12 things you should know about ASU football recruiting

Doug Haller | The Republic | azcentral.com

Show Caption Hide Caption Al Luginbill on ASU football recruiting Al Luginbill is back with ASU football as director of player personnel

Since hiring Herm Edwards in December, Arizona State has shaped its football program into an NFL model.

A significant part of that strategy: Adding Al Luginbill as director of player personnel.

Fans should be familiar with Luginbill. This is his third stop in the desert, following stints as an assistant coach under former ASU coaches Frank Kush and Darryl Rogers. Luginbill, 71, has spent most of his adult life coaching and evaluating football at every level.

Experience isn't an issue.

On Friday – as ASU prepared for a big recruiting weekend that includes several official visits – Luginbill met with beat reporters to discuss his new position and to provide an update on program recruiting.

1. ASU remains behind

Coaching changes kill recruiting. That’s universal. Even so, Edwards and his staff did a decent job last winter saving a class that 247 Sports ended up ranking sixth in the Pac-12.

ASU, however, still has much to make up with the 2019 class. The Sun Devils on Monday received their first public commitment, three-star quarterback Ethan Long of West Linn, Ore.

“Our ‘19 class, we’re behind,” Luginbill said. “We know it. These kids that we’re recruiting now have been recruited for a year by everyone else. Some of these kids – legally – were contacted in football camps at some universities two years ago, so the ’19 class coming up, which is really crucial for us, we’re catching up.”

That’s not the case for future classes. Luginbill said ASU is in strong shape for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 recruiting cycles.

2. ASU expanded its recruiting department

To help recruiting, ASU added two-full-time positions. Ryne Rezac was promoted to on-campus recruiting coordinator and Radmen Niven was put in charge of creative design, a social-media area that grows in importance almost daily.

“These two positions are just absolutely crucial to us,” Luginbill said. “If we didn’t get them, we could in my opinion never have caught up.”

In addition, former ASU receiver Frederick Gammage assists Luginbill with evaluation.

3. Arizona remains the priority

ASU has struggled keeping local talent in place. That’s not a new development. Previous coach Todd Graham struggled with this at times during his six seasons. Edwards and his staff are trying to change the narrative.

“We have saturated this state since we’ve been here,” Luginbill said.

That said, the Sun Devils aren’t offering scholarships just to have a presence. They want to be selective.

“In the state of Arizona, we’re not going to offer somebody that we don’t think can be a starting football player at Arizona State,” Luginbill said.

Tight ends coach Donnie Yantis is the lead recruiter for the home state, but every coach helps.

“We have a term here – ‘Words and actions,’ ” Luginbill said. “Our actions will speak for ourselves over the years in our commitment to Arizona. It’s still first, but there are many people outside this room that would question that. We’ll keep busting our tail.”

4. After Arizona, it’s all about California

By now, most ASU fans should know: ASU’s failure to recruit California under Graham was a significant factor in his dismissal. Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson mentioned it. School president Michael Crow mentioned it.

As one of the new guys in the program, Luginbill said he couldn’t recall the last player ASU signed from San Diego, which is baffling because outside of USC and UCLA, no Pac-12 school is closer to Southern California.

Result: Edwards has assigned eight of his 10 coaches to recruit California. It’s not a coincidence that 10 players in Edwards’ first recruiting class hailed from the Golden State.

“If you look 3-5 years down the line, you’ll see this football program made up in the 80 percent range of Arizona and California,” Luginbill said. “I really believe that.”

5. For now, ASU isn’t trying to recruit nationally

The Sun Devils have a recruiting core and a recruiting footprint.

The core consists of Arizona, Southern California, Northern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii. Luginbill thinks the program has an opportunity to attract Polynesian players, something it did well in the past but not so much recently.

The footprint: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. In addition to Las Vegas, ASU also recruits Reno in Nevada. The Sun Devils also include Texas and Louisiana in their footprint because of the depth of talent in each state.

