For many athletes in high school, the prospect of playing collegiate football is often one of the dreams. One that few are able to bring to fruition given the high level of student-athletes in the high school ranks.

Athletes who hope to play for their hometown team early on usually decide in favor of bigger and better schools in search of taking the next step to the NFL.

For Ricky Pearsall, the proximity of playing for his hometown team of Arizona State is one that he didn’t pass up and one that has made it an easier transition for the freshman.

“Having your family on your back, that really made me comfortable and a comfortable transition,” Pearsall said. “These coaches, Herm Edwards, Coach [Charlie] Fisher, they all made it an easy process to come over here. Having it next door to your house it makes it pretty simple.”

While Pearsall grew up relatively down the road from Sun Devil Stadium, it was another sense of family history that kept him close to home.

Pearsall’s father, Rick, played football at Northern Arizona University form 1993-97, a a history that would be viewed as impossible shoes to fill by a son.

While the pressure of trying to follow in the footsteps of a father who played at the the collegiate level may be daunting, Pearsall is using instead as an advantage. Using his father as someone to lean on during his transition from high school to college.

“Having my dad have that background, it really benefitted me giving me the knowledge he had and having him have my back,” Pearsall said.

Not only does Pearsall view his father as someone to learn from, but he also draws a certain honor from being associated with his father. His father Rick still draws attention from his time as a player for the Lumberjacks with the current coaches on ASU staff having even heard of his father.

“It’s an honor to have him and to have his name be really big to other people,” Pearsall said. “People in Flagstaff still hit him up today saying thank you for all this, you don’t even know me but thank you for the time you put into this program.”

Pearsall’s family history may have helped him get to ASU, but even the experience of his father couldn’t have fully prepared him for the trials and tribulations that come with playing at the collegiate level.

Coming in prepared as he could be, Pearsall admitted that the adjustment was harder than he could have ever expected in large part due to the talent level found on his own team.

“The DB’s are bigger, faster, stronger. It’s the best of the best out here now,” Pearsall said.

In his first collegiate practice alone, he was lined up against some of the top defensive backs the Pac-12 has to offer including the team’s interception leader from a year ago Aashari Crosswell.

“All the cornerbacks are really good, I’d say Aashari,” Pearsall said when asked about his toughest competition during his first practice. “He came down and pressed on me a little. Shout out for him getting me better because I’m about to go back to it and get better and study my plays and stuff like that.”

While the talent level has been raised around him, the amount of knowledge around him has grown as well leaving him older and more experienced players to learn from.

Even with just a rough understanding of the playbook, Pearsall was able to jump into informal summer sessions and began to adjust to the next level due to the the veteran presence around him.

“For my first time coming in and jumping into those 7 on 7’s not even knowing the plays at all, just reviewing them a little with the coaches I thought I did pretty well,” Pearsall said. “Learning from Brandon Aiyuk and Frank Darby and all the older receivers, it helped me a lot.”

The likes of Aiyuk and Darby may be a block for Pearsall to build on, but also act as a roadblock as the receiver room looks to replace the likes of first-round draft pick N’Keal Harry.

Despite the roadblock, Pearsall views the talent around him as something bigger than just his competitors for a spot on the field.

“I’m really not looking at them as competition,” Pearsall said. “I look at them as a role model for me and my game to benefit me in the future and increase my game.”

The mentality is one the receiver takes into all facets into his game as he looks to better the team in any way he can.

As a receiver, the now freshman was a standout and state record holder in high school with a 342 receiving yards in a single game and back-to-back 1,000 all-purpose yard seasons.

Along with his resume as a receiver, Pearsall was also featured as a kick returner where he was able to return touchdowns of 98 and 99 yards during his time at Corona Del Sol.

A versatility he looks to help him see the field at Arizona State.

“For me, wherever the coaches need me honestly,” Pearsall said. “Wherever I can benefit the team. If coach wants me to play tackle on punt, I’ll play tackle on punt. Wherever he needs me, wherever I’m going to benefit the team and make the team better and make myself better as a player.”

At the end of the day, for some pressure of following their father’s footsteps or playing college football a few miles down the road from their backyard, may be too much to handle. One that could derail a career before it even begins.

For Pearsall, it’s just another form of motivation, one that he uses to represent his family on the field they grew up just miles away from.

“All the people that are here and watching I pretty much grew up with and they’ve come to my games all growing up,” Pearsall said. “It’s not too much pressure, but I also want to represent for them. If I do good, it makes them look good so that’s what I really want to do.”

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