An NCAA investigation regarding potential recruiting violations within Arizona State’s football program is underway. The alleged nonobservances include whether staff members had in-person interactions with prospects during a 14-month period in which it was not allowed.
While it remains unclear to Sun Devil Source whether Herm Edwards was involved in impermissible recruiting activity, a Wednesday afternoon report by Yahoo Sports national college football writer Pete Thamel directly implicated the fourth-year ASU head coach.
Anonymous sources reportedly told Yahoo Sports that the Sun Devils “deliberately, blatantly and consistently broke rules related to hosting players during the dead period, including [Edwards] meeting with recruits.”
Edwards and his staff reportedly hosted “at least 30 players” over a span of months, offered late-night facility tours, drove prospects around ASU’s campus, and “bumped into recruits and families in a back stairwell" in an orchestrated fashion.
According to Thamel, ASU’s athletics department obtained “dozens of pages” submitted by an anonymous person that include “screenshots, receipts, pictures and emails related to numerous potential violations within Arizona State’s football program.”
The document, which according to Thamel is also in the NCAA’s possession, details what prospects did during their visits as well as how the visits were paid for. The extensive nature of the violations in Yahoo Sports’ report could have a marked impact on the severity of any punishment levied by the NCAA if it is corroborated.
The harshness of any penalties would depend on the frequency and level of coordination of the interactions, according to a person with deep knowledge of such compliance-related issues.
In his reporting, Thamel outlined the alleged involvement of ASU recruiting coordinator and defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce, including that the fourth-year Sun Devil coach pressured fellow ASU coaches to participate in the impermissible tactics and spurned those who “insisted on avoiding recruiting gray areas.”
Pierce’s aggressive nature created divisions within the program’s personnel, which reportedly led some staff members to keep a log of violations “as protection for their own jobs," according to Yahoo Sports.
Thamel reported that several former ASU football staff members would be willing to assist the NCAA in its investigation, a very rare development since coaches who speak to the NCAA regarding recruiting-related matters are generally perceived as unhireable by some potential future employers. Even so, Thamel reported that one or more former ASU staff members are ready to talk with the college sports governing body.
“People are crossing their fingers, hoping they can talk to the NCAA,” one former staffer is reported to have said. “There’s not going to be a lot of holding back — video guys, trainers, equipment guys. You’re going to find people very willing to talk. It’s because (Pierce and his followers) were not nice to the people who are good people. Some people were on board. Some weren’t. If you weren’t on board, you got blackballed.”
The ASU and NCAA investigations into the allegations outlined in Thamel’s report could be extremely disruptive for a football team that has climbed its way into the national spotlight ahead of the 2021 season. With a highly experienced defense, third-year sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels and a talented group of offensive skill players in the fold, the Sun Devils are perceived to be one of the Pac-12’s most talented teams.
Additionally, ASU has three committed four-star prospects earlier than any previous recruiting cycle in program history. Several coaches have told Sun Devil Source that the program’s 2022 recruiting class has the potential to be among the best in its history, a situation that could be impacted by the NCAA’s investigation.
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