To date, 19 transfer portal players have pledged to the Sun Devils in the 2023 recruiting cycle. One of the first out-of-state players to be part of that group was 5-9 185-pound wide receiver Melquan Stovall who played most of his career at Nevada and arrives in Tempe as a Colorado State graduate.
Stovall admitted that he felt that prior to his visit to Arizona State, he would leave town with a pledge.
“I wanted to get down there and meet the coaches in person,” Stovall said, “and I had a feeling that I would leave town being committed okay. The coaches have been in contact with me probably like two weeks after I entered the portal, and we have been building a relationship ever since. I started by talking to Bobby Wade, and on the visit, I talked to (offensive coordinator) coach Baldwin who coached my older brother Melquise when he was at Cal, so we had a connection there.
“My brother loved playing for coach Baldwin, and they had a pretty strong relationship. So he definitely vouched for him. My brother can speak about coach Baldwin as a person, outside of being just a coach. I also met (wide receivers) coach Samples. He’s a good dude as well. He’s young and brings NFL experience to the table. Him being at the L.A. Rams and around guys like Cooper Kupp and different guys like that. He brings that experience into the room as well. I know he can help me out with perfecting my craft.”
In the 2021 campaign, Stovall played in 12 games for Nevada, hauling 56 receptions for 643 yards and one touchdown. He finished his career with 1,064 receiving yards on 108 receptions and one touchdown in 30 games played for the team. At the end of his Nevada tenure, he earned the Hustle Award for offense at the team awards banquet. As a freshman, he earned Academic All-Mountain West honors. The wide receiver was a three-year starter at Junipero Serra High School in southern California. And helped Paraclete High School to a pair of division championships before moving on to Junipero Serra.
“The coaches said that being an older guy, I can bring leadership to the players that are in the room now,” Stovall commented. “I can spread the field, get the ball in the space and be able to make plays when my number is called. They are looking at me right now as a slot receiver, but we’ll get more detail on that later on once I get up there.”
Stovall thought it was ironic that his older brother was also recruited in earnest by ASU, and he ultimately is the member of the family who will now play for the Sun Devils. This was another familiarity aspect that did help the younger Stovall in his recruitment process.
“I’ve actually (unofficially) visited Arizona State a couple of times,” Stovall recalled. “Back when they played Washington when they were ranked and beat them in 2017. And outside of football, I’ve been around there too a few times. Arizona State has always been a place that I was interested in from a young age. Being out there again on my visit and getting a feel for the new head coach and its staff has been a blessing. I also enjoyed the academic aspect of the school, being able to sit down and talk with the academic advisor about the Master’s program. That’s something that definitely stood out to me.”
Stovall joined Colorado State after transferring from Nevada but left the program on September 19th of last year. He has two years of eligibility remaining as a graduate transfer. In three games for the Rams, he had 13 receptions for 106 yards. The wide receiver declined to elaborate on the reason he left the program early in the season but did stress that he has enormous respect for head coach Jay Norvell who did also coach him at Nevada. Stovall is naturally driven to prove to himself that he will fully take advantage of now getting a chance for the first time in his career to play at the power five level.
“I know that I have to work for everything I will earn,” Stovall remarked, “and if I do that, everything will work itself out. I don’t want to just live in the moment, but just come in, get to work, and be able to help contribute to the team in any way possible.”
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