Goodman on board with Sun Devils

Arizona State has piled up 21 commitments by Aug. 1, more than any school in Pac-12 history in a recruiting cycle by that date, with the latest being offensive headliner Evan Goodman out of Lakeland High in Lakeland, Fla.

Goodman' twin brother Devin signed with the Sun Devils in the previous recruiting class -- their mother staggered them a year apart in school -- as an offensive guard, but Evan's scholarship offer list was much more extensive, so he figured to be a difficult recruit to land even as close as the brothers are.

Monday, with space dwindling in the ASU class, the 6-foot-4, 290 pound Goodman, ranked as the No. 33 overall offensive tackle nationally and No. 37 recruit in Florida, gave the program a commitment over Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State and many others.

"He's got the offers to play wherever he wants to go is the bottom line," Lakeland coach Bill Castle said Tuesday. "He's a top notch player plus a top notch kid. He and his brother are just super kids. They work hard, are very coachable and athletic. Getting both of them would be a real big thing [at Arizona State]. They've very close and I know how he feels about the school so I knew it was a good possibility."

With Devin scheduled to practice with ASU for the first time Tuesday, Evan had hoped to unofficially visit this month but won't due to summer school and financial considerations. But he decided to provide the Sun Devils with a commitment even prior to seeing the campus due in part to the run on scholarships with the program.

A scheduled December graduate who would early enroll for spring football, Goodman is expected to take official visits elsewhere this fall, including Auburn and Nebraska.

Castle knows a thing or two about coaching twins with high potential, as he was fortunate enough to coach Maurkice and Mike Pouncey, both of whom were selected in the first rounds of the NFL Draft after careers at Florida. Those brothers helped Lakeland to back-to-back USA Today National Champions in 2005-06.

"Evan can really run and has good agility and just everything you'd look for in an offensive lineman," Castle said. "You don't get kids like that every year, of course I had the Pounceys, who were both exceptional lineman and last year with Devin and Evan we set our school record with the run game, our tailback rushed for over 3,000 yards. So that really tells you something about the Goodmans because they were a major part in that."