Recruiting is a lot like a football game. It’s a battle between teams, and it ain’t over until ink marks the dotted line. In this game, the planning, effort and execution of strategies often shape the future of a college football program. By Wednesday, February 6 an expected 27-28 recruits will become the future of Sun Devil Football and thus, a permanent part of Sun Devil Nation.

Todd Graham makes it clear that a cornerstone of this program is ASU’s homegrown talent. He and his staff are giving it their all to build a force from the “inside out” by targeting the Valley’s toughest, most skilled and hardest-working football players. A Todd Graham player is intelligent, mature and one that proves it with his performance, not his mouth. Call it Kush 2.0. Local players like this build more than a strong team, they are the back-bone of a strong program. Their opportunity at Arizona State doesn’t exist elsewhere. It’s their one & only chance to represent where they came from. It’s the opportunity for these local players to become the face of their program nationally and to have a hand in the future of the Valley’s sports history and landscape. Rare.

The best advice given to any high school athlete considering their collegiate offers is to do what is ultimately best for themselves, now and in their future. For gifted football players in Arizona, it’s no different. Communities of an exceptional prospect often overlook that premise because they are emotionally invested. They are biased because it means much more than the the addition of an exceptional member to their team. When a nationally coveted player in our own backyard says, “I want to represent Arizona State. This is where I come from. This is my program”, it strengthens their home-town pride because he is one of their own, and he’s one of the best anywhere in the country.

Commitments to the Sun Devil Program by elite local players like DJ Foster, Jaxon Hood and 2013’s Chans Cox breath life & passion in the local Sun Devil community as well as the larger Sun Devil Nation. These players become legends. They will always be favorites of fans & supporters because they come from the front doorstep of Sun Devil country. They follow in the footsteps of great Devils like Gerell Robinson, Mike Nixon, Keegan Herring, Zach Miller, Mike Pollak, Terrell Suggs, Adam Archuleta, Kyle Caldwell, Todd Heap, Shawn Swayda, Phillippi Sparks, Darren Woodson and many more. All were local prospects. All were in demand out of state. All became Sun Devils.

This is a program on the rise. With each local stud that chooses Arizona State and with continued success of Sun Devil football, tides are turning and more of the state’s elite prospects will fight for a chance to represent their home turf. Something powerful is happening in Tempe, and top football players in our own backyard know it.

ALL IN.