ASU coach Todd Graham announces ASU signed 22 recruits at a press conference on Feb. 4, 2015. (Andrew Ybanez/ The State Press)The ASU football team is poised for another top-20 finish in the recruiting rankings as the Sun Devils nabbed 22 prospects on National Signing Day.
Coach Todd Graham said this is the best class he has recruited to ASU in his short tenure.
"This class is a great class," Graham said. "We got the right guys."
Graham said the main goal of this year's recruiting period was to get as many interior players as possible, as shown by the nine offensive and defensive lineman making their way to Tempe.
"We want to stockpile and overstock both sides of the line of scrimmage," Graham said. "That's something that I think that we've done in this class that will help us."
Among those nine is the biggest recruit for ASU, defensive lineman Joseph "Jojo" Wicker from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California.
Graham said he "did his happy dance" when Wicker called him and told him that he would be a Sun Devil late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Graham also said Wicker reminds him of a recent Sun Devil who turned into a pro.
"Jojo reminds me of Will Sutton, except, you can see there, he's 6-foot-4," Graham said. "The guy has a tremendous get-off. I don't think I've seen a guy who fits our scheme more than this guy."
Graham also loves the addition of defensive lineman George Lea from New Orleans. Graham said the duo of Wicker and Lea will help the size and explosiveness of the defensive line moving forward.
Graham said the duo of Kareem Orr, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Stanley "Scrappy" Norman, from Los Angeles, is the best class of high school defensive backs that he's had since arriving in Tempe.
"We need to always upgrade our cover," Graham said. "We want physical cover guys."
Overall, the Sun Devils picked up 12 offensive players and 10 defensive players, but the defensive side has more players that appear to be in position to play right away based on skill set and current depth.
One thing ASU fans noticed in this was a lack of receivers, but Graham said the staff is working on bringing in other players to fill that role.
List of big-name WR prospects who ASU lost out on:
Christian Kirk (Texas A&M)
Paul Lucas (flipped to Oregon State)
Cordell Broadus (UCLA)
— Fabian Ardaya (@fardaya15) February 4, 2015
He also said his team has a few other pieces in place that he cannot talk about yet, including a kicking prospect to replace the departed Alex Garoutte.
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger.
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