BURBANK, Calif. -- While many great college football programs rely on four or five-star prospects to bring success, head coach Todd Graham and ASU football have given student-athletes with unusual paths unprecedented opportunity.
One of the most recent, and perhaps biggest, examples of this is redshirt senior safety Jordan Simone, whose story of walking on at Washington State before transferring and walking on again and earning a scholarship at ASU has been well-documented. But without Graham and his staff giving Simone an opportunity, one can only wonder where the safety would be now -- aside from Washington State, his only other interest out of high school was from Eastern Washington.
Throughout his time as head coach, Graham has turned lesser-known athletes and recruits into good players that fit well on his team, which Simone said reflects positively on the staff in the player development area.
"It's just a testament to our coaches and the way that they prepare us every day," Simone said at Pac-12 Media Days Thursday. "The way things are here, if you put in the work, they're going to give you a chance. I'm very grateful to Coach Graham and Coach (Chris) Ball for taking me into Arizona State and giving me a chance to play and earn a scholarship."
Simone also said the team full of players looking to prove themselves has led to a team ready to play with a chip on its shoulder. As an example, he reflected on D.J. Foster's post-workout speech where the senior receiver said the team "should be a mess" if not for the transfers who have stepped in and made an impact early.
Most importantly, though, he said Graham and staff have been successful in recruiting good people, players who will truly care about their teammates and the program.
This year's senior class can be considered a hodgepodge with three Division-I transfers, three junior-college transfers and three redshirts. Among the players who transferred are Devin Lucien, who came from fellow Pac-12 school UCLA, and Kweshi Brown, who was out of football before going to junior college.
But just as he does with student-athletes, Graham saw those two and the other transfers and redshirts as guys yearning for an opportunity.
"Just watch and see what they do on the field," Graham said. "I'm into the person, and each one of those young men have impeccable character and have worked their tail off," Graham said. "I think diversity in your talents and on your football team makes you great.
"I come from a family that no one had ever graduated college, and I'm thankful someone gave me the opportunity. I had some issues with Dyslexia and things like that, and didn't do as well on the ACT test, but someone gave me an opportunity and a chance."
Graham said some programs put a negative connotation on junior college players, but he embraces them as athletes who are ready to work hard.
"There are great young men in junior college that are looking for the opportunity," he said. "I think our players celebrate that. They celebrate. We've got kids from urban areas. We've got kids from California. We've got kids from Louisiana, Virginia, Philadelphia, all over the country."
He said the trick to getting them to mesh lies within the team, which sacrifices for one another -- every member is not only looking to be an All-American on the football field, but in the classroom as well.
Regardless of the path taken to get there, he believes everyone deserves that one opportunity.
"To me, that's what this all about is giving young men that have a burning desire to do things the right way, and have great heart, great character, an opportunity to get an education and be a part of playing at this level," Graham said.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or on Twitter @justintoscano3
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