Portal Moves made easy!
Coming into the off-season, there is always so many questions as to what is going to happen to a team. In the NIL era, there is so many athletes leaving their current school to try and chase a bag. For reference, according to On3 reports, there were approximately 2700 student-athletes who entered the portal during the winter transfer portal window.
For ASU, the transfer portal window brought nothing but benefits as we had very minimal snaps lost from starters on either side of the ball. The biggest losses came from graduating seniors like Cam Skattebo, Shamari Simmons, and Caleb McCullough among others. Knowing that ASU Football did not lose much to the portal, what does that mean for the team? While we didn't lose, that doesn't mean that there isn't room to improve. I will break down the moves that ASU made and how each one of them can make an impact on next years team.
Breaking down ASU Football portal adds so you don't have to:
I am going to break down the largest positions of need that the Sun Devils filled this offseason and how each player is going to make an impact on the game for the Sun Devils next season.
WR's: Noble Johnson (Clemson), Jaren Hamilton (Alabama), Jalen Moss (Fresno St)
Wide Receivers were a point of contention for Arizona State headed into the offseason. After Jordyn Tyson went down in the Territorial Cup game late in the season, many questioned who was going to step up. While a few guys did step up late in the season to secure that Top 4 seed and bye in the CFP, not having one WR bare the load on the field is always a benefit.
In my opinion, Jalen Moss is going to be the biggest add for the Sun Devils this offseason. Being able to offset Jalen Moss and Jordyn Tyson on opposite sides of the field is going to pay dividends for Sam Leavitt and company because your opponent is not going to be able to double team/blanket a CB and a Safety on Jordyn Tyson anymore. In 2024, Jalen Moss had 48 receptions for 563 yards and 4 TD's. For reference, those stats would rank 3rd only behind Jordyn Tyson and Cam Skattebo.
Jalen has the deep threat capability similar to what we saw in Jordyn Tyson this last year as he averaged 11.8 yards per reception this season. But also has the ability to catch it short and take it the distance due to his speed after the catch. Expect big things from Jalen Moss in 2025 with the Sun Devils.
The other two receiver adds in the Winter transfer portal were redshirts from their respective universities so we don't have recent stats from the young guys this season. What I can tell you though. If you are garnering interest out of college from Clemson, and Alabama respectively. You are good enough for me. I have high hopes that Kenny Dillingham is going to do good work with Noble Johnson and Jaren Hamilton next season.
RB: Kanye Udoh
In the portal this season, Running backs were a dime a dozen and many people asked, "What is ASU going to do without Cam Skattebo?" While I can tell you that you will never replace a guy like Cam, having Kanye Udoh in the backfield with Kyson Brown, DeCarlos Brooks, and Raleek Brown is a recipe for success. I wouldn't be surprised if Udoh took a brunt of the load coming off a 1200 yard season at Army this passed year, but don't let that blind you from the fact that these other guys can ball.
Expect Kanye Udoh to play a lot like Skattebo did this passed year. He is going to take a LOT of snaps, get behind his pads and run people over. That is the name of the game to be a successful running back at Army and he does just that. I don't forecast Udoh being nearly the threat out of the backfield in the pass game like Skattebo was, but you don't need that when you have three WR's who can become All-American next season.
Kicker: Jesus Gomez (Eastern Michigan)
After a record breaking season at EMU, Jesus Gomez enters the transfer portal and moves to the valley of the sun. Sun Devil fans know Jesus Gomez all to well as he played in Tempe in 2022 going 3-3 on FG's which ultimately led to the firing of Herm Edwards after Arizona St lost 30-21 at home.
Arizona State's kicking was mediocre at best this season going just a mere 55% on FG's this season across three different placer kickers. It made offense a lot tougher on the opponent's side of the field when they knew there was less than a 25% chance that Kenny Dillingham was going to kick a FG simply due to the fact that he couldn't trust his guys. Jesus Gomez answers that call for the Sun Devils as he was good for 80% of his FG attempts this season and 96% of his extra points. Inside of 40 yards, Gomez was a solid 11-12 on FG's this passed season.
Gomez surely answers the call that most Sun Devils fans were calling for this season was an answer on Special Teams. If Gomez can play up to the level that he did last season at EMU, I think we can stop comparing Kenny Dillingham to Dan Campbell because we wont be going for it on every 4th down like we did this passed season.
OL: Xander Ruggeroli (Nebraska), Jimeto Obigbo (Texas State)
If you want to be successful running the ball, you need to have an offensive line that is going to help you do that. The portal adds of Ruggeroli and Obigbo do just that. With four returning starters from last season on the OL, I am expecting Obigbo and Ruggeroli to compete for that last spot on the end of the line.
Of the two guys, I think Obigbo is going to have the best shot at winning that spot just because of the style of game that Dillingham likes to play is very similar to that of GJ Kinne (Coach of Texas State). Both guys play smash mouth football and I truly believe that Obigbo's talent will translate well into Dillingham's offense.
What to expect for 2025?
Arizona State fans and Big XII Football Fans alike are in for a great season of football next year. With Arizona State exploding onto the stage in 2024, I would not be surprised to see them be the odds on favorite to win the Big XII again in their second year in the conference. With that being said, you simply cannot sleep on Colorado, Iowa St, or BYU next season as they are all fixing to be football powerhouses again this season. If Arizona State can continue to play the same level of football next season, I expect them to be a Top 10 squad early in the season next year.
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