University of Washington offensive lineman Jalen Klemm had several Power Four schools pursuing him after he entered the transfer portal. Yet, his sights were zeroed on one school and one school only, as Arizona State wasn’t only the only school he visited but also the one he pledged to as a result of that Tempe trip.
“It was an easy decision to make once I got down there,” Klemm admitted. “When I got to meet all the coaches and the players and be around campus, I thought it was a pretty easy decision for me to make. It checked all the boxes, especially the one about having a good relationship with the coaches. After I entered the portal, Arizona State was one of the first teams to reach out to me. So, I went up on a visit earlier this weekend, and I really enjoyed it. I’m excited about my decision.
“I never met Coach Tuitele (ASU’s offensive line coach Sage Tuitele), and we got along really well, really fast, and have a great relationship. He sees me as somebody who’s athletic and really gets out in space at left tackle. In this scheme, there are a lot of pulls and screens where you need a tackle to be able to get on space. So, he’s really excited about that with me, and then just my physicality and pass protection.
"I know (Oregon transfer DB) Cole Martin, and I played with (ASU linebacker) Krew Jackosn at Kansas State, and they were really high on Coach Dillingham and the culture that he had created. That made me feel very comfortable. (ASU’s offensive coordinator) Coach Marcus Arroyo has an offensive tackle-friendly offense, and I’m excited about that. Coach Dillingham, but he did coach with my father (NFL and college offensive line coach Adrian Klemm) at Oregon, and my dad spoke highly of him and told me that he was a good coach. Being able to get down there and see what he was building in Tempe made me really excited.”
Klemm said that while his father did live in the Metropolitan Phoenix area that, he only resided in the Valley of the Sun for a couple of months and that this visit was his first ever to the Arizona State campus. The lineman signed with Kansas State out of Gibsonia ( Pa.)Pine-Richardson High School and redshirted that year with the Wildcats, and last season, he played seven games for the Huskies. He’s expected to arrive in Tempe in March so he can participate in the Sun Devils’ spring practice, and he has three years of eligibility left.
“Playing at Washington with the season they had was a great experience,” Klemm remarked. “We had a lot of veteran leaders on our team that I was able to pull from and take a bunch of advice from. It was a blessing to be able to watch how they worked and watch how they prepared. And I think that experience is going to be huge for me for the rest of my career.
“And now I’m coming to Arizona State, which is another great opportunity. I didn’t expect to commit on my visit, because I was gonna take my time and talk about it. But I thought that it (committing to ASU) was a no-brainer, so I did at the end of the visit. My goal is to come here and build relationships with my teammates so that we can do our best come the fall.”
In spring practice, Klemm is expected to battle Hawaii transfer Joshua Atkins and returning player junior Bram Walden for the starting role at left tackle. Klemm is the fourth offensive lineman transfer joining Atkins, New Mexico transfer Shancco “Ise” Matautia, and Arkansas transfer Joe Su’a.
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