“Unless we have a tie – meaning it’s an alum or there’s a contact, whatever it may be – very seldom will we be outside that footprint,” Luginbill said.

6. Evaluation starts in the war room

After wrapping up the 2018 class, coaches and staff sat in the program’s “war room” for two hours a day and evaluated players.

“It was a grind,” Luginbill said, “but what we did was set the tone at each position so everybody heard it. The secondary coach heard what the wide receiver coach wanted so when they went out (recruiting) we’re not wasting our time looking at things that don’t fit.”

To start, the area coach – the one responsible for that geographical region – heads up a player’s recruitment, but ASU wants to hand that off to the position coach as soon as possible. Ultimately, Edwards and the position coach decide whether the Sun Devils should offer a scholarship.

7. Offensive line is different

While each coach is assigned a geographical area, offensive line coach Dave Christensen is different. He recruits throughout ASU’s recruiting footprint.

The reason:

“Offensive linemen for this program at this stage is what we have to focus on,” Luginbill said. “I’m not saying the other positions aren’t important – they are – but if we don’t get our offensive line up to speed within the next two recruiting classes, the quality of our football will not be what it needs to be.”

8. Size is a priority

Luginbill isn't trying to fool anyone.

“Right now if you look at our football team, it is not a tall, athletic football team,” he said. “It’s no secret – look at them.”

He said fans should start to notice a change with ASU’s 2018 recruiting class. Tackle Ralph Frias of Safford is 6-foot-7, 305 pounds. Guard Jarrett Bell (6-5, 295) and Spencer Lovell (6-7, 315) also have size.

“I’m not guaranteeing that any of these kids will play early, but you’re going to see a difference in them physically,” Luginbill said.

9. Talent is only one factor

Of course, ASU coaches seek height, speed and athleticism. “We’ll worry about the weight later,” Luginbill said, mentioning the program’s training facilities.

But a final quality also is required.

“If you don’t have a passion for the game, we’re not interested in you,” said Luginbill, adding that it’s often the hardest part to evaluate.

“(Football has) got to be a part of that person’s life,” Luginbill said. “I think it’s the ‘it’ factor at every position. The end result is every time they compete they want to win.”

10. ASU knows what it wants in a QB

With just three scholarship quarterbacks on its roster, ASU will seek to add at least one more to its 2019 class. So what are the Sun Devils seeking?

Size, for one thing.

“Height is important to us, but there are exceptions,” Luginbill said. “High school kids that are on the shorter side really have to be special in executing the position.”

A strong arm helps as well.

“We’d like to have the dual-threat there, but they have to be able to throw the football,” Luginbill said. “If you said, 'What are you going to do, you have this decision, these two guys are very similar but this one throws the football better and this one runs better – we’re going to take (the one who throws better).”

11. Upside trumps rankings

Recruiting rankings are an easy way to measure a program’s recruiting efforts, but they’re also misleading. Some could argue Graham recruited at a high level during his time in Tempe. Others could argue that it was the reason he was fired.

Luginbill’s stance: “We (couldn’t) care less of the star rating. We don’t care. If they fit our DNA at that position, we’re going to evaluate them and see where they fall.”

In other words: “Have they maxed out – or do they have an upside?”

12. Evaluation isn’t just for recruits

As director of player personnel, Luginbill's responsibilities include ASU's active roster. Along with player-personnel manager Marcus Castro-Walker, he's in the process of meeting with every player to explain how this will work.

Just one example: Quality control assistant Dan Cozzetto spent the spring evaluating every competitive snap from every player. This lets a player know where he stands at all times.

“It was a grueling process, let’s put it that way,” Luginbill said. “But it was a very informative process and the player all of a sudden understood that when he took a competitive snap, that thing was being thoroughly (dissected). Coach Edwards talks about it all the time – there are going to be wins and losses on the practice field. We keep score.”

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Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at doug.haller@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DougHaller.