By Hod Rabino
Scout.com
Committing to a program sight unseen is a rarity in college recruiting. Yet the high comfort level that Dimarya Mixon felt with Arizona State during his recruitment was enough for the defensive end from West Mesquite, Texas, to commit to Sun Devils on Thursday.
"I've never been to Arizona State on a visit, but I like everything I saw online with the campus and the facilities,” Mixon said. “Talking to my family and looking at the program, I just felt that Arizona State was the place for me. I didn’t know if I was going to commit later on, but when I thought about everything, this is what I wanted to do.
"I was talking a lot to the coaching staff, especially Coach (Paul) Randolph, and I really liked all of them. Coach (Todd) Graham is from Mesquite, so I feel he understands me and we have a good connection because of that. I also had a very good connection with Coach Randolph, which is good because he’s going to be my D-line coach. He gave me a lot of information on the school."
The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Mixon, who reported a 40-time of 4.9, said the ASU staff praised his pass-rushing ability and pursuit to the ball. His high school coach, Michael Overton, concurred with that assessment.
“He’s very explosive off the ball and is a relentless pass rusher,” Overton said. “He has a tremendous amount of ability and he will get nothing but better. I can’t say enough good things about him.
"We run a 3-4 front, and he plays the defensive end spot there. Lining up on the edge, he can outrun an offensive tackle and get to the quarterback, but he’s also a physical player.”
Overton said that he wasn’t surprised Mixon ultimately settled on ASU.
“I thought the coaches did a great job communicating with him during the recruiting process,” Overton explained. “Dimarya is from California, so he wanted to get closer to the West Coast.”
Mixon added that ASU’s high graduation rates for student-athletes
impressed him, as academics was an important factor in his decision.
Mixon, who noted that he both benches and power cleans 300 pounds, said there is one skill he would like to improve on.
“I need to work on taking on double-teams better,” Mixon stated. “But I love to hit. I play tight end in goal-line situations too. I move very well for my size, and playing basketball last year helped me be more athletic.”
Mixon added that playing in a similar defensive scheme at ASU was also a contributing factor in his commitment.
“They will be running the 3-4, and that is what I’m used to,” Mixon said. “So I think I would fit in there pretty well.”
Mixon had 35 tackles and one fumble recovery as a junior for the 5-6 Wranglers last season, which earned him a first-team all-district selection. He reported offers from Colorado, Missouri, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Purdue, Syracuse and Washington State.
Mixon said his commitment is “100 percent solid” and that the only school he plans to visit in the future is ASU for what will be his first trip to Tempe.
