Allah thrilled to be a Sun Devil commit

Arizona State's first impression of Phoenix (Ariz.) North Canyon defensive back Jamar Allah was a good one. After watching Allah in one of its passing league games in June with a number of its coaches in attendance, ASU offered Allah a scholarship.

Its courtship proved successful Saturday when Allah committed to the Sun Devils following their win over USC Saturday night at Sun Devil Stadium.

Allah, a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder, is being recruited to play cornerback at the school. A big defensive back who moves well, all of Allah's other primary suitors wanted him at safety, including Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, but the Sun Devils appear to have other plans.

"Everyone else wanted me at safety but they want me as a corner which is a big blessing," Allah said. "They said they see me as a bigger corner who can run and that's rare to find. They have had some corners go down with injuries and don't have lot of depth there right now so it's an opportunity to hopefully come in and get a chance to show I can play early."

It seemed Allah was likely to take official visits and be patient with his recruitment, with a number of other schools likely to step forward with offers after watching early senior season film, but Saturday's energy put the local school over the top.

"I loved the atmosphere, all the coaches showed me love and I just love everything about ASU," Allah said. "The defense stepped up tonight, the offense played really well, it was a great win. After the game the players were all listening to music and dancing and celebrating in the locker room. It was a good thing to see.

"I had wanted to keep my options open but after tonight I just felt like it was the right time to do this."

Allah, who had 54 tackles and one interception last season, ran a 4.47 40-yard dash over the summer, and said he's looking forward to fitting right in at ASU, which runs a lot of the same defensive coverages at North Canyon, which is currently 3-2.

Recruiter Bryce Erickson helped get Allah in the fold with his approach to the recruitment.

"We didn't even talk about football the whole time," Allah said of the Sun Devils' running backs coach. "We talked about family, about home life. I feel like it's not just about X's and O's and football with him and the other ASU coaches. It's more like they care about you as a person."