By Craig Morgan, special to TheSunDevils.com
TEMPE, Ariz. -- When Todd Graham took over the Sun Devils football program in 2012 he identified local talent as a recruiting priority. Scottsdale Saguaro's D.J. Foster (now in the Super-Bowl with the New England Patriots) helped Graham lay the first brick in that foundation, but Graham knew the job was far from finished.
"Building a reputation doesn't take a month," Graham said Wednesday. "It takes years."
In that light, 2017 may be viewed as Graham's watershed year. Of the 18 recruits Sun Devil football announced in its 2017 signing class on Wednesday in the Carson Student-Athlete Center's Dutson Theater, nine are from the state of Arizona, including three of the top five in-state recruits. The last time ASU signed nine local recruits was 2003, but the Sun Devils signed a class of 30 kids that year.
Eight members of this year's class came from high schools in Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa; the other from Yuma. Graham took great pride in that knowledge.
"We're going to get the best and the brightest wherever they're from, but we think we should start right here first," Graham said. "I think we've built some trust up here locally and it paid off for us this year."
Gilbert Highland defensive lineman Tyler Johnson was Arizona's No. 3 recruit according to 24/7 Sports.
"Guys that can rush the passer, there's a lot of teaching to it, but it's a gift and he has that gift," Graham said. "He's a special athlete."
Graham also landed the No. 4 recruit, Scottsdale Saguaro safety K.J. Jarrell, the No. 5 recruit, Saguaro linebacker Kyle Soelle, and the No. 9 recruit and the state's top quarterback recruit, Ryan Kelley of Chandler Basha.
Graham heaped praise on recruiting coordinator Donnie Yantis and assistant Conrad Hamilton for their tireless work in cultivating the local ties they have built through years coaching Arizona high school football: Yantis at Paradise Valley; Hamilton at Scottsdale Chaparral. While Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez complained at his signing day press conference that he can't even get in-state recruits to come to Tucson on official visits, Graham's staff was in the running for even more than the nine Arizona kids they landed.
"We didn't get 'em all here; we'd have liked that to be 12, 13," Graham said. "Recruiting is about diligence; it's about passion. It's not about having some great salesman because you reap what you sow.
"I am the lead recruiter and for me to do that -- Donnie has been unbelievable in helping me be diligent in doing that. Every day, he is wearing me out."
While Sun Devil football has made it plain that it wants to put a lock on in-state recruits, Graham also emphasized that the high number of in-state recruits ASU signed is a barometer for how much prep football has improved in Arizona.
"I've only been here five years, and it has steadily gotten better every year," Graham said. "A lot of people are coming in here to recruit. But it's a different day and time for ASU. With the commitment our program has made -- look what has happened with our facilities -- when you can offer them everything that somebody outside here can, it's a pretty obvious deal to stay here.
"We built a reputation here and a culture in this program that I think is very well respected and that's our emphasis; that's our focus. We have to get the best and the brightest with the best character that fit Arizona state right here in this Valley, in this state."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
TEMPE, Ariz. -- When Todd Graham took over the Sun Devils football program in 2012 he identified local talent as a recruiting priority. Scottsdale Saguaro's D.J. Foster (now in the Super-Bowl with the New England Patriots) helped Graham lay the first brick in that foundation, but Graham knew the job was far from finished.
"Building a reputation doesn't take a month," Graham said Wednesday. "It takes years."
In that light, 2017 may be viewed as Graham's watershed year. Of the 18 recruits Sun Devil football announced in its 2017 signing class on Wednesday in the Carson Student-Athlete Center's Dutson Theater, nine are from the state of Arizona, including three of the top five in-state recruits. The last time ASU signed nine local recruits was 2003, but the Sun Devils signed a class of 30 kids that year.
Eight members of this year's class came from high schools in Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa; the other from Yuma. Graham took great pride in that knowledge.
"We're going to get the best and the brightest wherever they're from, but we think we should start right here first," Graham said. "I think we've built some trust up here locally and it paid off for us this year."
Gilbert Highland defensive lineman Tyler Johnson was Arizona's No. 3 recruit according to 24/7 Sports.
"Guys that can rush the passer, there's a lot of teaching to it, but it's a gift and he has that gift," Graham said. "He's a special athlete."
Graham also landed the No. 4 recruit, Scottsdale Saguaro safety K.J. Jarrell, the No. 5 recruit, Saguaro linebacker Kyle Soelle, and the No. 9 recruit and the state's top quarterback recruit, Ryan Kelley of Chandler Basha.
Graham heaped praise on recruiting coordinator Donnie Yantis and assistant Conrad Hamilton for their tireless work in cultivating the local ties they have built through years coaching Arizona high school football: Yantis at Paradise Valley; Hamilton at Scottsdale Chaparral. While Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez complained at his signing day press conference that he can't even get in-state recruits to come to Tucson on official visits, Graham's staff was in the running for even more than the nine Arizona kids they landed.
"We didn't get 'em all here; we'd have liked that to be 12, 13," Graham said. "Recruiting is about diligence; it's about passion. It's not about having some great salesman because you reap what you sow.
"I am the lead recruiter and for me to do that -- Donnie has been unbelievable in helping me be diligent in doing that. Every day, he is wearing me out."
While Sun Devil football has made it plain that it wants to put a lock on in-state recruits, Graham also emphasized that the high number of in-state recruits ASU signed is a barometer for how much prep football has improved in Arizona.
"I've only been here five years, and it has steadily gotten better every year," Graham said. "A lot of people are coming in here to recruit. But it's a different day and time for ASU. With the commitment our program has made -- look what has happened with our facilities -- when you can offer them everything that somebody outside here can, it's a pretty obvious deal to stay here.
"We built a reputation here and a culture in this program that I think is very well respected and that's our emphasis; that's our focus. We have to get the best and the brightest with the best character that fit Arizona state right here in this Valley, in this state."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter