The hometown attribute is the obvious one to feature when recruiting a local Top-100 prospect such as Kyler Kasper. Nonetheless, several other features about Arizona State appealed to the Gilbert Williams Field wide receiver during his visit to Tempe last week.
“It was cool being in the building for the first time and seeing all the facilities,” Kasper said. “I enjoyed talking to the coaches, and I talked to coach Herm for a little bit. Something interesting he said was, ‘you don’t want people to like you; you want people to respect you.’ That’s something I’ll remember.
“I was there on the visit with my parents and my brother. It was their first time too seeing everything and talking (in-person) with the coaches so they enjoyed it too, and were impressed with everything. (wide receivers) Coach Prentice is super cool, and he's really funny. He's young, he's 30-years old so he's really relatable with you on a lot of stuff. He really understands the players and their problems. I feel like I have pretty good relationships already with all the coaches there. I talk a lot to (defensive backs) coach (Chris) Hawkins and he thinks he can still defend me. It’s fun going back and forth on that.”
With a 6-5 frame it’s easy to draw the natural comparison between the ASU prospect and a current wide receiver on the Sun Devil roster. The staff’s desire to continue and pursue lengthily players at every position has someone like Kasper fit that approach like a glove.
“He (Gill) thinks I’m a versatile wide receiver that can go up and get the ball,” Kasper described. “They see me as a Johnny Wilson who they can move around the field and creating mismatches. I feel that I’m not just a tall receiver, but I can run routes like I’m six-feet tall. I can run all the routes on the route tree. Sometimes like defensive backs won’t respect my quickness and just think I can only run fade routes. They think I’m too long and stuff (laughs), but I can outrun a lot of DB’s.
“Watching ASU on TV last year, I liked how they played a lot of true freshmen; they had like four or five (freshmen) receivers. So, it was cool seeing them get in there and get going right away. I’ve talked to LV (Bunkley-Shelton) and Johnny Wilson, and also (quarterback) Trenton Bourguet because his younger brother (Treyson Bourguet) is our quarterback for 7 on 7’s. All of them had nothing but good things to say about ASU, and they've enjoyed it a lot. They are all cool and happy with everything and working hard, and that's all good stuff.”
The thought of playing for a school, where his family and friends can see all of his home games, is undoubtedly appealing, and his friendship with another local 2023 wide receiver, Ja’Kobi Lane could make an impact in the future. And the fact that his family accompanied him on the Tempe visits surely only reinforces that facet that could potentially be significant in the future.
“I think that'd be really cool,” Kasper said of the hometown aspect. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot, but I still got a little bit to decide on that. But that'd be really cool for sure. I know I’m gonna check some of their (ASU) homes games this year. I’m gonna figure it out with coach P which games I’m going to go to.”
The Gilbert Williams Field star is also an Iowa Legacy, as his father, Kevin Kasper, who is also a former NFL wide receiver, played for the Hawkeyes. The younger Kasper admitted that following in his dad’s footsteps is something that he has given a lot of thought to.
Aside from ASU and Iowa, USC who he will visit on the 23rd, as well as Ohio State and Michigan are some of the schools the wide receiver mentioned as recruiting him the hardest. “I’m expecting a big season and more offers to come he,” Kasper remarked.
As one of the most coveted offensive prospects on the West Coast, Kasper can certainly write his own ticket and select the school of his choice on his own timetable terms. Nonetheless, he stated that he doesn't plan to drag out his recruiting process.
“I'm thinking maybe I will commit before my senior season,” Kasper noted. “But I know I won’t commit anytime soon. I’m working right now to focus on my junior season. When I choose a school, I’m really just looking at the relationships and which coaches I have the best relationship with. I’m also going t look at a school I know gives me the best chance to get the next level and ball out in college.
“All the NFL experience ASU has with its coaches made an impression for sure, and we did talk about that on our visit.”
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