Within the span of 21 hours last week, Isaiah Ward reeled in all five of his Division I offers. San Diego State was first, then Arizona State followed by UNLV, Utah State and New Mexico.
It was the start of what Ward hopes is a recruiting list that keeps growing, now that he's more of a known prospect.
“I didn’t put myself out there so it’s kind of my fault,” Ward said of his recruitment. “It’s alright.”
It’s not hard to notice how Arizona State sticks out. It’s the only Power-5 program in contention right now for Ward, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound outside linebacker from Colony High in Ontario, Calif.
ASU defensive coordinator Antonio Piece spoke with the high school junior last Thursday and handed him an offer.
“He offered me and it was great — a whole great experience,” Ward said. “He thinks I can bring athleticism and blitzing to ASU and thought my pass rushing was really good.”
Ward has proven to be versatile at Colony, shifting from defensive end his sophomore year to outside linebacker this past season. At 6-foot-6, colleges could have a field day moving Ward around to wreak havoc.
With the ability to play all over, Ward said his idol was Isaiah Simmons, the Arizona Cardinals linebacker who formerly shined at Clemson. That’s the blueprint Ward wants to follow.
“I would describe myself as very aggressive and not afraid to hit,” Ward said. “Not afraid of any guy that’s bigger than me. I play hard and aggressive all the time.”
Because Ward has only spoken with the Sun Devils for a few days, he has yet to set up an official visit with Arizona State. Yet, he noted he would love to head to Tempe in the future, especially since his mom really wants to go to Arizona.
That visit, for Ward and his family, could be key in a decision.
“I just want to see how the whole campus is and how it looks,” he said. “I want to see if it’s the best for me and my family and if it would actually be a good place that my dad would feel comfortable letting me by myself. We’re looking for safety around there. One thing for me is the food around there.”
Pierce has already spoken a little about the Sun Devil program, about the football side of things as well as how ASU excels at helping players get where they need to go academically, too. It was just more good news for Ward, who has watched ASU on TV in the past and been impressed.
“I like how they all round up for the tackle and it’s like no guys left behind,” Ward said. “I feel like it’s very contagious. One guy hits and I saw another guy hit and the whole defense just went off.”
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