Nobody has higher expectations for LV Bunkley-Shelton than the true freshman does for himself. A self-described “workaholic,” Bunkley-Shelton is more than halfway through preseason practices and is receiving buzz for his potential as an emerging new target in Arizona State’s new offense.

On Wednesday, Bunkley-Shelton made news when he expressed his goals for the 2020 season.

“My freshman goal is to become a freshman All-American,” Bunkley-Shelton told reporters Wednesday. “That’s what I’m aiming for.”

Young contributors in the Sun Devil program aren’t an unfamiliar sight under head coach Herm Edwards. The third-year head coach has spoken in detail about the desire to play the most talented players on the roster regardless of age, something that has shown itself to be the case. Last season, Jayden Daniels was named a Freshman All-American by ESPN, while Dohnovan West was named to USA Today’s Freshman All-American team for his play along the Sun Devil offensive line.

While the loss of first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk is expected to be (largely) filled by redshirt senior Frank Darby, the production in the slot from Kyle Williams will could be found from the highly-touted Bunkley-Shelton.

“Hard work and dedication, just keep grinding and keep going against the best,” explained Bunkley-Shelton of what it would take to make his goal come to fruition. “Outperform everybody that’s around me.”

During the opening week of practices, Edwards mentioned Bunkley-Shelton as one of the young receivers – in a group that was rated as one of the best receiver classes in ASU history – who he was certain would see some time on the field. Arizona State coaches have gotten coy in regard to praising skill position players ahead of the Sun Devils’ Nov. 7 game with No. 21 USC, but earlier in the preseason offensive coordinator Zak Hill praised the 5-foot-11 freshman.

“He’s one of those guys that prepared himself really well coming into camp,” Hill said during ASU’s first week of preseason practices. “He always is thinking about what he puts in his body, the work and the process of what we’re going to put in for the day. He’s very detailed in his preparation, and you can tell on the field because he plays fast.”

“I came in thinking, ‘I have to start. I have to play. I have to get in the mix,’” explained Bunkley-Shelton, who was rated by Rivals a four-star prospect coming out of Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, Calif. “I set that goal, and I achieved that goal. Now it’s about putting in the work. I’m not too excited; I’m just ready. Ready to go.”

Bunkley-Shelton has experience with Daniels. During each’s time in high school, they played together as teammates in 7-on-7 games. Last week, the freshman receiver tweeted highlights from their previous playing experience. That relationship has continued its development during the freshman receiver’s opening season in Tempe, with Daniels serving as a commanding mentor.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Bunkley-Shelton described of playing with Daniels as his quarterback. “It’s a wide receiver's dream having a quarterback that can throw and run; it’s a dream come true honestly.

“I came in, I was a little slow, and he taught me that I needed to make my moves faster, and I had to get in and out of my breaks faster. Basically, overall, I needed to get faster… He was just telling me to be strong, stay focused and don’t let nothing get to me.”

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In his second year in Tempe, Andre Johnson received praise from Daniels during the quarterback’s Tuesday meeting with the media. Johnson described a lack of focus during his first year as the main reason for his lack of playing time. In all, the local product saw playing time during three games, contributing only on special teams for the Sun Devils, while also taking advantage of the NCAA’s four-game redshirt rule.

“I just think the maturity and growth that he has from last year to the spring, to now,” Daniels cited as the biggest difference between Johnson in 2019 and now. “Over time, throwing sessions and just being able to see the growth and maturity that people have and the time where we’re going to the stadium and coming back now just seeing that they’re willing to go out there and willing to put in the effort because they just want to win.”

“I feel like I’ve been a lot more focused this year than last year,” Johnson said. “Last year, I wasn’t really bought completely into the program. I was kind of not focused on what I needed to do in order to get better, and this year I’ve tried to just make sure that do what I could in order to get on the field and actually get playing time this year. I kind of cut out some of the things that distracted me, so I’m pretty sure that boosted me up a little bit.”

Recognizing what led to his failures during his first season at the collegiate level allowed Johnson, a former three-star prospect, to re-evaluate and understand what needed to change in order to him to allow his physical tools to shine. Among the greatest supporters and mentors for Johnson is Frank Darby, who Johnson said has changed his outlook this year.

“This year specifically, he’s really been trying to get into my head to get me focused all the time,” Johnson commented. “Every day at practice, either before or after practice, he’s always just telling me what I’ve done wrong, what I need to work on, and he’s making sure that my head’s straight and that I’m not getting into the ways that I was last year when I wasn’t focused.”

As with any receiver in Arizona State’s program, the challenge of a strong Sun Devil secondary provides an opportunity for progress.

“I really do think that they are the best DBs in the Pac-12,” Johnson claimed of Chase Lucas and Jack Jones. “They might be some of the best DBs in the nation, in my opinion. Going up against them in practice, the way that they do things, the way that they play the ball, play their position, I feel like there’s not many doing it like them.

“Going up against them has helped me a lot, knowing what other DBs can do… Going up against them every day has been a huge help.”

Johnson, who the Sun Devil roster lists at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, provides Daniels another big body threat at receiver. In 2018, he averaged over 17 cards per catch while pulling in eight touchdowns as a senior at local Tolleson Union High School. When he committed to Arizona State in June of 2018, Johnson told Devils Digest the proximity to home was important, and that remains true today.

“Not playing last year, it got to me a little bit just because I knew I could, but I stopped myself. I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen this year. I wanted to make sure that I could do what I needed to do, and if I just didn’t make it because I wasn’t good enough, then I’ll just have to get better.

“I felt like I let my city, my family, my friends. Everybody, I just felt like I let them down last year. They all are really excited to see me play, and all are really excited to see me make plays…so I just want to make sure for them. I want them to be proud of me. I can’t have that happen if I’m not on the field, so just thinking about them made me want to focus even more.”

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