ASU football 2027 recruiting class features 4 in-state athletes

Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham promised to recruit local athletes, something many think was overlooked in previous regimes. He has followed through on that.

The Sun Devils have four local players among their 12 recruits for the 2027 cycle, the most recent being cornerback Nasim Eason, a product of Higley High who made his commitment on June 22. His father, Nijrell Eason, played at ASU from 1999 to 2000.

It has been a busy month as the Sun Devils have gotten four commitments in the past two weeks. Among the others is Kingston Anetema, a product of Mesa, who plays wide receiver and defensive back and is listed by the recruiting services as “athlete.”

The four locals are the most Arizona players Dillingham has had in a recruiting class.

Where does the class stack up? It depends on which recruiting service you prioritize. On3/Rivals has the Sun Devils at No. 47 overall, sixth in the Big 12, while 247Sports has ASU at No. 56, ninth in the conference.

That might be underwhelming for some football enthusiasts, but the ranking of a high school class means less than it did a decade ago, before the transfer portal came into existence. Previously, schools had to recruit and develop those high school prospects. It was the only building block for the future. Now, schools rely more heavily on restocking their rosters with transfers from other programs who are more ready to contribute right away.

Also, ASU’s 12 recruits are fewer than every other Big 12 school ranked ahead of it. TCU, the team ranked right ahead of ASU by 247Sports, has 17 pledges. ASU also has a kicker among the pledges, and special teams players tend to pull down a rating.

More important is the player recruit averages. ASU’s average is 87.17, which trails only Texas Tech’s 90.76, and is tied with Kansas State and Houston. Kansas State also has 24 recruits.

The 2027 class is headlined by two four-star prospects. One of those is offensive lineman Jake Hildebrand, a product of Basha, who was one of the “golden ticket” recipients last year. Hildebrand was ranked as the No. 88 player nationally by 247Sports.

He has also taken to social media, campaigning for others to join him in Tempe.

The other four-star prospect is wide receiver Nico Bland, out of Orange Lutheran in Southern California.

Of the 12 current pledges, four are from Arizona, four from California and two from Texas.

There are three defensive backs and two wide receivers.

A rundown on the 12 pledges:

• OT Jake Hildebrand (6-6, 273), Basha
• WR Nico Bland (6-1, 185), Orange Lutheran (California)
• WB Weston Nielsen (6-1, 1/2, 180), Bastrop HS (Texas)
• WR Tycen Johnson (6-2, 185), Chaparral HS (Temecula, California)
• CB Elijajuan Houston (5-11, 175), North Crowley (Fort Worth, Texas)
• LB Marshaun Ivy (6-3, 215), Cardinal Ritter (St. Louis)
• CB Dylin Bruce (6-0, 170), Huntington Beach (California)
• TE Caleb Camping (6-5, 220), Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins, Colorado)
• DL Magic Haynes (6-5, 270), Compton Centennial (California)
• CB Nasim Eason (6-1, 160), Higley
• ATH Kingston Anetema (6-1, 175), Mesa
• K Mickey Barth (5-10, 160), Basha

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU’s next recruiting class features four Arizona athletes