Four-star 2022 running back Tevin White puts ASU in his top six
Arizona State’s 2020 schedule has been put on hold. Such is the life of many college football programs amidst a COVID-19 outbreak. Yet, as always, its recruiting efforts churn on.
Long before the pandemic hit the Sun Devils’ practice facility, they contacted 2022 recruit, Tevin White. The four-star running back earned an offer in July, a month after that initial contact, and then, last month, he added ASU to his top six.
White is a 6-foot-1, 205-pound all-purpose back from Virginia who, along with the Sun Devils, is considering Penn State, Georgia, Duke, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
It doesn’t take a geography wizard to figure out Arizona State is the clear outlier of White’s recruitment proximity-wise, being the furthest school from White’s Virginia home and the only program east of the Mississippi.
So how did ASU end up on the four-star tailback’s top six?
“Mostly because they fit a lot of my criteria, or the top things I look for in a school -- which is academics, coaching style, which obviously ASU has, and then the campus,” White said. “ASU is a school I’m interested in and want to learn more about.”
The other thing that may be working to ASU’s advantage is, oddly, COVID-19. The virus has shut down official visits across the country, which has forced schools to get creative and employ virtual visits.
For White, the pixelated Tempe was quite impressive.
“The campus buildings were a lot different than what I’ve been to before, like Georgia, Duke, UVA. I can’t explain how (ASU) is different, but the campus is just different,” White said. “I like it; it’s unique.”
In ASU’s pursuit of White, ASU running backs coach Shaun Aguano has been leading the charge as the main recruiter, developing a relationship that isn’t all about football.
“We’re pretty close. We’re trying to build a relationship, and I haven’t got to see him in-person yet, but so far, he’s been great,” White said of Aguano. “Right now, we’re just talking about me as a person, and I’m not really getting recruited as an athlete.”
ASU obviously bills itself as the school with the ‘Pro Model’ coaching staff. Though Aguano isn’t one of those coaches with NFL experience, White said he’s just looking for coaches he can put his full trust into, coaches that will push him and trust him.
White, though, makes it easy for coaches to trust him based upon his play on the field.
“My favorite play would probably be outside zone. I’m really good in space -- that’s where I make my money. I make people miss in space,” White said. “I’m really good at catching out of the backfield. I’m really versatile and active in the pass game, too.”
White said his recruitment started to really pick up after September 1, after college coaches were allowed to contact recruits through any form of private electronic communication. His offer list quickly ballooned to 18, but White cut it down -- perhaps an uncommon move this early in the recruiting cycle for a 2022 prospect.
He said he expects to make his commitment announcement in spring or summer of 2021, which won’t be long after White’s junior season at North Stafford concludes. White noted that his first game isn’t slated to kick off until February 15, which still gives teams plenty of time to check him out.
Until then, White will mull over the six programs he narrowed his recruitment down to and decide which one suits him best.
“Obviously No. 1 is academics. No. 2 is coaching style, and if I can put my trust in the coaches,” White said. “No. 3 is campus site outside of football. I’m going to have a life outside of college football, and I need to feel that, too.
“(If I committed to ASU, I’d say it would be) because the campus and the campus lifestyle really impressed me.”
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