Tyler Knaak recaps Tempe Visit
Salt Lake City offensive lineman Tyler Knaak was offered by the Sun Devils just a few weeks ago, and he decided to have that school be his first official visit destination. Knaak shared with us his impressions of that trip and where his overall recruiting process stands.
DevilsDigest: What stood out to you on this official visit?
Tyler Knaak: “Definitely the stadium in the gametime environment that was super awesome. I liked the campus and how close the facilities are to like the first and second-year housing and how close everything was. Definitely liked the college town that makes it feel like a big city kind of vibe which is awesome.
"The campus is just as beautiful, and especially going into the engineering program, it was definitely a block kind of campus, which I'm really looking at. I really wanted that rather than spread out kind of feel. And I feel like there are a lot of options of what to do outside of football entertainment-wise and lots of activities you can do outside of campus. Even for being fall break, there were a lot of people at the (Stanford) game. And then the coaches were top-notch for sure.”
DevilsDigest: What specifically did you like about (offensive line coach) Mike Cavanaugh and (offensive coordinator) Zak Hill?
TK: “Coach Cav definitely is a historic college coach that has sent a lot of guys to the NFL. Great coach, a super funny guy, and definitely a player’s coach. With Zak Hill, I love his football IQ. The way he plays the game is perfect for me. It was pretty awesome when he did that double trick play against Stanford.”
DevilsDigest: Seeing that Stanford game in person, what really impressed you about the ASU offensive scheme as a whole and its offensive line in specific?
TK: “I like the pro-style way they play. You can definitely tell that they try to have it half run, half pass. They have multiple different blocking schemes for the offensive line, which is huge for me. If you just have a basic spread offense, it’s not gonna be fun for an O-lineman. But what they (ASU) runs is definitely a fun way to play, especially when talking to other players. With their offensive scheme, there’s a lot of depth to it in regards to plays that they can run, do kills, and stuff like that.”
DevilsDigest: Who was the player that hosted you on the visit?
TK: “Sione VeikHe’s He’s a freshman offensive lineman, and I hung out with him and a couple of other freshmen. They all love the school and the team, every single person I talked to you about it. They said that the coaches are super cool with all the players, and the team feels like a family. They can go to any coach at any time or call any coaches anytime,they’reey’re willing to help you, which is huge in the program. They all love the early practices, and they all like Herm Edwards, who is a great head c”ach.”
DevilsDigest: When we look at the whole visit, what was the one thing that blew you away and that you were not expecting?“
TK: “Honestly, I liked how inviting and how great the coaches were. It was more than I thought when you would have in college. Like I said earlier, It feels like you can really just walk in anytime, anywhere, and they try to helpThey’rehey're all very perso”able.”
DevilsDigest: How long is Arizona State been recruiting you?“
TK: “Probably about two to two and a half weeks. My first offer was just over a month ait’sSo it's all been pretty fast.
DevilsDigest: When Mike Cavanaugh discusses your skills, what does he think that you can bring to the table?“
TK: “As an athletic offensive tthere’sthere's a lot that you can do with that, being able to go against high-level defenders. Those are kind of the big things; along with the way I finish to my game, he really wants to try to bring that. At this point of my career I’m definitely a better run blockeI’mhat I'm a pass blocker. I also have not been super highly challenged in regards to pa”s pro.”
DevilsDigest: Playing High School in Salt Lake City and being in Pac-12 country, were you familiar with ASU before they started recruiting you?
TK: “I was familiar a fair amount just with them being in the Pac-12. I would know more about them than a school like Georgia, for example, It was just general knowledge but definitely once they started recruiting me and getting the recruiting process going there was a lot more information that I was shown.”
DevilsDigest: Besides Arizona State, what are the schools that would you say recruiting you the hardest right now?
TK: “Texas, USC Oregon State. I have offers from Arizona, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada and Vanderbilt.
DevilsDigest: I know ASU was your first official visit. Did you take any unofficial visits previously?
TK: “I took one in the summer to UNLV. I have one unofficial planned to USC at the end of October. Right now I don't have any other official visits coming up in the next few months.
DevilsDigest: Out of all the schools you mentioned those that offered and those that haven't offered yet, do you have a shortlist of schools?
TK: “My top three schools are probably going to be ASU, Texas and then probably Notre Dame. I don’t have visit planned yet to Texas and Notre Dame.
“I'm going to try to get all five of my visits before the December Signing Day. If I only managed to get four visits in I’d probably still sign in December just because of roster spots and process of enrollment.
DevilsDigest: Are you graduating high school early?
TK: “It will be early but it will be the end of February because we are on the trimester system.”
DevilsDigest: When it's time for you to choose a school, what are some of the things you're going to look at very carefully before you make that important decision?
TK: “Connections with coaches, between players and other staff. Just how it all feels because I want more of a family feel than a team feel. The second biggest thing is the engineering program, how good of an academic school they are and how much they can offer to me in regards to once I hang up my cleats, what I can do in the real world. And then the third thing is student life, outside of practice and homework and stuff, what can I do around the city/campus to go have fun and really get a college experience.”
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