There is no location away from Sun Devil Stadium in 2019 that is as close to home for as many players on the Arizona State roster as is the case with the Rose Bowl, the site of this weekend’s game. That, in addition to ASU’s heavy recruiting emphasis in the state of California – specifically the southern part of the state – adds intriguing storylines and a bit of a battle for pride and bragging rights for the California native Sun Devils for whom this game serves as a bit of a homecoming experience by traveling from Tempe to Pasadena.
In this edition of Sun Devil Science, I break down the list of scholarship Sun Devils from California – especially those from high schools closest to Saturday’s game venue. All distances are measured from the address of the high school each player attended to the Rose Bowl stadium with each partial mile rounded up.
Starters (Attended High School within 100 miles of Rose Bowl)
OL Dohnovan West (Mission Hills Bishop Alemany): 23 miles from the Rose Bowl
LB Merlin Robertson (Gardena Serra): 27 miles
DB Aashari Crosswell, DL Jermayne Lole, DB Kobe Williams (Long Beach Poly): 30 miles
LB Darien Butler (Harbor City Narbonne): 32 miles
OL Cohl Cabral (Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos): 38 miles
OL Alex Losoya (Santa Ana Mater Dei): 40 miles
LB Khaylan Kearse-Thomas (Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda): 41 miles
QB Jayden Daniels (San Bernardino Cajon): 55 miles
WR Kyle Williams (Murrieta): 79 miles
Others (Attended High School within 100 miles of Rose Bowl)
DL Stephon Wright (Los Angeles Cathedral): 12 miles from the Rose Bowl
RB Demetrious Flowers, OL Zach Robertson (Bellflower St. John Bosco): 23 miles
WR Brandon Pierce (Mission Hills Bishop Alemany): 23 miles
OL Roy Hemsley (Los Angeles Winward): 25 miles
DB: Darien Cornay (Los Alamitos): 29 miles
DB Jack Jones, LB/FB Elijah Juarez, DB Kejuan Markham, DB Keon Markham (Long Beach Poly): 30 miles
DL/LB Amiri Johnson (Pomona Diamond Ranch): 30 miles
WR Geordon Porter (Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda): 41 miles
OL Jarrett Bell (Norco): 51 miles
QB Joey Yellen (Mission Viejo): 54 miles
Northern California
Though the distance is generally about the same as that between Tempe and the Rose Bowl stadium, the small handful of current scholarship Sun Devils from schools in northern California warrant mention in this discussion.
TE Tommy Hudson (San Jose Archbishop Mitty): 344 miles from the Rose Bowl
DB Willie Harts (Pittsburg): 357 miles
DL T.J. Pesefea (Sacramento Foothill): 395 miles
WR Brandon Aiyuk (Rocklin Sierra College)*: 406 miles
*-Aiyuk attended high school in Reno, Nevada
Coaching Staff
Cornerbacks coach Tony White lettered four years at UCLA from 1997-2000 and was the graduate assistant in football operations for the Bruin program in 2007. He was the head coach at Panorama City (Calif.) St. Genevieve High School – approximately 21 miles from the Rose Bowl – in 2006 and later coached at San Diego State (2009-17). Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce attended Paramount High School, approximately 21 miles from the Rose Bowl, before later being the head coach at Long Beach Poly High School (2014-17).
Other California connections include defensive line coach Jamar Cain, who graduated from Valley High School in Sacramento and coached at Sacramento City College (2004), Cal-Poly (2009-12) and Fresno State (2017-18), while defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales coached at San Diego State University (2011-17). Offensive coordinator Rob Likens coached at California (2013-14) and football analyst Derek Hagan attended Palmdale High School, approximately 61 miles from the Rose Bowl.
Head coach Herm Edwards attended California, Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula Junior College and San Diego State during his college career.
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