This story has contributions from DevilsDigest.com staff writer Justin Toscano

Kobe Williams was "the other guy" at Long Beach Poly High School. Now he's "the other guy" in a battle for the Pac-12 South lead.

In high school, Kobe Williams was a team captain at traditional California power Long Beach Poly, who had been surrounded by plenty of talented teammates, from current Sun Devils JoJo Wicker and Ceejhay French-Love, to USC star Iman Marshall. As a senior, however, there was one Long Beach Poly star on Williams' team that shined bright enough to light up the whole recruiting solar system.

Jack Jones.

At Rivals, we loved Jack Jones. At 5-10, 163-pounds, Jones joined Texas A&M's Speedy Noil and Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas as the incredibly-rare sub-165-pound five star athlete. According to Nation Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney- it's because there wasn't much on the field Jones couldn't do.

"Jones was an outstanding three-way player in high school who was a major contributor at receiver, cornerback and on special teams," said Gorney. "He was always undersized but he made up for it with tremendous athleticism and skill. He was a playmaker who always made a difference on the field."

Arizona State coveted Jack Jones. Chris Ball and Todd Graham even convinced Jones to join recruits Dillon Sterling Cole, Lamar Jackson and Jordan Parker on an unofficial visit in 2015.

It was easy to see why Arizona State liked Jones so much. He was aggressive, long for his size, possessed both speed and quickness, and played with an unrivaled anger on the field. I know, because I got to see Jones compete in person on multiple occasions.

The first time I saw Jones in action, was at the Rivals 5-Star challenge in Baltimore prior to his senior season. He repeatedly stole reps from other defensive backs, including another defensive back recruiting target Arizona State hoped to secure named Byron Murphy. He jawed constantly, and backed it up on nearly every play. When he did get beat on a route, he brushed it off like it never happened and went right back to talking.

Some time during the combine, I asked Jones what his feelings about Arizona State were. He said they weren't really in his periphery until the Mike Bercovici-to-Jaelen Strong Hail Mary win over USC, followed by his high school teammate signing to play for the Sun Devils.

"Arizona State isn't someone I've really looked at," said Jones at the Rivals 5-Star Challenge "But after that big play against USC with Jaelen Strong, I started following his career. I haven't looked at them much, but I know I will this year because my defensive linemen JoJo Wicker signed with ASU."

The second time I saw Jack Jones play, he was visiting Arizona with Long Beach Poly to take on Peoria Centennial in the 2015 high school season opener. I was out to scout Arizona State offensive line commit Marshal Nathe, and hoped to interview Jones at the game as well. It was another player on the Poly defense, however, that caught my eye with his play- a (generously listed), 5-10, 170-pound speedy cornerback named Kobe Williams, who had two tackles for a loss, and forced two fumbles in the 13-12 Poly win. While Williams made an impression at the time, the star of the game was inevitably Jack Jones, who had a long reception for a touchdown, and several key defensive stops. When the final whistle blew, his was the only performance I took the time to write about.

The last time I saw and talked to Jack Jones was after his official visit to Arizona State. Unfortunately for the Devils, Jones walked away more impressed with the team on the other side of the field that day- USC. He committed to the Trojans, played regularly as a freshman, locked down a starting spot in his sophomore campaign, and is currently second in the Pac-12 in interceptions.

While Arizona State missed on Jack Jones, they saw the passing defense give up over 400 yards through the air four separate times in 2016, and lost returning secondary players Kareem Orr, Marcus Ball, Armand Perry and Robbie Robinson for a variety of reasons, all of whom were supposed to help Todd Graham rebuild a once-proud defensive backfield. Because of the shortage in players, the Sun Devils needed talented, athletic, and available bodies to come in and compete. One of the places they turned was Long Beach City College, bringing in DeMonte King, and Jack Jones' old Long Beach Poly teammate- Kobe Williams.

At the time Williams signed with Arizona State, he essentially told DevilsDigest.com publisher Hod Rabino he was short on options and planned to sign as soon as ASU offered.

“San Jose State, Memphis and Nevada were also looking at me," said Williams after signing with ASU. "Arizona State was my only visit and they offered me during the visit. I was expecting to sign when I got here."

Expectations for Williams were low, considering he wasn't a mid-year signee, and didn't have spring ball to acclimate to the defense. Yet little by little, whispers were getting out of the program that the unheralded prospect out of Long Beach Poly and Long Beach City College might be more than just another body on the roster.

"Kobe Williams will play."

That's what JoJo Wicker told me with a straight face at Pac-12 Media Day when I asked him which of the new players impressed him. I assumed he was embellishing to show respect to a former teammate, and attempted to call him out on it.

"Kobe Williams will play," he repeated himself. "No doubt."

Once Camp Tontozona came around, it became clear that Wicker wasn't kidding. Williams regularly took reps with the first team, and DevilsDigest.com staff writer Justin Toscano took notice, and profiled both he and walk-on Joey Bryant. Williams told Toscano that defensive coordinator Phil Bennett praised his technique as a defensive back, telling him 'his technique can perhaps make him money someday.'

His play even prompted a one-on-one interview with Hod Rabino himself.

That technique may not be paying Williams monetary dividends yet, but it is paying serious dividends for Arizona State. The Sun Devils are 4-3, and Williams is a starting quarterback on a secondary that has only give up one touchdown pass in the last three games. His pick-6 in the season opener against New Mexico State made a tangible difference in the 37-31 final score.

While the turnaround is inexplicable for many, especially those who saw an already-struggling Arizona State miss on recruits like Jack Jones and be forced to take players from the junior college ranks like Kobe Williams, one person who isn't surprised is Williams himself. He says Todd Graham and Phil Bennett have been able to prepare him and the rest of the defense for the success they're having.

"We've been knowing the game plan before it even happens," Williams told reporters this week.

One person who is surprised, but not shocked, at Kobe Williams' success is Adam Gorney, the same man who graded Williams' Long Beach Poly teammate a five-star.

"Williams had a decent career there and put up nice numbers but wasn't really a star like Jones, JuJu Smith or Iman Marshall," said Gorney. "So it is surprising that he's leading a much-needed resurgence in Arizona State's secondary but it's not shocking. Long Beach Poly pumps out talented players every year and Williams can now be added to that long list."

Speaking of Iman Marshall, and Jack Jones, Williams said that his relationships with players at USC are in the back of his mind until the final whistle blows.

"I know a lot of them guys over there. They've been hitting me up, talking," said Williams. "We'll talk later. We'll talk after."

Kobe Williams told Justin Toscano this week that he never though of himself as being in Jack Jones' shadow while at Long Beach Poly, though he admits Jones got most of the attention.

"It was just fun. Jack was about the crowd. He was big in high school. It was just a great team, just feeding off each other and being the great secondary that we used to be back then."

Even then, Williams says Jones was more of a multi-faceted player than a pure corner, and is happy to see him follow through on the what he'd tell people when they'd question his coverage skills.

"Jack had never really been a DB in high school- he used to say 'I could be a DB if I want to,' said Williams, adding that Jones' strengths come from knowing both side of the ball. "Jack's got this receiver's edge as a DB. He's a ballhawk. You throw a streak on him, he's going to go for it."

Against USC, Kobe Williams has a chance to be more than just "the other guy," when it comes to five-star friend Jack Jones, which is a moment he said he never anticipated. Not because he didn't think he had the skill to play in the Pac-12, but because his dreams were even bigger.

"I never imagined it," said Williams. We used to talk about playing each other (in the NFL). I never really thought about it, but when I got here I knew that USC game was going to be fun."

"College is going to be fun."