Todd Graham made it a point during PAC-12 Media Days to praise Assistant Athletic Director of Recruiting Donnie Yantis and Senior Offensive Analyst Conrad Hamilton for revitalizing Arizona State's appeal to walk-on players. Both Yantis and Hamilton are former Arizona high school football coaches, with Yantis coaching at Paradise Valley (and building the NAIA program at Arizona Christian from scratch), and Hamilton heading up the storied Chaparral Firebirds.

Graham isn't being hyperbolic when he describes the increase in the quality of walk-ons at ASU- as publisher of ArizonaVarsity.com, I've frequently commented on and written about the glut of quality walk-ons like Isaac Steele, Kyler Burke, Zach Werlinger, Brandon Rutt and Branden Leon who have left Arizona State's backyard to head to the University of Arizona. This year, however, the tide seems to be turning. Here's a list of the anticipated cast of walk-ons, and a breakdown of what you can expect to see from them. I've covered most of these kids at the high school level, and while there might not be another Jordan Simone or Adam Archuleta in the bunch, it's fair to expect at least one of these players to make an impact somewhere down the line.

Kendall Griffin- WR, Basha (AZ), 6-2, 165

Griffin will be a welcome addition to the Sun Devils roster in 2016- not only as an athletic member of the scout team, but as a trusted former teammate of incoming 2017 QB Ryan Kelley. Griffin joins former Basha WR JD Alexander, son of Tight Ends coach Delvaughn Alexander, as walk-ons from a Basha program that had sent several players to Tucson in previous seasons (Nate Phillips, Werlinger, Rutt). Like Alexander, Griffin is a 2015 graduate, and is supposed to be joined by 2016 graduate MJ Harris of Basha as well, but as of yet, Harris has not shown up on the roster. Here are Harris' highlights.

Scouting report: Good hands, versatile enough to carry the ball if needed, doesn't give up on plays. Fast, but doesn't always show it with the pads on. Doesn't break a lot of tackles. Runs up high, and carries ball away from body.

Anticipated impact: If he can stick around long enough, he might get a chance. Unlike redshirt senior Fred Gammage, a walk-on from Brophy that has seen plenty of time on the field, Griffin will have to compete against a crowded field of elite-level talent.

Caleb McShanag- DB, Northwest Christian (AZ), 6-2, 178

Northwest Christian doesn't play the highest level of competition, but McShanag stood out in 2014 as one of the best safeties in the state anyway. McShanag planned to walk on last year, and continue the football legacy of his grandfather, who was a Sun Devil as well. McShanag wasn't listed on last year's roster, but he was with the team in the spring, and is listed on the 2016 fall roster.

Scouting report: Very smart. Good anticipation. Plays downhill. Won't have to teach him to tackle- that's his strongest attribute. Good height- could probably support 20-25 more pounds on his frame. Speed of the game will be an issue.

Anticipated impact: Arizona State's defensive backfield depth isn't great, and if McShanag can find a way to stand out by being disruptive, causing fumbles, and making deflections, he might catch the coach's eye. In two years, ASU's defensive backfield will look very different than it does now, so if he's going to make an impact, he needs to show flashes early on.

KJ Bynum- LB, Portsmouth Christian (VA), 6-1, 240

This one was a bit of a surprise. Bynum was a mid-year addition, and looked capable in spring. He split time between two private schools last year in Virginia, and attracted attention from smaller local colleges on both sides of the ball. Bynum could easily be on scholarship back east, but a family connection wit Ray Anderson led him to visit ASU and decide that walking on to the Sun Devils while there was a gap in LB recruiting would be his best option.

Scouting report: Big body, knows how to use it. Can get off blocks and make plays. Looked like a man among boys against some of his competition in Virginia. Can play in coverage, has decent speed for his size.

Anticipated impact: If Christian Sam has a good enough season to consider leaving school early, Bynum is a player who might actually be able to compete for reps as early as 2017. He should at the very least provide stiff competition for incoming 2017 LB Loren Mondy.

Kamalii Akina- QB, St. Francis (CA), 5-11, 170

Akina is actually the son of Stanford DB coach Duane Akina, so there's a connection there with ASU DB coach TJ Rushing having worked with Akina in 2015.

Scouting report: St. Francis was a very good high school program under Akina's leadership, but they didn't throw the ball much. Akina was accurate, and a good decision maker at the high school level.

Anticipated impact: None. Walk-on quarterbacks rarely last more than a season or two at ASU, and ASU is as deep as its ever been at the position. It's nothing against Akina, but if he sees the field it'll be under some very dire circumstances- especially considering half ASU's WR recruiting haul last season has experience at QB in high school.

Ryan Bright- WR, Chaparral (AZ), 6-5, 190

Any time you bring in a 6-5 WR who was productive at one of the state's best programs, and is also one of the state's best high jumpers, you have to be happy. Bright played under Conrad Hamilton, and caught 51 balls for 764 yards and 5 TDs last season.

Scouting report: One of the state's best over-the-shoulder receivers. Speed and route running need work, but his hands are very, very good.

