Corona, Calif., has become known in recent years as the “The Gateway to the Inland Empire.”

Thanks to ASU assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Matt Lubick, it could also be pegged “The Gateway to the ASU defense.”

Sophomores Brandon Magee and Shelly Lyons and freshman Vontaze Burfict are the three players from Centennial High School in Corona who make up a terrorizing linebacker trio that is likely to become one of the best in the country before its time at ASU is up.

And Lubick, who is also ASU’s safeties coach, is responsible for the unit’s migration to the desert.

Lubick, in his third year as coach Dennis Erickson’s recruiting coordinator at ASU, didn’t take long to prove his chops.

Praise for the 37-year-old was already high when he corralled Magee, Lyons and running back Ryan Bass and brought them to Tempe last year.

But when Burfict, the school’s highest recruit of all-time, signed with the Sun Devils earlier this year, it was clear Lubick was already building a reputation as one of the country’s best recruiters.

The recruiting game is a tireless one, and Lubick said the biggest thing people don’t realize is how much time goes into a trade that is fundamental to building a successful college program.

“It’s a process,” Lubick said. “You start recruiting guys when they are sophomores and juniors in high school and you really track them throughout the year. Even when you aren’t in a contact period, because the NCAA has rules on when you can contact [recruits], you are constantly tracking their progress.”

Another job of the recruiting coordinator is helping recruits who have signed make sure they fulfill the requirements necessary to meet eligibility standards.

Magee said Lubick was instrumental in helping him finish what he had to academically in order to be eligible to play.

“Without Lubick, I wouldn’t be in college right now, point blank,” Magee said. “In summer school, he put us in all the right classes. He knows what he’s doing. He’s always teaching; I know that.”

Coaching is in the Lubick bloodline. His father is legendary former Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick.

Matt Lubick’s coaching career began as a graduate assistant on his father’s staff in 1995, but his experience with recruiting came as a youngster when he would accompany his dad as he went to watch players at high school games.

“He tried to include me by taking me to games on Friday nights,” Matt Lubick said. “Looking back on it, those were really special times.”

After stops at Cal State-Northridge and San Jose State, Lubick joined Erickson’s staff at Oregon State in 1999 as recruiting coordinator and secondary coach. In 2000, OSU enjoyed an 11-1 record, its best mark in school history, and defeated Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

Now in his second go-around with Erickson, Lubick said he “feels blessed” to have worked under the tutelage of someone with the experience of the Sun Devil head coach.

But it’s Erickson, the 21-year head coach, who said he feels lucky to have Lubick on his staff, not only as an accomplished recruiter, but also as a safeties coach with experience in all aspects of the game.

“He has really helped [the safeties] a lot,” Erickson said. “He’s been on both sides of the ball as a coach … he’s coached receivers, so he as
a good sense of what’s going on back there. He’s made a big difference.”

Despite inheriting a unit this season with little experience — seniors Ryan McFoy and Jarrell Holman and sophomore Clint Floyd entered the season with a combined two starts at safety — Lubick has helped the group become a large reason for ASU’s No. 28 ranking in pass defense, part of a No. 13 mark in total defense.

“He’s doing a very good job, and he knows the game well,” Floyd said. “He’s helping me a lot and all the other safeties. He’s very smart. He knows the game, and I also think of him as a head coach.”

Floyd isn’t alone in recognizing Lubick’s potential as a future head coach, and while Lubick identifies one day heading up a program as his “long-term goal,” he isn’t letting that distract him from the work he’s doing now.

“I’ve always been taught that you have to work as hard as you can in whatever you’re doing,” Lubick said. “That’s how I’ve tried to live my life.”

Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu.