Head Coach Herm Edwards
On his message to fans
"I don't get involved in rankings. I'm involved in wins and losses because that's what the fans want. We went after certain players that fit our DNA and I think you'll see a transformation from those guys over the next few years. We're going to be much bigger, much longer and a much more powerful football team. We don't give them the talent but we do have to coach them."
On being back on the recruiting trail
"It was a lot of fun. I had a lot of good meals on the road. There was not a bad meal involved. I think the perspective is that recruiting has changed tremendously. Working at ESPN and coaching the Under Armour game you start to see it. Kids go up in the stands and put their hats on. There's a lot of pageantry."
On whether or not the process felt familiar
"Sure. Once you've been a coach you've always been a coach. My strongest strength is communication. I know what we're trying to say. We're selling a top tier university to these young men and their parents. It's a powerful statement when you can say that. We want these players to leave as better men. We want championships, but if they leave as better men we've done our job."
On recruiting the Southwest
"We talked about that. We said Arizona, California, and Nevada are the places we want to get our athletes from. We got a few from Arizona this year and we got 13 from California. So we did a good job there. I hear a lot of kids say, 'I want to go to my dream school.' Well, why can't that dream school be ASU. We can't get every kid, but we want the ones that fit our DNA and can make a difference here."
On the intangibles the staff looked for
"Character. Don't tell me how much you want to win. We want guys that hate losing. Character is very important because we can trust those guys. When you've been around football as long as I have, it doesn't take a long time to figure out who those guys are.
I've been around a lot of football. I've probably forgotten more football than most people in this room can remember. So when it comes to players, I have a pretty good sense of the ones I want to play on this team."
On watching everything unfold with the recruits
“Your waiting on an 18-year-old to pick you. That’s different. I’ve been in rooms where you watch the board and you say ‘there is three of the guys” and you draft one of them. We're waiting on them to call us. They have their phones. We get in there at 6:30 in the morning. Most of these kids now have an event, that is why we didn’t announce some of the guys.
We knew who we were going to get, they sent the paper work. They wanted to be announced at their schools, so rather than take their day away from them we just held in check and didn’t let it leak out. They already signed this morning, we just didn’t tell anybody, we promised the kids. You have to keep your word. When we walked into the families homes, and I talked to moms and dads, they told me this is what they wanted to do and I said you got my word. To credit our staff, we didn’t say anything, we didn’t tweet out anything, we just sat there and waited it out until everything came to fruition, we signed the 11 guys we needed to get.”
On players' commitment videos
"We're going to judge them. I told them when we left their homes. I said when we go up to Camp Kush, we're going to take a night and review everyone's videos. And then we'll figure out who made the best one."
On what Edwards' video would have been
"I didn't have one because I knew where I was going in the 10th grade. It didn't take long to figure out where I was going. I wanted to play in the Pac-8. And it was actually down to ASU and Cal, but as it turns out I ended up here anyway."
Recruiting Coordinator Donnie Yantis
On the early signing period shaping the class
"The earlier class was a product of us coming in late and already having some guys committed. There were a lot of guys in that first class who are dynamic players that we really like. I think it's fair for our staff to know that in addition to that and today, our staff has done a great job getting out to the '19 and '20 kids. So while we may have gotten a later start on this class, we're already ahead on those."
On challenges of choosing from smaller pool of players
“Yeah, there was a smaller pool but I think we got the right guys. We were laser focused on a certain group of guys. I think our staff we have were great. A lot of guys that are from the state of California that have experiences and relationships with those high school coaches and some of the players already made a huge difference. Obviously taking coach (Herm) Edwards into those homes with those families. One of the things that I think was very important with us going into those homes and being with the families and letting them see that were a part of their family and they are a part of ours was very important.”
On the young guys coming in and making an impact
“I think we have evaluated well, now we just need to get them on campus and let our coaches, coach them. That’s the key. Obviously were going to put the best 11 on the field on all three phases of football. I think coach Edwards has told every single parent and every player that were going to play the best 11 and whoever the best 11 are that give us the best chance to win football games in that stadium. It’s important but we have a lot California guys on this roster so I am confident with the guys we have signed but they have to come in and prove themselves all over again but I feel very confident with that and I think we have our ground work in California laid from our coaching staff.”
Defensive Coordinator Danny Gonzales
On Coach Herman going into living rooms
"Give him credit. He was unbelievable in the homes. You really have to give him credit because he took the job when there were guys already committed. And instead of wiping the slate clean, he honored those commitments. We told them to recruit yourself to the university and not a coach. And those are the ones you want. Coach Edwards flew everywhere and he ended up doing a great job."
