Texas players enjoy ASU's Heat Check recruiting event
The Lone Star State to Tempe pipeline is well-documented and didn’t go unnoticed, as some 2027 recruits spent last weekend at ASU. Here is what some of those players had to say about their experience.
Four-star offensive linemen Peyton Miller is one of the most coveted players in his class. The 6-foot-5 290-pounder from Anna, Tex. will have several Power Four programs to choose his college destination from, and Arizona State has been one team able to stand out from a crowded field.
“A lot of things impressed me,” Miller said. “I got a lot of time to be around the whole staff, be around Coach Dillingham, and be around Coach Arroyo. I think the biggest thing that impressed me is that this is the most genuine staff I think I’ve been around. I think they just have a great overall staff going on there at Arizona State. I was really impressed by how they go about their business and how they run their program, because that is very important to me.
“This wasn’t my first visit there, but this time I got to dive in a little deeper with the program because last time was a game day visit and this time I was able to actually sit down with Coach Arroyo, sit down with Coach Dillingham and sit down with Coach Tuitele, go through the offense and see where I would line up in the offense. It was fun to see that, and that was the biggest difference on this visit.”
Miller stated that his versatility is one of his traits that is most appreciated by the Sun Devils staff, and there may be one position that he personally would perhaps favor over the others.
“Coach Tuitele likes that I’m nasty and that I’m physical, and I can play all five positions,” Miller described. “He said, ‘We want to bring you in, and we want to try you out at all five, and then we want to see where you’re best at.’ He said that I’m going to have to complete a spot every day, and if I win the competition, I could play early.
“I played center all last year, and I played left tackle my first two years of high school. I do really like center just because I can get away with being a lot nastier. I do like being in the middle, where I can control everything. I get to be the leader of the guys, and that’s what I like to do. I’m in control. Even if that means something’s my fault, I like to be in control of everything. But I’ll play any position. “
Despite ASU’s style being vastly different from the one he plays in high school, their scheme did appeal to the four-star prospect.
“It’s a heavy pro-style offense,” Miller noted. “I actually run the Air Raid at my school, so it’s a lot different, but I’m open to learning that, and I love to learn new offenses. I find it enjoyable to learn new things and actually go do it. I like how their (ASU’s) O-Line plays. They play for each other. They’re mean, they’re nasty, they’re physical, and I would love to be a part of that. It’s great to watch them on film, and I think my skill set would match theirs pretty well.”
Miller said that Clemson, Texas Tech, Texas, SMU, Florida, Florida State, and Iowa are other schools that are also standing out to him. The offensive lineman said that he plans to visit Tempe for a spring practice and also come to the Valley for an official visit in late spring. His current target date for a commitment is June or July.
“The relationships are gonna be the biggest thing in my decision,” Miller detailed. “I want to be able to talk to the coaches anytime. I don’t want to feel that I have to hide from them, and I don’t want them to have to hide from me. And then the locker room is definitely important too. I want to be close to my guys in the O-Line room. I want to be best friends with everyone in that room.”
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Jayshon Gibson is a Top 40 running back in the 2027 class and a Top 75 prospect from the state of Texas. The 5-foot-10, 188-pounder from North Richland Hills said that his first time in Tempe resonated quite a bit with him.
“It was amazing,” Gibson commented. “The coaching staff was great, and the campus was great. The thing that surprised me the most was probably where the stadium was located, in between the mountains. That was very different. I got a chance to see the guys work out and see the standard up there, and I loved everything about it. The coaches told me that if I come there I gotta come ready to work. The standard is that everybody has to work. You gotta be willing to be held accountable, come in and compete, and try to be the guy. They want a team of people who try to be the man and not be a team that just has one person be the man, because everybody gotta fight for a spot and be ready to compete.
“Coach Aguano likes my versatility, and how I can catch the ball, run the ball, pass protection…he likes everything I do, and he thinks I fit well with the offense. I think this offense would be a very good fit. They run a lot of gap schemes, outside zone, and they run the ball a lot. A lot of their offense goes through running backs, with checkdowns, wheel routes, read-options, and stuff like that.”
And with so many players on the roster from Texas, Gibson remarked that this was another alluring aspect of the Arizona State program.
“The Texas pipeline is huge,” Gibson admitted. “The players said that it’s amazing to be on this team. They said they love the coaching staff, and then they love how everybody on the team wants to be there. Arizona State is just one of them places, where you’re gonna love it. You’re gonna love the football part of it, you’re gonna love the fan base, you’re gonna love everything about it.”
Texas Tech, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Arkansas are a few schools Gibson is giving serious consideration to, as he plans to visit during one of the Sun Devils’ spring practices to be followed a few weeks later by an official visit. Mid-June is currently his scheduled timeline to make a commitment.
“My relationship with the coaches is going be important in my decision,” Gibson noted. “I’m also gonna look at offensive scheme, development, and how I can fit in with the program overall.”
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Elijajuan Houston, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound safety from Fort Worth, said that the candidness he saw from the ASU coaches heavily contributed to a very enjoyable visit.
“I loved the atmosphere and the coaching staff,” Houston said. “They made me feel like it was a safe home, for sure. “I felt a genuine bond between me and all the coaches. When I went out to lunch with them, my family and me felt a strong connection between them. The weather there impressed me the most. Coming from Texas, we had a little cold front come in (right before the visit), but the weather there was amazing, and I can see myself playing in that kind of weather for sure. Talking to the players who are there, they were telling me how much they loved it there, because it’s a program where people are true to what they say. They are very transparent. That’s for sure.
“Coach Dillingham said that salt and sugar look the same but are also very different. And some schools won’t tell you the truth, but what they want you to hear. Coach Dillingham said that he will always tell you the truth, no matter what. That’s the thing.”
Being recruited as a free safety and starting to familiarize himself with the ASU scheme, Houston did notice some elements that had caught his eye.
“Coach (Brian) Ward said I’m a big ball hog, and that’s the thing he especially likes about me,” Houston described. “He knows that I can go get the ball if I see it in the air. I know the defense is a zone-based defense. So free safety would be a good fit for me, because it gives us a lot of opportunity to make a lot of plays. That’s why I fit in the program very well.”
Much like literally every 2027 prospect on the visit, Houston plans to both make a return visit in spring practice as well as an official visit before summer begins. Kansas State, Oregon, Texas, Michigan, and Nebraska are in line for a similar visit schedule ahead of a potential May decision.
“The biggest thing for me in my decision is the coaches,” Houston explained. “I don’t just want a genuine bond with the position coaches, but also a bond with the head coach. That’s a big thing for me. And also, good development. I know every college covers that, but I just want facts to back up what the coaches say. I love that for sure with ASU. When it comes to me getting on the field, I don’t want politics to mess up what I got, and if I play, I know that it’s only on me.”
