Chubba Purdy high on ASU’s 2020 quarterback wish list
The current recruiting class has no shortage of talented local prospects which the Sun Devils have been pursuing in earnest. One prospect that Arizona State has put a very high priority on is Gilbert Perry quarterback Chubba Purdy who took an unofficial visit to campus last Saturday.
In his first year as the starting quarterback for the 11-3 Pumas, Purdy accounted for 4,588 all-purpose yards and finished with 59 total touchdowns. Passing for 3,422 yards at a 64.4% completion rate, along with rushing for 1,156 yards, Purdy is a true dual-threat quarterback. Purdy threw for over 300 yards five times last season as well as rushing for over 100 yards in that same number of contests last fall.
Devils Digest caught up with Purdy following his visit to get his impressions of his interactions with the ASU staff and what’s next in his recruiting process.
DevilsDigest: What stood out on your Arizona State visit?
Chubba Purdy: “Oh I loved it. The coaches were great, the facilities are amazing and I had a really good time. It wasn’t really different that my other visits, me and the coaches still clicked, and we had a great time together and we all have great conversations together as well.”
DevilsDigest: What’s some of the things that the coaches said that really stood out in your mind?
Chubba Purdy: “They really want me bad, I’m their number one guy basically and coach Likens just said he would really love to coach me up the next four years if I were to go there. He says he likes how I have a strong arm and he said that I could use my feet to get out of situations that I could make big plays happen.
“Herm Edwards was straight up, he’s real, and he’s a funny dude and he just got down to the basics and he told me and my family what would happen if I were to come there, and I would have a good chance of competing.
“I talked to Mike Bercovici and he’s a great guy. We really hit it off and just started talking some football talk. I got his number and he’s a great dude, he knows what he’s talking about as well.”
DevilsDigest: When you look at ASU’s game film of the offense, why do you think this system might suit your skills if you decided to go there?
Chubba Purdy: “When we were watching film, I could just really see myself running that offense. Coach Likens really knows what he’s doing, and everything that Perry does basically they (ASU) do as well. They do a little bit more under center though, so I’d have to learn that a little bit better, but aside from that, everything is basically the same.”
DevilsDigest: When it comes to staying close to home, I know it’s something that you had a lot of time to think about. Has your view about this aspect changed now compared to what it did maybe a few months ago?
Chubba Purdy: “No sir, I’ll play anywhere wherever I have the best opportunity and great relationships with coaches.”
DevilsDigest: As you’re going through the recruiting process, what did your older brother Brock tell you about the recruiting process to prepare you for everything that’s going on right now?
Chubba Purdy: “He just told me to be patient and the right school will come, and all the schools that have offered me right now have been great to me, and ASU as well. I’ve been creating great relationships with them, so I can’t wait to see what happens.”
DevilsDigest: Besides Arizona State, what are the schools you feel are recruiting you the hardest right now?
Chubba Purdy: “Louisville, Kansas State, Kansas and Washington State.”
DevilsDigest: Have you visited any of those schools besides Arizona State in the last few months, or even last year?
Chubba Purdy: “No sir, I’m visiting Louisville this June 1st coming up.”
DevilsDigest: What about the other schools you mentioned that are recruiting you hard, do you have anything tentative set up with those colleges?
Chubba Purdy: “No sir, not yet. After Louisville, I’ll plan it all out.”
DevilsDigest: I see, ok. So, as far as a timetable for a decision, do you have like a ballpark month when you want to decide by?
Chubba Purdy: “Probably during football season, if not earlier than that.”
DevilsDigest: Is your goal to take visits to all the schools that you just mentioned?
Chubba Purdy: “Yes sir, and I’m going to talk to my parents about it and see what my end goal is for all the officials as well.”
DevilsDigest: What’s been like the most surprising part about this whole recruiting process?
Chubba Purdy: “Most surprising part? I don’t know, it’s just crazy how this is all happening so fast and I just got one more year left to play.”
DevilsDigest: So, when it’s time for you to make a decision, what’s some of the factors you’re going to look at really closely before you make that announcement?
Chubba Purdy: “I’m going to make sure that it’s a college town, and everyone just loves and supports the college team and I’m going to make sure I have a great relationship with the coaches and really like the team.”
DevilsDigest: It’s been a while since ASU has had a starting local quarterback. Do you think about all the hometown hero angles and is that something that is talked about a lot with your family in the recruiting process?
Chubba Purdy: “Yes sir, I think about it a lot, I think it’d be great for me and the community to just play for everyone that I’ve already been around basically almost my whole life, and I think it’d just be really neat.”
Purdy’s high school head coach, Preston Jones, said that his quarterback was genuinely excited about the Sun Devils following his visit.
“I gave him a hard time for the goofy picture he took in the barber chair,” Jones said. “I think Arizona State really intrigues him and sparks an interest. How far that goes remains to be seen. But they are very intriguing to him.”
Jones, much like the Sun Devils, applaud Purdy’s versatility and knowledge of the game and lists those attributes as major components of his success.
“Chubba is a very well rounded player,” Jones said. “He can run an offense being a dual-threat quarterback or run a pro-style offense. Besides getting bigger and stronger last year, he got a lot better in reading defenses. He knows more about what we are doing and why we are doing it. He really knows now the nuts and bolts of our offense, and that helps his decision making and confidence running the offense.”
The comparisons between Chubba and his older brother Brock, who last year as a true freshman posted the best season by a rookie quarterback in Iowa State’s history, are naturally inevitable. Jones, however, feels as if both quarterbacks are extremely different from each other.
“Chubba’s strength is his speed and Brock didn’t have that type of speed,” Jones described. “Chubba’s arm strength is off the chart and Brock’s was just good. The only trait I think they share in common is that they are both extremely accurate.”
Watching Chubba Purdy on film has quickly invoked the dual-threat quarterback moniker by coaches and pundits. Yet, like many players with that title, Purdy has proven to have a much stronger pocket presence than other signal callers who this label may apply to more accurately.
“That is what we did for him on offense during the regular season,” Jones stated. “We didn’t have him play like a dual-threat quarterback, we kept him in the pocket and he did very well. We didn’t want to run him and we ran our offense accordingly. In the playoffs, we opened it up more and had him play like a dual-threat quarterback.”
As impressive as his junior year for the Pumas was, Jones would like Purdy to improve on some aspects of his game as he will have to contend with new challenges in 2019
“This year he has to really lead the offense,” Jones detailed. “He has to be the captain there and he didn’t need to in the past because the offense was just running like a machine. This year he will have inexperienced receivers and running backs that he didn’t have in the past and he needs to take charge.”
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