Four-star picks Sun Devils

Throughout his recruitment, Mo Latu strongly considered staying close to home and being around his family during his college days.

Other schools made good impressions and Oregon, Utah and Missouri were in the mix but the four-star center from Gilbert (Ariz.) Perry committed to Arizona State on Wednesday night and cited his family as a big reason why he made that decision.

Latu liked a lot about the Sun Devils' football program and one of the main draws for the four-star prospect was that Arizona State's campus is only about 30 minutes from home.

"The thing I liked about it so much is the coaches, the program and the athletes that go there," Latu said. "I like the facilities and the school itself and the best part is I get to play in front of my family.

"I was having a hard time deciding and I talked to my family and thought about it all over again and I decided that I felt most comfortable with ASU."

It's a huge pickup for the Sun Devils because Rivals.com rates Latu, a 6-foot-3, 306-pound prospect, second at center, No. 248 nationally and eighth in the Arizona state rankings. He's the highest-rated Arizona State commit so far in the state.

Oregon was a serious contender and the Ducks have had success recruiting offensive linemen out of Arizona this recruiting cycle. Missouri had been considered one of his favorites as well. Utah has made a late push and Latu said it's undetermined right now whether he'll visit there this weekend.

At this point, Latu is just happy to have made his commitment and said it's a relief to finally have made the decision that the Sun Devils were the best fit for him.

"I'm really happy," Latu said. "It's so exciting to know my family will always be at the games and I'll be able to see them and be in a place where I know the place and I feel most comfortable.

"It feels a lot better knowing I just committed. As soon as I committed I sent text messages to the other schools letting them know I appreciate what was done and thanked them for looking at me but that I chose another school. Then I called coach (Dennis) Erickson and let him know about my commitment. It feels great."