Four-star 2022 Michigan athlete Dillon Tatum intrigued by ASU’s approach
Dillon Tatum opened up the Notes app on his phone and began typing away. There were so many notifications, so many messages, so many graphics coming to his from numbers he had never seen and accounts he had never before interacted with.
So, Tatum made a list. He typed out all 23 schools that contacted him on September 1, the first perssimble day for coaches to text 2022 prospects. He estimated the 23 schools sent him 100-or-so messages on Tuesday. And just as he was on the phone speaking about the craziness, another notification popped up.
“Well, as soon as you said that. Wisconsin said, ‘Shoot me a call,’” Tatum said with a chuckle. “Growing up, I didn’t know I was going to be this big. I knew I was going to work harder than some people and earn my chin, but I didn’t know it was going to happen like this, and that’s why I’m grateful.”
But for as grateful as Tatum is, he saw the aforementioned September 1 pandemonium coming from a mile away. Save an out-of-the-blue introduction from Clemson, Tatum had done his due diligence. Over the last few months, he had reached out to interested coaches and began forming solid relationships long before last Tuesday.
And Tatum, a four-star athlete from West Bloomfield, Mich., fondly remembered the schools receptive to him early on.
“Like, Arizona State had done that with coach Garnett and we’ve really built something,” Tatum said.
In February, Tatum spoke with ASU defensive analyst Anthony Garnett and running backs coach Shaun Aguano before the pair offered him on March 4. Since then, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound top-250 player has enjoyed the Sun Devils’ pursuit of his services -- one of the schools, he said, is recruiting him hard but not annoying him.
“I’m cool with coach Aguano, but I don’t speak to him as much as I speak to coach Garnett,” Tatum said. “With coach Garnett, we’re like clicking to a point where it’s not all about football. The other day we were talking about Chick-fil-A sauce. Sometimes it’s just talking about life.
“It seems to me when you talk about stuff that’s not all about football; I feel like you can build a better relationship with that coach. And, when you have a better relationship, it gives you more of a sense to go to that school, and you have more excitement about that school.”
For now, Tatum said Arizona State had joined a group of five alongside Michigan, Michigan State, Baylor, and Ohio State as the quintet recruiting him the hardest. All five jockeying for the services of the no. 20 athlete in the country in the class of 2022.
And, yes, he’s a true athlete. Though he played running back, slot receiver, outside receiver, safety, cornerback and a linebacker/safety hybrid, he said half the schools recruiting him, including ASU, have told him they won’t assign him to a specific position right away. Instead, schools have told Tatum they’ll decide when he gets on campus where he fits best.
“I feel like I have a great football mind. I have great speed, also,” Tatum said. “And I use that speed and great football mind to make those big, explosive plays coaches love to see and that are game-changing plays.”
Tatum said he hopes in the next few months to cut his list of 31 offers down to a top-five or top-ten this winter and then make his commitment the following spring or summer. Until then, he will continue to learn more about his perspective schools, including Arizona State.
“I’m looking for a school that’s willing to (do anything to) win,” Tatum said. “And I need to have a great relationship with their coaches, and I can trust their coaches that they aren’t just going to leave me. And I want to go there and be able to get an education also. With that, it just comes down to what’s that right fit?”
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