Arizona State Football Recruiting: Top Targets, Positional Needs and Predictions

The Arizona State Sun Devils are still doing a lot of recruiting under new head coach Todd Graham, as some recruits have been dropping ever since the program dismissed once-head coach Dennis Erickson.

After finishing last season with a losing record of 6-7, it is clear that this team still has a lot of work to do to get back on track for the 2012 season and beyond.

Coach Graham will need to start implementing his system, and it seems that he hasn't been afraid to insert discipline. 

He will have some leftover pieces to build with, but more importantly he will need to try and make a splash at some recruits who will help make this team a contender in the next year or two.

Here is a look at some of the things that are currently going on with the program.

Top Targets

The Arizona State Sun Devils have a lot of targets on board for Todd Graham's new squad for the 2012 season.

The team so far has 18 commitments, but they will continue to work on some players to bring into Tempe.

Evan Goodman, OL

Goodman is a 4-star recruit out of Lakeland, FL. He is ranked the 30th best offensive lineman in this class. He has committed to the Sun Devils, but he has yet to sign.

D.J. Foster, Ath

The Sun Devils have shown a lot of interest in Foster, who is a 4-star recruit athlete out of Scottsdale, AZ. In high school, he has played mostly running back, but he could also play wide receiver. During his junior year of high school, he had 22 rushing touchdowns.

Laiu Moakila, S

One area that needs much improvement is the team's secondary, so that is what they will be looking for in safety Moakila out of Euless, TX. The Sun Devils have shown the most interest, so it looks like these two will be agreeing to something sooner than later.

Jazzmar Clax, LB

Three-star linebacker recruit Clax is towards the top of the Sun Devils' list. The New Jersey inside linebacker would be a solid addition with the loss of Vontaze Burfict, but it will remain to be seen where he decides to go.

Marion Grice, RB

Grice is a 4-star recruit ouf of Breham, TX. He hasn't been rated on the national level, but the Sun Devils have shown a lot of interest in the back. They will need someone to come in make some big plays once Cameron Marshall moves on after this season.

Positional Needs

With some players entering the NFL Draft and many either graduating this season or next, the Arizona State Sun Devils still need to fill some roles for the coming seasons.

The following positions are still in need of being filled:

Quarterback

With junior quarterback Brock Osweiler leaving for the NFL Draft, the team has a whole new void to fill that they thought wasn't going to be an issue.

The team will likely continue to look at recruiting options, but they also have Taylor Kelly, Mike Bercovici and Michael Eubank waiting in the wings.

Wide Receiver

The team will be losing their top two targets in Gerell Robinson and Aaron Pflugrad, so the wide receiver position is a must to build.

The team will have guys like A.J. Pickens, Kyle Middlebrooks, Jamal Miles and Kevin Ozier on the team next season, but will remain to be see how they all will do. All four are relatively small, so the team will need to find some bigger options.

Linebacker

With the team losing Vontaze Burfict, Shelly Lyons, Oliver Aaron, Brandon Magee and Colin Parker all leaving the team this season, the Sun Devils are in need of addressing the linebacker situation right now.

They still have guys like Carl Bradford, Jason Franklin and Anthony Jones sticking around, but coach Graham will need to do a lot of work to build this linebacker corps.

Secondary

The Sun Devils will be losing four seniors this season, and will be losing another three after the 2012 season. They have some young options in their secondary, but they really need to replenish their options. Especially after this crew fell apart at the end of last season.

Predictions

For the 2012 season, the Arizona State Sun Devils are going to have a real mix of raw and veteran players.

It is going to be important for the veterans to buy into coach Graham's system right away so that the younger guys will get involved ASAP.

It will be interesting to see how the quarterback system will turn out, but it won't be surprising if there is at least a three-way battle going on going into training camp.

Graham is adopting quite the veteran program, so he will have a lot of opportunities to bring in his own players relatively soon.

He has some solid players left behind like Cameron Marshall and Jamal Miles who will continue to contribute to this team, as well as be great leaders.