ASU first FBS school to offer Jagger Filippone
Jagger Filippone hopes his recent Arizona State offer is the start of a trend. After holding four FCS offers – including a trio from Ivy League programs – the Sun Devils jumped in on Tuesday and became the first FBS and Power-5 school to offer Filippone.
Tight ends coach Adam Breneman and offensive analyst Justin Wood spoke with Filippone over the phone on Tuesday and gave him the good news.
“It was pretty cool. ASU is one of the best programs; their coaching staff is next level,” Filippone said. “They were pretty adamant and excited about my size and athleticism. That’s something they were really looking for in a player.”
Filippone is a 6-foot-6, 255-pound offensive tackle out of Torrey Pines HS in San Diego, a junior who just wrapped up a shortened spring football season.
Though his communication with Arizona State is still in its infancy stage, Filippone has come to really enjoy speaking with Wood.
“He’s been a really good guy, and he’s really explained the program very well – and that’s kind of opened my eyes,” Filippone said of Wood. “He talks about how the coaches work and how close they are with their players.”
Given that he lives only about five hours by car from Tempe, Filippone already had some knowledge of the Sun Devils before any coaches reached out. His grandma lives in the Grand Canyon State, and he used to visit the desert a few weekends a year for baseball tournaments.
And speaking of baseball, America’s Pastime was actually Filippone’s first love – that is, until he began playing football in eighth grade.
“I loved the physicality,” Filippone said. “No hit on baseball – I still love to watch baseball – but I couldn’t really go from having the time of my life hitting kids, being with my brothers on the football field then going to the baseball game, which is a lot different and (requires) a lot more patience.”
Filippone was always bigger than most of his baseball counterparts and, perhaps, playing a game defined by nuance and dominated by those with the best hand-eye coordination set him up well for a career on the gridiron.
Playing on a Torrey Pines team that ran a spread offense the first part of the season and the Wing-T in the latter half, Filippone proved to be skilled in the trenches, able to adapt from the nonstop pass blocking to continuous run blocking.
“There’s something about run blocking and the physicality involved – especially if I can be out in space – that I really enjoy,” he said. “I’m very aggressive and quick. I think I’m also rugged because I like to finish.”
Filippone isn’t sure much about his recruiting timetable regarding visits or commitments or anything like that. Perhaps, he thinks, the ASU offer will get the ball rolling for other FBS programs to come calling.
If that happens, there are a few things he’ll be looking for when he makes his decision.
“I’m personally looking for quality of life and something that will help me in my future,” Filippone said. “Like academically, how the football program is, just that sort of thing.”
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