, and three in the transfer portal.

Houston's Keisean Henderson, Utah's Byrd Ficklin, and TCU's Jack Daulton are the first three quarterbacks to visit Tempe. Following the first trio will be Tennessee's George MacIntyre, Wake Forest's Grant Lawless, and Clemson's Chris Denson. Finally, Washington's Treston McMillan and Virginia Tech's Bryce Baker will be the final pairing of quarterbacks in Tempe.

"They're going to spend 12, maybe even14 hours each day trying to sell themselves to some of these kids, while simultaneously vetting them to see how good of a fit they'd be in Weis Jr.'s offense. It's a grueling task to do three quarterbacks in one day, let alone eight in three," remarked an anonymous Big XII scouting director.

The cupboard may be half-empty in Tempe at the moment, but don't expect Charlie Weis Jr. and Co. to leave it bare for long. They're going shopping.

And they're bringing the Brinks truck.

[Soapy]

Starting QB is right there.

Austin.

[Captain Canada]

Just catching back up on this. Getting your chain snatched by the Rebels is so disheartening.


Time to regroup

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Starting QB is right there.

Austin.

Just catching back up on this. Getting your chain snatched by the Rebels is so disheartening.


Time to regroup

like I said to Caes, I expected it. Their defensive line had ours on their back all game. The fact 85% of my passing game was from swings and screens should tell you all you need to know lol

also going into that game I'd only taken 9 sacks all year. Took 5 in that game

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Michael Hutchings Leveraging Old Connections In Transfer Portal

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Arizona State targeting several former Golden Bear defenders

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By: Emilio Suarez

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Michael Hutchings was announced as the new defensive coordinator earlier this year. What wasn't announced, however, was that he may be bringing some friends.

Early reports indicate that the Sun Devils have reached out to five former Golden Bears defenders, all of whom played under Hutchings when he was the Cal defensive coordinator last year, with sources indicating their enrollment in Tempe is as 'good as done.'

The mass wave of players from Cal to Arizona State raised some eyebrows around Berkeley, but Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi denied any belief of wrongdoing.

"Mike and I had a long talk when he took a lateral move to go to Arizona State. He promised he wasn't going to poach any of his former players, and I believe him. All five of the players reportedly preparing to sign with Arizona State made that decision before Michael was hired in Tempe. They indicated their desire to enter the portal during their exit interviews, which happened long before Josh Aldridge left ASU for Navy," clarified Lupoi in an official statement from the University of California, Berkeley.

Among the players on the verge of signing with the Sun Devils, strong safety Aiden Manutai is the most coveted. The soon-to-be senior excels as a deep-coverage safety with natural instincts that always have him around the ball, according to Anthony Peerman.

"It's no secret why he nabbed five interceptions and broke up eight more passes. He's always around the ball. That's great instincts, but more importantly: it's great play recognition. According to Hutchings, Manutai is a film junkie who has to be pried out of the film room during the week."

Manutai may be the most heralded of the Golden Bears, but he isn't the only highly regarded player. CB Cree Thomas was sought-after by Weis Jr. and Arizona State in last year's portal before ultimately signing with Cal. Now, he's walking that decision back one year later.

"I'm not saying it was a mistake to go to Berkeley, I learned a lot there. Had some good times, made some memories. But ultimately, from a football standpoint, Arizona State just makes sense now," explained one source with knowledge of Thomas' decision-making process.

Joining Thomas and Manutai in Tempe will be Kingston Lopa, the former Oregon prospect who followed Tosh Lupoi to Cal two years ago and is now reportedly heading to his third team in five years.

"Lopa has grown as a coverage specialist, hauling in three interceptions and breaking up seven more passes last year with the Golden Bears, but his calling card remains his physicality at the line of scrimmage. He's athletic with the size to fight in the trenches and not get overpowered. If Weis Jr. keeps the same attacking defensive mentality as last season, with a few added wrinkles from Hutchings, Lopa is a great fit as an aggressive in-the-box safety with help over the top."

The trio of secondary defenders aren't the only ones packing their bags. MLB AJ Tuitele and HB Anthony League are also preparing to announce their commitment to Arizona State. Neither player saw the field for the Golden Bears last season.

It's early, but the Sun Devils have a clear plan so far as the transfer portal begins to take shape: identify needs and leverage familiarity.

It's worked so far, with five official recruits already on board, but with their quarterback situation still murky, the jury is still out on the Sun Devils' transfer haul.

[Caesar]

Armando Leon must be the GM at Arizona State because they about to get hit with a tampering charge.

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Armando Leon must be the GM at Arizona State because they about to get hit with a tampering charge.

tampering!? The portal isn't real. And it's also open. All players referenced have officially filed their paperwork and are free to be contacted by any University.

