Blake Barnett Eligible to Play Immediately at ASU: Details, Comments, Reaction

Arizona State quarterback Blake Barnett, who announced his departure from Alabama four games into the 2016 season, will be eligible for the Sun Devils' 2017 opener after a successful appeal.

Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic reported the NCAA made its ruling Tuesday.

Barnett, a redshirt sophomore next season, was originally expected to sit out the first four games of 2017 to satisfy the NCAA's rule on transfers. The former highly touted recruit started Alabama's first game in 2016, but freshman Jalen Hurts replaced him after only two drives. Barnett announced his intention to transfer on Sept. 28 and chose Arizona State in December.

Typically, players who transfer schools are required to sit out a full calendar year.

"As funny as this sounds, we didn't even care about wins or losses," Blake's father, Lance Barnett, told Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic regarding the pick of Arizona State. "We didn't look at that. We looked at the depth of the team, the nucleus of the team, the energy and passion of the team, the coaching staff. That's all we looked at."

Arizona State went 5-7 last season, including a 2-7 mark in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils will return starting quarterback Manny Wilkins, who threw for 2,329 yards and 12 touchdowns against nine interceptions last season. They ranked sixth in the conference in scoring but allowed 39.6 points per game, third to last in the Pac-12.

It's unclear which of the players will go in to camp favored to start, but Barnett may have the upper hand from a schematic standpoint. Arizona State hired former Alabama wide receivers coach Billy Napier as its offensive coordinator in late January, per Metcalfe.

Barnett was originally a 5-star recruit who ranked second nationally among quarterbacks in the class of 2015, per Scout.com, trailing only UCLA's Josh Rosen.