Rankings rewind: Zettel, Foster on fire
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D.J. Foster had a big day against Colorado last weekend.
There is a great deal of excitement this season in Tempe for Arizona State football. One reason is the play of junior running back D.J. Foster, who is off to a fantastic start. During a 38-24 victory over Colorado on Saturday, Foster continued his impressive play by rushing for 147 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, plus adding three receptions for 52 yards and another score.
After sharing running back duties during his first two years with Marion Grice, Foster is now the main ball carrier for the Sun Devils. The results through three games have been impressive. After rushing for 493 yards and two touchdowns on 102 carries in 2012 and then 523 yards and six touchdowns on 93 carries in 2013, Foster has already rushed for 512 yards and five touchdowns on 54 carries this season.
Foster came to Arizona State with a great deal of hype after an amazing career at local Saguaro High School. As a sophomore, he rushed for 545 yards and 10 touchdowns, while adding another 497 yards receiving. He returned as a junior with 1,421 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns, as well as 740 yards receiving and four touchdowns on 43 receptions.
However, it was his senior season that saw him rewrite the record books. Foster finished the 2011 season with 3,058 yards and 54 touchdowns on 234 carries, plus 250 yards receiving and five touchdowns on 13 receptions. This was highlighted by his game against Sunrise Mountain, when he earned national attention after rushing for 508 yards and 10 touchdowns on 20 carries. This set state records for both rushing yardage and rushing touchdowns in a game.
Not surprisingly, Foster was a priority for a number of top programs nationally, but it was the Sun Devils that offered him first a few months before his junior season. Offers quickly began to pile up and by the end of his junior season, Foster had them from coast-to-coast. Foster ended up taking all five official visits, to Arizona State, Nebraska, Oregon, California and USC, and after changing his mind on his top school a few times, a few days before National Signing Day in 2012 he decided to stay close to home and committed to the Sun Devils.
Foster was a four-star athlete in the Class of 2012, the No. 71 recruit nationally, the No. 2 recruit in Arizona and the No. 5 athlete nationally. In Arizona, Foster was only ranked behind five-star offensive lineman Andrus Peat, who has also made a name for himself at Stanford. At the athlete position, Foster was behind Eddie Williams, Josh Harvey-Clemons, Devin Fuller and Kendall Sanders. With Williams and Alabama parting ways after burglary charges, Harvey-Clemons transferring from Georgia to Louisville and Sanders being charged with sexual assault at Texas during the summer, Fuller is the only one of the four who has made a positive mark at college to this point but not nearly to the extent of Foster. Only three games into being a full-time starter, Foster still has to prove himself further against elite competition, but at this point it seems like he is on track to definitely earn his high four-star ranking and possibly exceed it.
WR
Three-star, class of 2013
Kevin White helped West Virginia pull out a tight one against Maryland.
After a down 2013 season, the West Virginia offense seems to be back on track. One reason is the play of wide receiver Kevin White, who once again lit up a secondary during a 30-27 victory at Maryland. White finished the game with 13 receptions for 216 yards and a touchdown, the third time he has gone over 100 yards receiving in a game this season.
Transferring to West Virginia from Lackawanna Junior College in Pennsylvania, White's first season in Morgantown was in 2013, when he enrolled in time for the spring semester. He finished his first season with 35 receptions for 507 yards and five touchdowns after playing in 11 games. Through three games this season, White has almost surpassed all of his 2013 totals. He already has 32 receptions for 460 yards and two touchdowns, as the Mountaineers are off to a 2-1 start.
White played at Emmaus High School in Pennsylvania, where he was named all-conference as both a wide receiver and defensive back following his senior year. However, due to some academic issues, he found a home at Lackawanna in 2011 and 2012. After missing his first year at Lackawanna due to injury, during his second season he impressed college scouts by totaling 36 receptions for 535 yards and six touchdowns. White picked up offers from West Virginia, Texas Tech, Bowling Green, Hawaii and UMass. His only official visit was to Morgantown and that was all he needed to see. While he had plans to take an official visit to Texas Tech the following weekend, White cancelled and committed to West Virginia a few days after he returned from Morgantown.
