In two recruiting classes as Arizona State's head coach, Todd Graham has seen mixed results.
Graham's first class included local star and eventual Freshman All-American running back D.J. Foster, along with a surprise star in junior college running back Marion Grice. His second signing class, announced a week ago, featured another in-state standout in linebacker Chans Cox of Blue Ridge High and a strong group of junior college players but was absent top quarterback recruit Joshua Dobbs, who had been committed since last June.
A truer measure ASU's current recruiting prowess should emerge with the class of 2014 when Graham and his staff have had their first full recruiting cycle.
When Graham arrived in December 2011 and began assembling his new staff, he was trying to salvage a 2012 class started by Dennis Erickson while also playing catch up with the 2013 class. They hadn't had the chance to establish a relationship with recruits as early as other suitors. That won't be the case with the 2014 class.
"We've been on (the 2014) class just as hard as we've been on (2013) class since the first day we could send them mail and what not," ASU recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach Chip Long said recently. "You've always got to be a step ahead."
Long is hardly exaggerating. ASU coaches have hit the recruiting trail hard and have already received two verbal commitments for 2014 -- four-star cornerback Jaleel Wadood of California and running back Michael Farmer of Oklahoma. There has been a particular emphasis on local high school players in what is expected to be the deepest recruiting class in Arizona's history. Those efforts have not gone unnoticed.
"They're really making a concerted effort to keep those kids close to home," Scout.com national recruiting analyst Brandon Huffman said. "They're bringing them in much earlier (than past staffs).
"That priority is already showing itself by the way they're attacking the 2014 class."
ASU has already had top local players in for visits, including Scottsdale Desert Mountain quarterback Kyle Allen, Phoenix Mountain Pointe offensive lineman Natrell Curtis and Mountain Pointe wide receiver Jalen Brown -- all four-star prospects.
The staff's ability to establish itself on the home turf should be more properly judged with next year's signing class. Coaches will have had a full cycle to establish relationships and will be armed with two seasons of results -- though 2013's are yet to be seen -- to lure recruits and beat out the likes of UCLA, Oregon and Notre Dame, which have poached several top Arizona recruits in recent years.
Huffman says establishing strong local recruiting is paramount for the Sun Devils.
"I think there was a feeling with D.J. Foster that he was really going to be the guy that turned the tide and they were going to continue to really protect their back yard and kind of build a fence around the greater Phoenix area," Huffman said. "Then this year eight of the top 10 players in the state of Arizona are leaving the state. Arizona State needs to kick it up a notch locally instead of getting pillaged every year."
Among that group to commit out of state were five-star defensive back Priest Willis (UCLA), four-star quarterback Tyler Bruggman (Washington State) and four-star receiver Devon Allen (Oregon).
Long said it has been "a battle" establishing a local recruiting foundation and earning the trust of coaches and players locally but emphasizes it's a process that doesn’t happen overnight. Graham said on National Signing Day he's confident ASU has made progress locally but still has a ways to go.
"We've made great strides to where we can dominate in the Valley," Graham said. "Obviously that hasn't happened yet.
"But I think we've made great inroads. Relationships take time. … There's no doubt in my mind that we're making great progress in that regard."
Just how much progress will be evident this time next year. Graham and his staff are convinced they can own the Valley and the state of Arizona, but how soon remains unclear.
They’re just as certain they can recruit nationally the way college football's elite do.
"We believe we can nationally recruit to Arizona State because of the product we have to sell," Long said. "We want to get that out across the nation. You have to if you want to have a chance to win a national championship."
Clearly, ASU can talk the talk. The next few recruiting classes will determine if they can back it up and become a regional or national recruiting power like Oregon, USC, Texas and UCLA or remain a mid-level destination, annually landing one or two four-star prospects and the rare five-star recruit.
Results on the field will play a part in that process, but so too will the staff's ability to win over prospects with what ASU has to offer.
The rankings of individuals and signing classes can be very different than the results they produce, but the group of players introduced by Graham's staff less than a year from now will offer the truest evaluation yet of the progress being made to compete with college football's best for the most talented prospects.
