Why Davon Durant Will Be Arizona State Football's Best Signing of 2015

Although national signing day is less than a month away, Arizona State football's most impactful recruit might already be on campus. 

Todd Graham and the Sun Devils have compiled an impressive class, one that ranks 21st in Rivals' rankings, 20th in 247Sports' and 24th in ESPN's. Residing in ASU's class of 2015 are some milestones for the program, especially in the Todd Graham era.

First, as the fourth class under Graham, it's the first time his recruits will fully mesh with players who were all recruited by the current coaching staff. Secondly, it's the first class since Graham arrived that isn't heavily leaning on junior-college recruits.

In 2012, eight of the 23 players (34.8 percent) ASU signed were from either junior or community colleges. In 2013, 10 of 25 recruits (40 percent) were from those schools, and in 2014, six of 28 (21.4 percent) were also.

For 2015, just two of the Sun Devils' 19 commitments (per Rivals) are not high school recruits, equaling 10.5 percent of the class.

One of them, though, will prove imperative to ASU's success in 2015: Davon Durant.

The 4-star linebacker has a chance to have the same kind of impact of another Graham JUCO transfer, wide receiver Jaelen Strong. Two seasons and 157 receptions later, Strong entered the NFL draft prior to ASU's Sun Bowl win over Duke.

Strong came in and immediately filled one of the biggest needs on the team. Durant will do the same—but on the other side of the ball.

The staple of Graham's defense is the Devilbacker, a hybrid defensive end/linebacker. Last season, there wasn't a natural fit for the position, and it showed.

The first five games of the season, the Sun Devils allowed more than 450 yards per game. Graham shook up the defense after its win at USC, which put less emphasis on the position and played to the team's strengths.

It was partially successful, leading to a four-game winning streak and a three-game streak of allowing fewer than 17 points in any game. However, it's not a long-term fix.

Toward the tail end of the season, the defense from the start of the season reared its ugly head again. The Sun Devils didn't allowed fewer than 31 points in their final five games.

This shouldn't be the story in 2015, though, especially if Durant comes in and makes the immediate impact he's expected to. He won't be without competition. It's also far from a guarantee that Durant sticks at Devilbacker. 

Just last season, Graham switched up the Devil a handful of times. First, it was Antonio Longino, then Edmond Boateng, all while De'Marieya Nelson was in the mix there, as well as his traditional tight end position.

All the way back in spring practice last year, the favorite for the starting slot was Chans Cox, a heralded linebacker recruit expected to make an immediate impact. Sound familiar?

Don't expect Durant to go the way of Cox, who ended the season working with ASU's practice squad. He was a recruit straight out of high school, while Durant is coming in as a more polished redshirt junior.

While the Sun Devils cupboard was bare of Devilbackers last season, that shouldn't be the case in 2015.

Fellow 2015 commitment Jaason Lewis starred on both sides of the ball in high school as a running back and linebacker. With the embarrassment of riches ASU has in the backfield, Lewis projects as a linebacker in college and has a prototypical build for a Devilbacker.

Lewis could give Durant a run for his money, and so could plenty of others, although it likely won't be the previous Devilbacker candidates, Longino and Boateng. Both return next season, but Longino has cemented himself at weak-side linebacker, and Boateng hardly saw the field by the end of the season.

Even if Durant doesn't stick at Devilbacker, there's no reason to believe he won't find a fit on the defense somewhere. He's just too talented.

The only people who shouldn't be excited about Durant's arrival in Tempe are the rest of the Pac-12 (and Texas A&M, which plays ASU in the season opener on Sept. 5 in Houston).

Evan Webeck is a junior at Arizona State University, studying journalism at the Walter Cronkite School. He's interned at Sports Illustrated and covered ASU football. Follow him on Twitter or email him at [e-mail].