Arizona State Football: 5 Best Recruits Sun Devils Signed This Offseason

New Arizona State Sun Devils' head football coach Todd Graham has put together his first recruiting class for the 2012 season, and some would argue he didn't do a bad job considering his competition within the Pac-12.

The Sun Devils signed a total of 23 recruits, with three being 4-Star, 15 being 3-Star and the final five being 2-Star. To say the least, it isn't the most incredible class, but it will do for the amount of time Graham had to get the troops to the desert.

The following is a breakdown of Graham's Top-5 recruits heading into the 2012 season.

5. Richard Smith. WR

Coming out of Long Beach, CA is wide receiver Richard Smith. 

Smith comes out of Long Beach Poly High School as a 3-Star recruit wide receiver. This past season, he had 41 receptions for 623 yards with eight touchdowns. He also had one big run that went for 82 yards and a touchdown.

There is a lot of promise here, but not a whole lot of expectations. There is definitely a chance that Smith will crack the lineup two or three years down the line, but don't expect to see much out of him during the first few years of Graham's program.

4. Steffon Maritn, LB

With the Arizona State Sun Devils losing pretty much all their linebackers to either the draft or graduation, it was important for coach Todd Graham to replenish the cavalry.

He did just that when he grabbed Arizona native linebacker Steffon Martin of Arizona Western Community College. Martin is a 3-Star recruit that provides a lot of promise. During the 2010 season at Junior college, he had 62 tackles through 10 games. Ten of those tackles were for a loss, including five which were sacks.

He also had an interception, so many can hope that he will provide the sort of athleticism that the team will be missing from the departure of Vontaze Burfict.

Martin has a shot to make some appearances on field this season, but it will remain to be seen how he performs in camp.

3. Evan Goodman, OL

The Arizona State Sun Devils are going to hope that 4-Star offensive lineman recruit Evan Goodman pans out, as the team will be looking to rebuild this line that was known to call the whistle last season.

Goodman comes out of Lakeland, FL where he was considered one of the best lineman in the state. His positional ranking is 30th in the country, but it is still a pretty big fish for coach Todd Graham to land.

The team has a lot of young offensive linemen already on the roster, but Graham may decide to go with some of his new players to move on from the bad habits that his offensive line has been known for over the years.

2. Marion Grice, RB

Coach Todd Graham started his rebuilding of his backfield when he signed 4-Star running back Marion Grice out of Blinn Community College.

The team has a plethora of backs, but it looks like the Arizona State Sun Devils new head coach is looking to build it his way by nabbing the 6'0" 215 lb running back.

In 2010, Grice ran for 1,169 yards on 160 carries with 17 touchdowns. The Sun Devils will be hoping that he will be able to bring some of that powerful running to the Pac-12 for many years to come.

1. D.J. Foster, Ath

This was the Arizona State Sun Devils biggest grab of the offseason, as coach Todd Graham was able to get 4-Star instate recruit D.J. Foster to commit to the team.

Foster comes from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, AZ. While he is listed as an athlete, he is best known for his ability coming out of the backfield.

In his junior year, he ran for 1,421 yards with 22 touchdowns. It will remain to be seen how Graham wishes to utilize him, considering that he has both Cameron Marshall and Deantre Lewis returning for the 2012 season.

He may ultimately decide to red shirt him, but that will remain to be seen. He could use him in the return game and other areas.

Jeff Chase is a Featured Columnist for the Chicago Cubs and Arizona State football.