On his message to fans
"I don't get involved in rankings. I'm involved in wins and losses because that's what the fans want. We went after certain players that fit our DNA and I think you'll see a transformation from those guys over the next few years. We're going to be much bigger, much longer and a much more powerful football team. We don't give them the talent but we do have to coach them."
On being back on the recruiting trail
"It was a lot of fun. I had a lot of good meals on the road. There was not a bad meal involved. I think the perspective is that recruiting has changed tremendously. Working at ESPN and coaching the Under Armour game you start to see it. Kids go up in the stands and put their hats on. There's a lot of pageantry."
On whether or not the process felt familiar
"Sure. Once you've been a coach you've always been a coach. My strongest strength is communication. I know what we're trying to say. We're selling a top tier university to these young men and their parents. It's a powerful statement when you can say that. We want these players to leave as better men. We want championships, but if they leave as better men we've done our job."
On recruiting the Southwest
"We talked about that. We said Arizona, California, and Nevada are the places we want to get our athletes from. We got a few from Arizona this year and we got 13 from California. So we did a good job there. I hear a lot of kids say, 'I want to go to my dream school.' Well, why can't that dream school be ASU. We can't get every kid, but we want the ones that fit our DNA and can make a difference here."
On the intangibles the staff looked for
"Character. Don't tell me how much you want to win. We want guys that hate losing. Character is very important because we can trust those guys. When you've been around football as long as I have, it doesn't take a long time to figure out who those guys are.
I've been around a lot of football. I've probably forgotten more football than most people in this room can remember. So when it comes to players, I have a pretty good sense of the ones I want to play on this team."
On watching everything unfold with the recruits
“Your waiting on an 18-year-old to pick you. That’s different. I’ve been in rooms where you watch the board and you say ‘there is three of the guys” and you draft one of them. We're waiting on them to call us. They have their phones. We get in there at 6:30 in the morning. Most of these kids now have an event, that is why we didn’t announce some of the guys.
We knew who we were going to get, they sent the paper work. They wanted to be announced at their schools, so rather than take their day away from them we just held in check and didn’t let it leak out. They already signed this morning, we just didn’t tell anybody, we promised the kids. You have to keep your word. When we walked into the families homes, and I talked to moms and dads, they told me this is what they wanted to do and I said you got my word. To credit our staff, we didn’t say anything, we didn’t tweet out anything, we just sat there and waited it out until everything came to fruition, we signed the 11 guys we needed to get.”
On players' commitment videos
"We're going to judge them. I told them when we left their homes. I said when we go up to Camp Kush, we're going to take a night and review everyone's videos. And then we'll figure out who made the best one."
On what Edwards' video would have been
"I didn't have one because I knew where I was going in the 10th grade. It didn't take long to figure out where I was going. I wanted to play in the Pac-8. And it was actually down to ASU and Cal, but as it turns out I ended up here anyway."
Recruiting Coordinator Donnie Yantis
On the early signing period shaping the class
"The earlier class was a product of us coming in late and already having some guys committed. There were a lot of guys in that first class who are dynamic players that we really like. I think it's fair for our staff to know that in addition to that and today, our staff has done a great job getting out to the '19 and '20 kids. So while we may have gotten a later start on this class, we're already ahead on those."
On challenges of choosing from smaller pool of players
“Yeah, there was a smaller pool but I think we got the right guys. We were laser focused on a certain group of guys. I think our staff we have were great. A lot of guys that are from the state of California that have experiences and relationships with those high school coaches and some of the players already made a huge difference. Obviously taking coach (Herm) Edwards into those homes with those families. One of the things that I think was very important with us going into those homes and being with the families and letting them see that were a part of their family and they are a part of ours was very important.”
On the young guys coming in and making an impact
“I think we have evaluated well, now we just need to get them on campus and let our coaches, coach them. That’s the key. Obviously were going to put the best 11 on the field on all three phases of football. I think coach Edwards has told every single parent and every player that were going to play the best 11 and whoever the best 11 are that give us the best chance to win football games in that stadium. It’s important but we have a lot California guys on this roster so I am confident with the guys we have signed but they have to come in and prove themselves all over again but I feel very confident with that and I think we have our ground work in California laid from our coaching staff.”
Defensive Coordinator Danny Gonzales
On Coach Herman going into living rooms
"Give him credit. He was unbelievable in the homes. You really have to give him credit because he took the job when there were guys already committed. And instead of wiping the slate clean, he honored those commitments. We told them to recruit yourself to the university and not a coach. And those are the ones you want. Coach Edwards flew everywhere and he ended up doing a great job."