White was a three-star JUCO WR in the Class of 2013 and the No. 56 ranked junior college recruit nationally. Ranking junior college recruits is never easy, but it is safe to say that if White continues the level of play he is currently on this season, then he was ranked too low. Because of his injury during his first season at Lackawanna, he actually has the option to return to Morgantown in 2015, but with NFL whispers already starting after his start this season, it is likely that Mountaineer fans are enjoying their last season with White.
LB
Three-star, class of 2010, signed with Louisville
Preston Brown led the Bills in tackles against the Dolphins.
Two weeks into the NFL season, one of the big surprises has been the play of the Buffalo Bills. During a convincing 29-10 victory against Miami, the defense was led by rookie linebacker Preston Brown, who totaled 13 tackles.
Brown was drafted in the third round (73rd overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Louisville. Thru his first two games with the Bills, he has totaled 20 tackles and a fumble recovery. At Louisville, Brown was a dominating performer. After seeing minimal action in 2010 as a true freshman, Brown finished with 84 tackles in 2011, 109 in 2012 and 98 in 2013. During his biggest season in 2012, Brown earned second team All-Big East honors and finished the season with 13 tackles against Florida in a Sugar Bowl victory.
Brown played at Northwest High School in Ohio. As a junior, Brown finished with 33 tackles, four sacks, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception, while also lining up at running back. He also saw time at running back as a senior when he rushed for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns on 143 carries. Brown actually committed to Cincinnati during the summer prior to his senior season. Then, in the fall as additional schools began to inquire about his abilities, Brown ended up taking official visits to Minnesota, Cincinnati and finally Louisville, which did not really begin pursuing him until a few weeks prior to National Signing Day. Despite having Louisville as his last visit, Brown still seemed solid with Cincinnati, until he surprised many on National Signing Day by flipping to the Cardinals.
Brown was a three-star linebacker in the Class of 2010, ranked as the No. 37 recruit in Ohio and the No. 75 outside linebacker nationally. Even before his quick start in the NFL, you can say that Brown was a bit under-valued coming out of high school after his career at Louisville. With the Cardinals, and already in the NFL, he has proven to be a higher end player who deserved more attention during his recruiting process and likely a four-star rating. Now it will be interesting to see how his skills continue to develop in Buffalo.
WR
Three-star, class of 2011
Army had no answer for Devon Cajuste, who scored three touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Devon Cajuste has quietly become one of the more intriguing offensive weapons in the country. The 6-foot-4, 229 pound wide receiver scored the first three touchdowns of the day for Stanford against Army on Saturday during a dominating 35-0 victory.
Cajuste did not really make an impact at Stanford until his junior season in 2013, when he played 13 games and finished with 28 receptions for 642 yards and five touchdowns. His 22.9 yards per receptions set a single-season school record. After missing the opening game this season, Cajuste has accumulated seven receptions for 96 yards and three touchdowns in two games.
Cajuste made his way to Stanford from Holy Cross High School in New York. He jumped to the forefront during his junior season when he finished with 40 receptions for 921 yards and seven touchdowns. He then followed that up during his senior season with 47 receptions for 864 yards and nine touchdowns, with 1,139 all-purpose yards. Syracuse was the first school to offer Cajuste during his junior season, which was followed by Rutgers in early 2010. By the spring, Stanford, Purdue, Connecticut, Boston College and Maryland also joined the chase, followed by Penn State, an offer he had been waiting for. However, his first visit to Stanford in June for a camp changed everything for Cajuste and he committed to the Cardinal before his trip back to New York. The move of Coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL caused some anxiety amongst Stanford fans, but Cajuste stuck with his commitment and signed with the Cardinal on National Signing Day in 2011.
Cajuste was a three-star wide receiver in the Class of 2011 and the No. 5 ranked recruit in New York. He was not ranked nationally. In New York, the No. 1 ranked player that year was Ishaq Williams, who has recently come across some academic problems at Notre Dame. The only other player ranked ahead of Cajuste that has made an impression at the college level to this point is Quentin Gause, who is seeing regular playing time at Rutgers. While a bump in New York was probably deserved, overall this ranking is pretty close to right, as Cajuste still works to establish himself as a consistent weapon.
Mike Farrell
National Recruiting Director
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