Compared to Alex Lemon’s other suitors, the Sun Devils arrived very early to the recruiting process and were rewarded with a pledge by San Diego Mesa College defensive lineman. As often the case though in today’s recruiting landscape, the attention a prospect receives only increases after he makes the announcement on the school of his choice.
On March 13th Lemon was offered by Arizona State and committed to the program exactly two weeks later. By mid-April, though he had already earned offers from Oregon, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Oregon State.
The lineman has been in close contact with ASU’s cornerbacks’ coach Tony White since Lemon’s junior year at Spring Valley (Calif.) Mt. Miguel High School. In a previous interview, Lemon stated that White’s honesty with both him and his parents, and the constant contact both sides have had over the last few years has built a strong level of trust which was naturally significant in his decision.
Needless to say that this relationship proved fruitful in the lineman’s decision then to commit and these days not wavering from his decision.
It’s no coincidence that within the first two weeks of the recruiting evaluation period that his future position coach has already made the trek to Lemon’s school to observe him in spring practice.
“(defensive line) coach Cain came to see me last week," Lemon remarked. "He has encouraged me to keep on working hard and finish hard in the classroom.
“I’m in contact with some schools. Oregon and Oklahoma are recruiting me pretty hard, but I’m in contact the most with Arizona State. But I don’t feel any pressure with those schools coming to talk to me. It’s all part of the process. I just take everything step by step.
The lineman reported 57 tackles and eight sacks recorded in his freshman year, a season where he earned first-team all-conference honors. Lemon is considered a formidable 3-technique lineman possessing good strength and speed combination.
“In the spring I’m working on getting stronger in the weight room and faster on the field,” Lemon described, “giving 100 percent on every snap. I lost some weight and I’m at 250 lbs. right now and that’s the weight I want to play at this year. I’m not worried about my weight going into college because I know once I get there I’ll put on weight if I need to.
“I power clean 275 lbs., squat 455, and bench 355. My squat was heavier in high school but I had a small knee injury this past season, so I want to get that (mark) up and hit at least 500. I’m just working on building strength back on that knee. I’m trying to get to 315 on the power clean and 385 on the bench.”
It’s clear that Lemon’s recruiting attention will not slow down in the next eight or so months before signing day, and it’s probably no surprise by own his admission the Sun Devil coaches have been in more frequent contact the last several weeks than they have been before he committed to ASU.
“That shows me their commitment and how much they want me to play for their school,” Lemon commented. “I have a very, very strong relationship with coach White because he has been recruiting me since high school for about three years. With my family situation, I just feel comfortable with him and also having family living out there (in Arizona), knowing the area – it just feels right.
“Talking to my parents about recruiting, I’m not going to knock down any opportunity that comes my way. You never know what God has planned for you. I might take one or two visits aside from ASU, but that’s about it. Those visits will probably be to Oregon and Oklahoma, but I don’t know if I’ll take those in the summer or during the season.”
Lemon plans to officially visit ASU for the very first time around the end of May or early June. The lineman is scheduled to graduate in December of this year and will be a three for two player once he enrolls at ASU in the spring of 2020. Lemon is the third known commit of ASU’s 2020 recruiting class.
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