Anticipated impact: There are quite a few similarities between Bright and 2017 ASU commit Curtis Hodges. It's not out of the question that Bright, who will also participate in track at ASU, could make an impact at some point- especially considering his height and leaping ability make for a unique weapon.

Parker Higgins- LB, Kaiser (HI), 6-0, 215

Followed former high school teammate Josh Pokraka as a walk-on to ASU from Hawaii.

Scouting report: Small, but active. Good burst of speed, shows toughness following through with tackles or fighting off blocks.

Anticipated impact: It's hard to envision where Higgins will fit in at linebacker, but if the evolution of DJ Calhoun can be a model for the hybrid LB/SS role, perhaps Higgins has a shot to compete for reps somewhere down the line.

Gil'Scott Jackson- RB, Oaks Christian (CA), 5-10, 195

This was certainly a coup by the ASU coaching staff. Not only did Jackson have offers, he's one of those backs that could have gone the JuCo route and been in high demand two years from now.

Scouting report: His highlights will have you questioning the two-star rating. Rarely goes down on initial contact, shows a good ability to get to the edge and turn upfield. Finds the hole immediately- doesn't often dance in the backfield.

Anticipated impact: Assuming Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard stay through the end of their senior season, the 2018 season should have about 450 touches out of the backfield up for grabs. There's no reason Jackson can't be in competition with the rest of ASU's backs for some touches, presumably behind Jason Lewis, by then.

Drew McIntyre- FB/LB, Desert Vista (AZ), 6-1, 220

Similar player to Jarek Hilgers, who spent two years at RB for Arizona State out of Desert Vista before transferring to Arizona. Big, physical back who rarely missed a tackle on the defensive side of the ball. Likely projects as a linebacker.

Scouting report: Nothing fancy. Just wraps up when he impacts the ballcarrier, and delivers a blow when it's his turn to carry the ball. Effective as a blocker, as well as in the screen game on offense.

Anticipated impact: At fullback, there's Nick Ralston and Mark Cosgrove ahead of him, and defensively, the speed of the game might be a bit much for him. We'll see which side of the ball he ends up on.

Tavian Patrick- WR/KR/PR, Desert Ridge (AZ), 5-10, 180

Patrick was just somebody you didn't kick to at the high school level. He finished 6th in the entire country last year in kickoff return average for players who had at least 20 returns. Two of his three kickoff returns for TDs last year ended up being the difference in wins over Liberty and Brophy.

Scouting report: I could never tell last year if he was being used as a decoy in some of Desert Ridge's bigger games. I watched him make electrifying plays in some games, and be shut down in others. He has above average speed, hands and agility- he just has a tendency to disappear at times.

Anticipated impact: There's a ton of depth at WR, but guys like former Mountain View walk-on Jacom Brimhall were given an opportunity in the return game last year. Who knows? Down the road, if Patrick gets a chance to show what he can do in kickoff return, it might be a gig he secures and holds onto for a while.

Tim Byrd- WR, Maricopa (AZ), 6-0, 180

I've been wondering what happened to Byrd, a deep threat for the Maricopa Rams who graduated back in 2014. Byrd ran track for Maricopa, and I remember that toward the end of his senior season, he really started to show flashes as a WR- scoring 5 TDs in his final two games.

Scouting report: With two years off, it's hard to say. When I watched him play at Maricopa, he was just starting to reach his potential.

Anticipated impact: I'm not sure Byrd sees the field, but I'd be interested in finding out what brought him back to football and see if he plans on attempting to use all three years of athletic eligibility he has left.

Mitch Struhs- OL, Red Mountain/Scottsdale CC (AZ), 6-2, 264

ASU will use Struhs as an OL after he played TE at Scottsdale CC. I've actually never seen Struhs play live, because he graduated high school all the way back in 2012, one season after I started covering high school football. He'll be a 22 year-old junior this upcoming season.

Scouting report: His highlights show a capable blocker, but I've not seen him at a guard or tackle position.

Anticipated impact: At 6-2, learning a new position and starting off as a junior, the odds are stacked against Struhs. Then again, making a D1 roster as a walk-on after only playing one year of high school football and recording one catch as a TE aren't exactly great odds either.

Jordan Hoyt- DL, Chandler/UC Davis, 6-4, 280

This has to be the prize of the 2016 walk-on class. Todd Graham even mentioned liking Hoyt as a player at PAC-12 Media Days. I've long thought that if Hoyt didn't miss his junior season with a torn ACL, he'd have landed at an FBS school. He played DT at Chandler High, and went on to start as a true freshman at UC Davis, even registering a half sack against Stanford.

Scouting report: He's put on 30 pounds in the last two years, and still looks like he has room for more good weight. He told me that returning from a knee injury was far tougher than he had ever anticipated, but managed by the end of his senior season to become a dominant interior defensive lineman at the highest division of Arizona high school football.

Anticipated impact: Unless this transfer year sees Hoyt switch to offensive line, I see time with Coach Griswold in the weight room preparing him to compete for action right away as a redshirt junior.