He was recently named Scholar Athlete of The Year by the Valley of the Sun chapter of the National Football Foundation. Earlier this month he was publicly coined “Mr. Sun Devil” by Arizona State head coach Todd Graham. Whatever the accolade may be, there is no doubt that the local Scottsdale Saguaro offensive lineman projects a strong impression on and off the field. Corey Stephens shares with us his story as a football player and his deep love for the hometown school he signed with this month.

I first started playing football when I was in 5th grade. I played for the Anthem Sabercats. I was a big kid when I was little and I really couldn’t find any youth league around here that was unlimited weight, so we had to drive to Anthem every day. It was a fun experience, starting out and learning how to play. Like every little kid, you think you’re a fullback or a tight end. I didn’t think I was going to be an offensive lineman. But once I really figured out how to play the position and I figured out how much fun it could be, I loved it.

When I played for the Scottsdale Argonauts I really started loving the game of football. That’s a pretty big youth organization. Coach Jason Mohns was my sixth-grade football coach. I liked him so much I wanted to play for him at Saguaro. The Scottsdale Argonauts aren’t a feeder program or anything like that, but the kids love the coaches so much that a lot of them decide to follow them to Saguaro. So, coach Mohns had a huge impact on my football career. I help coach the offensive line for the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders at the Scottsdale Argonauts. That’s how much I love that program. I’m pretty passionate about that program and it has taught me a lot about the game of football.

I’ve met some of my best friends there and we all wanted to play for Saguaro. We were all family from a young age and decided to stick together. KJ (Jarrell) and I have been playing together since we were 11 years old and we’re excited now to be playing together until we’re 22 years old, maybe even longer.

The senior class at Saguaro leads the younger guys. That’s the tradition. There’s no hazing that goes on. The football program is relatively small in numbers. The seniors show the young guys the ropes. They show them how to act. So, we’re taught that from a young age and that just carries you throughout your high school football career. We passed that on as seniors to the younger guys. That’s why Saguaro has always been so successful and that’s why it will continue to be successful.

I started as a sophomore on the varsity team at left tackle. I didn’t give up a sack either my sophomore year. When I think about it, it does blow my mind. I’ve always been a very confident kid, but I didn’t expect that. I was very nervous my very first game. We were playing Chaparral, and I was playing against Brandon Jamison every snap. He’s a great player and someone that I knew from middle school. It feels like it was yesterday, so your high school career goes by very fast.

After my sophomore year, I realized that I will be playing football in college too. I got a really early offer from Louisville which honestly was 100 percent a surprise. I really knew I had a chance to play at the Division I level at the ASU 7 on 7/big man competition going into my junior year. I pretty much dominated that camp against older kids and I knew I had what it took to play in college. I knew I had the skill and technique to play at the next level.

I got my offer from ASU a week or two before I committed publicly, but I pretty much committed on the spot when they offered me. I knew this is where I wanted to be and I didn’t see any point in waiting. I’m very passionate about where I’m from. I don’t see any place where I can represent my city and my state better than Arizona State. I grew up a Sun Devil fan and I knew I wanted to play for the Sun Devils ever since I was a little kid. I knew that if I ever got that opportunity I would have to jump on it. I never had any reservations about that decision. I’m just as excited now as I was on signing day. I can’t wait to get started.

I know kids love it when other kids who are committed to a school reach out to them, tell them what they love about the university. I’ve been on campus so many times. I’ve been to more games than I can count. If I was committed to another Pac-12 school I wouldn’t be on campus that often. I know what the atmosphere is like. I know what the city of Tempe is like. I figured there is no better ambassador for the school than someone like myself who was born and raised here, and who loves the Sun Devil program. I just wanted to help kids understand all the great things about ASU and the state of Arizona.

Even though my family knew that I wanted to go to ASU and that was the best place for me, they never pressured me to commit here. Once I knew that the ASU offer is about to come, I talked to coach Mohns and we both knew right away that this was the best option for me. This is where I wanted to play. So, my family never had to pressure me to go to Arizona State.

It’s been tough seeing three different offensive line coaches in the last few months, but it hasn’t caused me to waiver even a little bit. Not knowing who’s going to be your position coach was a little hard. You do get attached to coaches. Coach Thomsen recruited me for the longest time and I really liked him as a coach. I was happy to see him go back to his alma mater. When you have a chance to go home you have to take that opportunity. I know all the players loved coach Henson from the sample size they saw. Same thing with him, he had an opportunity to go home. Can’t blame him one bit. That’s the same reason I’m going to Arizona State. I haven’t met the new coach, Rob Sale, yet but we have texted each other. I did hear good things about him. So, I’m excited.

Being a good student (4.5 GPA) and a good football player is all about effort. There were some times I did feel a little overwhelmed but it was never too hard for me. It’s all about time management and it will be the same thing in college. So, I think I set myself on a good foundation in high school knowing how to balance everything. My junior year was tough taking all those honors and AP classes. But it was worth it. It was important to me and important to my family. That’s one of the reasons I was so excited about ASU because I was going to the Barrett Honors College. So, it’s going to make it worthwhile for me. Going to a school like that and playing for a Pac-12 program is really the best of both worlds.

I got my workout plans from (strength and conditioning) coach Griz, and we’re going to set up a schedule to work out in-person. Going down to Tempe to workout with him will be a great advantage. I really look forward to that. I think going into your freshman year thinking you will redshirt is a great disservice to yourself. Even though I know it’s very likely and may even be the best thing for me, that’s not the attitude I will be coming with. That just makes you complacent. I’m coming in with the attitude that I will compete my butt off and see where it takes me. If the coaches think that redshirting is the best thing for me, then I’m fine with that and I will work in the weight room to become stronger and faster.

ASU’s 5-7 record didn’t affect me. I knew this is the place I wanted to be regardless of the record. This is the place I wanted to get a degree from and spend the next four, five years of my life. The record never made me waiver one bit. I know myself and the rest of the class can help change that record. We’re the future of the program. We still have to learn the ropes, progress and develop, so things won’t change right off the bat. I know the success ASU had in the past with Todd Graham. It can easily happen again in the future and we’ll make sure it does happen.