Arizona State Football: Top 3 breakout candidates for 2020 season
By Nick Fiore
Herm Edwards is building a winner in Arizona State football but the Sun Devils still have plenty of work to do. Who will break out in 2020?
In Herm Edwards’ first two seasons at Arizona State, the Sun Devils have a 15-11 record with two straight bowl appearances.
There were a lot of people questioning the hire of the former NFL head coach. Herm has proven those people wrong, especially in the recruiting department. According to 247Sports, Arizona State is ranked 21st in the nation in the 2020 recruiting class, higher than USC and the fourth-best class in the Pac-12.
Arizona State looks like a program that might be on the verge of breaking through and regularly finishing near the top of the conference.
The program has produced a first-round draft pick the past two seasons in Brandon Aiyuk and N’Keal Harry, the first time since 2002-03 that has happened in Tempe. The last first-round pick was Damarius Randall in 2015.
What helps with recruiting and building a program up is winning a conference championship, something the Sun Devils are looking to do for the first time since 2007 when they shared the title with USC.
Former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis was brought in as the new defensive coordinator. Last year, the Sun Devils had a very solid defense and according to ESPN have the 32nd most returning production on that side of the ball.
There’s some more question marks on offense and there’s plenty of young talent around who can step in and make an impact.