4-star QB Dillon Sterling-Cole commits to Arizona State

This story was originally published July 28, 2015.

Dillon Sterling-Cole – perhaps the best uncommitted quarterback in the 2016 class -- committed to Arizona State on Tuesday, choosing the Sun Devils over Texas A&M, where his dad once played, among others.

Once he signs a national letter of intent, Sterling-Cole will become the third 247 Sports composite four-star quarterback to sign with the Sun Devils in three years, following Manny Wilkins in 2013 and Brady White last year.

A word used often in to describe Sterling-Cole: upside.

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"He seems to get better and better each and every time we see him,'' said Greg Powers, national recruiting analyst for Scout.com. "… As far as quarterbacks go, I think he's one of the top guys out there with the most upside in the state of Texas."

Sterling-Cole (6-2, 185 pounds) previously played at Class 3A West Orange-Stark High, but transferred to Houston's Class 6A Westfield High last season. At the time, Sterling-Cole had not attracted much big-time college attention. That started to change. At Westfield, Sterling-Cole passed for 2,325 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also rushed for 195 yards and four scores.

His recruitment blew up over the spring. Sterling-Cole was the MVP of The Opening regional competition in Texas and later participated in the prestigious Elite 11 competition in Oregon. Last week, Sterling-Cole– once ranked by one recruiting service as the nation's No. 974 prospect in the 2016 class – listed a final five of ASU, Texas A&M, Florida, Mississippi State and Houston. His dad, Chris, played receiver for Texas A&M from 1996-99 and later played in the NFL.

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"What we see these days, you get the guys that become – for a variety of reasons – these sort of high-profile, hyped quarterbacks following the fall,'' said Barton Simmons, director of scouting for 247 Sports. "Then you sort of get a second wave of quarterbacks that emerge who a lot of schools get excited about once that spring evaluation circuit hits, and I think that's what happened with Dillon Sterling-Cole."

Simmons' spring impression of the quarterback:

"The first thing that really popped to me is his arm strength,'' he said. "He's just a kid that when you sit him in the pocket he can absolutely make every throw you want, and I think that's been evident throughout the camp circuit this spring."

"He had ups and downs on the camp circuit,'' Simmons said. "At times, he was the best quarterback at an event, but at the Elite 11 finals, he was more sort of bottom-of-the-pack in that group. But I think his upside is really high, and once he gets in a system like Arizona State's, works with (offensive coordinator) Mike Norvell, he's the type of kid that I think could really become a star in the Pac-12."In its 2016 rankings, ESPN.com ranks Sterling-Cole 111th. The other recruiting services think highly of him as well. Rivals ranks Sterling-Cole as the nation's No. 7 dual-style quarterback, 247 Sports lists him as the No. 9 pro-style quarterback and Scout.com ranks him as the nation's No. 16 overall quarterback.

Sterling-Cole is the 11th player to commit to ASU's 2016 recruiting class and the second high school player from Texas. All commitments are non-binding until the player signs a national letter of intent.

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