We do things on the up and up in The Valley of the Sun

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Charlie Weis Jr. Building the Trenches Via the Transfer Portal

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Arizona State has two mammoth tackles atop their wish list after Sugar Bowl defeat

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By: Emilio Suarez

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After the Sun Devils' season ending loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in the Sugar Bowl, head coach Charlie Weis Jr. made one thing perfectly clear to his staff.

"We have to beef up the trenches," the coach conveyed to his staff and GM Josh Omura.

"You look at the tape and you can see why he's so adamant about it," explained newly signed offensive coordinator Tavita Pritchard, who was not on staff during the Sugar Bowl loss. "I watched tape on them all year and they were the aggressor. Then you put on that Sugar Bowl tape? It wasn't pretty. They looked like sled dummies out there."

Ask anyone who knows Charlie Weis Jr. and they'll tell you he's always true to his word. That makes it no surprise that once he identified the offensive line as an area of concern, he was going to make sure it was addressed.

And it's being addressed in a big way.

Former Notre Dame offensive tackle Will Black, all 6-foot-7 of him, was spotted in Tempe over the weekend on an official visit with the program and is expected to announce his next program in the coming days after visits to UCLA and Boise State.

"It's easy to see why Weis Jr. targeted him early," theorized On3's Anthony Peerman, "Black is big, no doubt about that, but the agility he shows in both run and pass protection is outstanding for a man of his size. He still struggles with keeping guys from getting inside his body, but he does a great job moving with the offense, pulling on screens, all of the dirty work you want to see out of a lineman."

If Black can handle one side of the line, then Malakai Lee can handle the other. The 6-foot-6 former Michigan and USC recruit hasn't played a snap of football at the collegiate level yet, but his tape has scouts salivating.

"Quick on his feet, quick off the ball, and quick around the corner. You can say 'quick' is the best way to describe his game," laughed Peerman before adding a small nuance.

"He isn't the guy you're going to drop back 50 times and expect him to hold up against a guy like Dylan Stewart or Colin Simmons, but he'll hold his own and make up for it with some of the best pull blocks you'll ever see from a 321-pound man."

Neither has committed to Arizona State, as of yet, but the reports out of both camps are that they love the look—and pay—of Tempe. If everything falls into place, regardless of who the Sun Devils sign to be the starter, he'll have a pair of mammoth bookends to keep him upright.

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ASU Eyeing Athletic Iowa Linebacker To Bolster Playmaking Ability

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Julian Manson led all linebackers with 7 interceptions last season

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By: Emilio Suarez

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Luke Ferrelli won the Chuck Bednarik, Bronco Nagurski, and Dick Butkus awards last season while anchoring the Sun Devils defense in 2027. Ferrelli may be returning for his senior season, but the Sun Devils aren't content with just one playmaking linebacker. They want two.

Julian Manson led all linebackers with seven interceptions last year for the Big Ten Champion Iowa Hawkeyes, but disagreements with the coaching staff led the linebacker to find a more natural fit via the transfer portal. Arizona State is hoping that fit is in Tempe.

"With the continued innovation of modern offenses, playmaking ability and athleticism are a premium on defense. You saw it last year, Manson has those in spades," detailed On3's Anthony Peerman. "He does a great job of disguising his coverage until it's too late, and due to his high football IQ often knows where the ball is going before the play is snapped."

While Manson only had five tackles for loss last season, Peerman noted that was less because of his impact and more due to him re-routing plays.

"There were plenty of times it was obvious he was going to be the running back to the spot, so he tried to change course last minute to avoid it and another Hawkeye got credited with the TFL. Just because the numbers aren't always there, doesn't mean the impact isn't. He changes the way opposing offenses game plan just because of his activity. Sometimes, that's half the battle."

It's early in the Iowa native's recruitment, but Arizona State has reportedly been one of the more aggressive teams in pursuit, a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed around the Big XII.

"Every damn time we call someone, Omura has been there first," grumbled a frustrated Big XII athletic director. "They're literally in on everybody right now. I don't know how much traction they're getting, but they're certainly exhausting all options in their search to finally win a College Football Playoff game."

When reached for comment, Josh Omura was selective in what he revealed.

"Yeah, we're in the mix for a lot of guys," confirmed Omura without naming any specific players, "But that's how you have to act. We know we aren't going to outspend Texas and Ohio State, but we don't have to. There are only so many players to go around, so we're going to be aggressive and touch base with them all. At some point, someone is going to fall through the cracks and we'll be there to clean it up."

While the transfer portal rumors continue to swirl, Arizona State continues to be in the middle of every major conversation. We'll have to wait and see if the smoke leads to a fire. As of right now, only the five former Cal Golden Bears have officially announced their decision to enroll at Arizona State University.