Top-40 prospect and four-star OL Josh Conerly intrigued with ASU
From the fall of 2019 to the spring of 2021, Josh Conerly played no football games, added no new tape, and only participated in a couple of camps. Somehow, though, the offers just started pouring in.
Perhaps while they were quarantined, college coaches were flipping on the film of Conerly -- the four-star offensive lineman from Seattle. And they were nearly all impressed. The Pac-12 jumped in first, the offers from the Oregon schools, the two from Washington, USC, Cal, and more. Then national powers took notice. Oklahoma offered Conerly, then Michigan, LSU Alabama and more.
While at a football camp in Utah this summer, Conerly said numerous individuals kept approaching the big O-lineman, a surprise to the youngster who figured no one knew his name.
“I feel like everyone there knew who I was,” he said. “It felt great to be known.”
Conerly is well-known for a good reason, The 6-foot-6, 275-pound Class of 2022 offensive tackle is the top player in Washington, the 6th-ranked OT and the No. 38 prospect in the nation,
One of the teams that jumped in the mix was Arizona State, which offered Conerly on June 23.
“They’re always letting me know that they’re thinking of me,” Conerly said of ASU.
The two coaches at the forefront of Conerly’s recruitment is tight ends coach Adam Breneman and newly-hired offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, who made sure to get on the phone and introduce himself with Conerly soon after taking the job.
“He’s not like a harasser. He’ll give me a call like once a week, and we’ll chop it up,” Conerly said of Cavanaugh before speaking of Breneman. “He’s a super laid-back, chill dude. He’s just a younger guy, so he kind of gets what we’re (thinking) as recruits and kids.”
Though Conerly said that Washington, Oregon, USC and Oklahoma were the four schools currently recruiting him the hardest, ASU has time. The big offensive lineman won’t release a top-12 list for at least, a few weeks and plans on waiting until the All-American Bowl on January 8 to make his announcement.
And what will he be looking for before he makes a nationally televised announcement?
“Like if it’s actually brotherhood,” Conerly said. “Like whether or not I’m comfortable on and off the field. I don’t really care if I fit in, but I just want to be comfortable in my own skin. I’m really looking to see what environment it is and if it’s something that would fit me.”
On the field, it would be tough for a team not to fit him in.
“I go 100% on every play. As an offensive lineman, I feel like I have quick twitch, and I can get out and run, too,” Conerly said. “I can bend. I feel like my bend and quickness off the ball and my feet -- I feel like I have the feet of a running back. I grew up playing running back, so I feel like it’s my quickness that sets me apart.”
Conerly was only able to play a few games during the shortened spring season in Washington. Though he feels it wasn’t the greatest season he could have put together, it’s not hard to see his potential – which, to him, includes playing after college.
And he’s impressed with the NFL experience ASU has to offer, knowledge he thinks would vault him to a pro career.
“Especially with coach (Marvin) Lewis there, especially, that’s a huge NFL connection right there,” Conerly said. “But, I mean, with everyone else (at ASU), I feel like I could get to the next level with those connections.”
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today here and get all the latest Sun Devil news!
