Aidan Finney commits to ASU
It was a given that Aidan Finney was going to stay in Pac-12 country, and it was just a matter of which conference member was going to win the sweepstakes for his services. Ultimately the Chico (Calif.) Pleasant Valley High School lineman chose ASU and pledged to the Sun Devils Sunday afternoon.
Ironically enough, this 2020 prospect who was coveted by several Pac-12 schools as well as Fresno State, Nevada, and San Diego State started out his junior playing tight end, but later switched to right tackle for the Vikings, helping them win the 4-AA California state title.
This is a Vikings program that has ties to the NFL in quarterback Aaron Rodgers and tight end Geoff Swain.
“You can’t go wrong with 6-7 285,” Pleasant Valley head coach Mark Cooley. “He gained 40 pounds from 245 to 285 to play this position. It was astronomical and our strength coach did a great job building him to what he is now. What’s good about him is that he’s young at the position. We moved him halfway through the season to offensive tackle. We needed to find another tackle for run support and the minute he moved there he was just dominating the whole right side of the line."
According to NorCalPreps.com Finney is an athletic tackle prospect who plays with good feet in pass protection and uses his length to make defenders take a long path to the quarterback. In the run game, he can collapse the edge and move defenders to help set up his next block.
“His tenacity and work ethic are off the charts,” Cooley remarked. “After he moved to tackle, he really honed on his run blocking skills. Pass blocking is the next thing that he needs to work on, especially when you transition to college where kids are bigger, faster and stronger. So, he just needs to work on his technique. So, this is where his focus will be this year.
“We already know that the run blocking and tenacity are there. He got more and more violent as the year went on crushing people. In our state championship he went up against a player that had a scholarship offer from Notre Dame and he just abused him.
“It was fun to watch.”
Cooley said that he isn’t surprised that his player committed to ASU sight unseen, just because of the way the coaching staff presented itself, especially with their NFL ties.
“They have a great NFL coach in Herm Edwards,” Cooley explained, “they have a member of the offensive line staff (Kevin Mawae) who just got inducted to the Pro hall of fame yesterday. That was a huge factor and he always got a good vibe from the coaching staff.
“They saw him at spring practice, but we keep things pretty light and they aren’t too many one-on-one’s or drive blocking. It’s more about the scheme. But recruiting really turned for him after they saw him at the (satellite) Sacramento State camp, where they could see the violence that he plays with and his long arms. Showing how he can keep people at bay. They showed him how much they wanted him and he decided this was the best place for him to be. It was a good fit”
Finney is ASU’s sixth offensive line commit in the 2020 recruiting class and the 16th overall Arizona State pledge in that group. Oddly enough, at 6-7 he’s not even the tallest recruit of the class, that honor is reserved to 6-10 German prospect Paul Rubelt.
Finney is also the second 2020 offensive lineman from California to commit to the Sun Devils joining Jacob Nunez from Lompoc. Hawaiian prospect Micah Soliai Howlett, along with local prospect Frank Thompson from Peoria Liberty and Ben Bray from Mesa Red Mountain round out the six pledges for ASU at this position.
Join us on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, to discuss this article and other ASU football and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today here and
receive 25% off + $75 eCard to the Adidas store!
