Back in the spring of 2015, J’Marcus Rhodes was finishing up a practice at Kilgore College in east Texas. Once it ended, he received a call.

The call was from his mother, who asked if he had been on Google or any of his recruiting profiles lately. Rhodes — admittedly not big on looking at recruiting rankings at the time — said he had not.

That is when his mother broke the news: He was ranked the No. 1 JUCO corner in the nation on one particular recruiting site. It came as a surprise to Rhodes, who said he remembers being somewhere in the 100s in that ranking at one point.

“People say stuff doesn’t happen overnight, but that really kind of happened overnight,” he said.

Rhodes said he noticed more people coming to practice to watch him, but once the rating came out, he did not get a swelled head. Instead, he approached that 2015 season with a new mindset.

“If they think I’m number one, I got to play like a number one,” he said.

He recorded 33 tackles, three interceptions, and six pass breakups during his sophomore season to go with 32 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and four pass breakups from the previous year.

Eventually, Rhodes committed to ASU as the No. 5 JUCO corner in the nation, according to Rivals.

It was not the No. 1 ranking he had previously received from another outlet, but it was still a large leap from where he was tabbed just a year before.

“Hard work gets noticed,” Rhodes said. “I was putting in the hours watching extra film and stuff like that. That’s what those ratings people don’t see.”

Rhodes said playing JUCO ball did not do anything positive for his development because coaches teach less technique at that level and an athlete is more on his own to improve. However, he did notice an improvement in being vocal on the field to go along with his physicality.

“I was out there playing off raw talent,” Rhodes said. “That’s what (ASU head coach) Todd Graham tells me every day. It’s hard coming to D1, now he’s teaching you how you’re supposed to play. I felt a little behind, but I’m catching up.”

One of the cornerback techniques Rhodes has already learned at ASU is a bump technique, which is designed for corners to get receivers off of their vertical routes. He said it was a bit difficult at first, but he has steadily refined it.

After missing a few spring practices due to personal reasons, he is cross-training at corner and safety this fall, which is something all of the team’s defensive backs do. But with Bandit (boundary) safety Laiu Moeakiola missing some time, Rhodes has filled in there on the first team. Additionally, he said he has worked at field safety.

The main difference between safety and corner is the increased amount of backpedaling at safety, Rhodes said.

“You’re kind of like the quarterback of the defense, so you just have to know what the calls are, how to get lined up, and how many backs are in the backfield,” he said.

He has developed a preference throughout the process too.

“I like safety more because you’re top-down,” Rhodes said. “You’re back there and you can disguise more. I think safety is where I need to be.”

Defensive backs coach TJ Rushing said he loves Rhodes’ competitiveness, also noting his everyday progression thus far.

“He’s playing well and if you aren’t, he’s going to take your spot,” Rushing said. “He can move around — position flexibility — and he’s been doing a good job.”

Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson said Rhodes will only get better as the season progresses.

“He’s a DB that can play with physically,” Patterson said. “Being a junior college player, he’s got cover skills. That just makes him a very multiple player. He’s a great tackler. He plays with a base and plays physical.”

ASU’s secondary is looking to improve from being dead last in the nation in total passing yards allowed and passing yards allowed per game in 2015.

Rhodes described the competition in the back end as “wide-open,” with many different faces who could see the field this year. He is embracing every bit of the everyday evaluation thus far in hopes of being able to secure significant playing time.

The excitement of playing against some of the best athletes in the Pac-12 every week has been the one constant.

“It’s competition,” Rhodes said. “This is what I’ve been waiting on, this is what I’ve been working for. I just got to trust my training and just go out there and compete.”