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The only podcast covering all things Arizona State athletics! We bleed maroon and gold, and love talking about the Sun Devils no matter what sport.
David Howman (00:00)
Welcome one, welcome all back to another episode of the Echo from the Beautes podcast. I am your host, David Howman, joined by Tom Harden and Andrew Hazlet. And it's been a little bit of a break. We've been taking our summer break just like everyone else, and you know, sitting back and enjoying the calm before the storm. We're getting to the start of the buildup for that storm. Tuesday and Wednesday this week were the Big 12 football media days. that's why, for those watching on YouTube, you see ⁓ a different
Background for me. I'm coming to you out of the hotel down here in Frisco, Texas, after being here, boots on the ground, covering ⁓ ASU football and all the other 15 teams from the Big 12. And we've got some takeaways to discuss here. We've also, you know, ⁓ we're now under two months away from the season kicking off ⁓ week one against Morgan State. And it doesn't really feel like we're ready for football to be coming back, but technically speaking, we are getting close.
Closer. Tom, Andrew, ⁓ are you guys getting excited for it yet or you still enjoying your summer vacations and whatnot?
Tom Hardon (01:09)
Uhhuh, I'm
back from vacation. I'm ready for football.
Andrew Hayslett (01:13)
Yeah, I'm not going on vacation. Haven't gone on vacation. I'm ready for football. It's baseball's great and all, but it's i there I want something else to supplement it right now.
David Howman (01:29)
Yeah. I either have you guys watching the World Cup, you've been paying attention to that?
Tom Hardon (01:35)
Here and there I I've I've been watching games as I can.
David Howman (01:40)
I I haven't. I've caught maybe five minutes total on accident. I ⁓ I was getting my hair cut and they were playing the I forget who it was. I just remember there w the the acronym for for one of the teams. I was racking my brain the entire time, like I don't know what country this is. I'm I'm not a not a soccer fan, never been a soccer fan. Sorry to the soccer fans out there watching and listening, but yeah.
Tom Hardon (02:07)
Well it also doesn't help that there's now forty
eight teams in it and you're seeing teams that haven't made it either entirely at all or it's been, you know, twenty plus years since they've made it.
David Howman (02:20)
Right. I and it's I don't know, i in general the whole the whole thing it's I I like
I like American football, real football, where, you know, every time that a play happens, there's, you know, ten men slamming their heads into each other and doing irreparable harm to their bodies. That's my kind of thing. ⁓ you know, a soccer, it's like, you know, they they trip over your ankle and then you put on this big acting show. It it's not quite my thing, but no disrespect to the people who like it.
Tom Hardon (02:51)
It's you know, it it it's different strokes and you know, you never know.
David Howman (02:57)
Yeah.
Well and and speaking of the World Cup too, ⁓ the so Arizona State of course when they came out to Frisco for ⁓ the football media days, ⁓ they brought seven of their players, they brought the seven that are are part of the the Pat Tillman Leadership Council. And as a surprise kind of reward for being voted to the Leadership Council, they they came out on Monday and and they actually ⁓ Kenny Dillingham and and the ASU administration they
brought their players to one of the World Cup games that was happening on Monday right here in the in Frisco in Dallas. And so they got to go to one of those games. And that was something that they brought up a lot throughout the interview portions was a lot of these guys were like, wow, I've never I've never been to a soccer game like that. I've never you know seen a a fan base that's as crazy and as loud as as some of these soccer fans are that are traveling internationally to come come here and and watch these games.
so they seemed really fired up about it and they were also a lot of them were talking about how it's got them fired up for the Union Jack Classic, which of course was a big selling point here at Media Day. Arizona State will be traveling to London to play Kansas it's the first ever college football game being played in Wembley and
Obviously it's ⁓ it's it's something that the Big Twelve's very proud of. They were talking about it a lot and the fact that they're also having TCUs playing in Ireland. They're going international. I know we've we've known about this game for a while, but this was when we really had a whole lot of media discussion about it and that game coming up. are you guys excited about you know ASU playing ⁓ international in London or do you just think it's kind of a some sort of gimmick?
Tom Hardon (04:50)
I th I think it it leverages well into the like the global brand that Arizona State has. It's no secret that there's a large number of alumni that do reside overseas, so this is really just leaning into being a global institution.
Andrew Hayslett (05:10)
It's funny that you bring this up as right now I can see a British Airways playing out outside my window. ⁓ but regardless, I think it's both a gimmick and something to be excited about. And that yes, it it it's a game in in what historically has been a game played on college campuses, a game not being played there, whi which
That's the gimmicky side. But you look at it and and get to see they're bringing it to Great Britain, which i doesn't host football games often, if a at all, at the college level, which is different from NFL football, which I'm excited to see wha will it be like one of those NFL games in Britain? Or will it be have its own different feel? I I that
That's something that as a comparison that I'm interested to watch.
Tom Hardon (06:15)
See the the point where where it will become gimmicky for me is if it does start to morph into how the NFL handles their international schedule and goes to four or five countries every season. I like a small, you know, small product with the international games. I like the novelty of it. What the NFL does, you know, respect for for building that, but there's something to be said for keeping it small and unique.
David Howman (06:44)
Yeah, well I and and I can tell you just from the the conversations that that Brett Yormark was having, the Big Twelve Commissioner, ⁓ and the way that he was pumping it up, I don't think this is gonna be a one time thing. I think, you know, this this is this year will be the I think the second time the Big Twelve's played in Ireland, the third time we've had a college football game of any sort in Ireland. Now they're obviously expanding into England. I think that that's that's the plan for the Big Twelve specifically, but for for college football in general, is they're
They're trying to make this more of a global thing, probably you know probably in some level of partnership with the NFL too. they're
I I think right now the the the big thing that they're looking at is can we make it work? 'Cause that's that's the biggest question right now and something that Kenny Dillingham talked a lot about. ⁓ that and he even shared that Joe Connolly, their head of strength and conditioning, s a couple months ago already started out building out like a a travel plan for the players of of what they need to do to prepare themselves for, you know, the time change, for the the effects of the travel for you know
know, the the diet and the nutrition aspects that go into something like that. because with the Ireland games, those were I believe that those were and have been and will be week zero games. So from a scheduling standpoint it's a little bit easier. You don't have a game right beforehand. in ASU's case they're they're doing it I believe week three. So they they will have played already two games, one of them being ⁓ on the road in in in Texas and so that's that's kind of a hard
travel turnaround ⁓ especially when you're talking about you know college kids. In the NFL it's like, okay, well we can we can leave on a Wednesday because this is literally all we do. You know, student athletes ostensibly they go to class. They they gotta figure out their class schedule. so there there's just more things to juggle. But I think that I think that the Big Twelve right now is really curious to see how it works for both ASU and Kansas and how they're able to handle it going forward.
And all things considered, I think we're probably gonna see more ⁓ more games in England and more games outside of the US going forward.
Tom Hardon (09:05)
Has anything been
officially said about how the travel will be handled? Will the team be going straight to London from from college station or will they return to Tempe for a day or two before flying to London?
David Howman (09:18)
I think right now the plan is to come back to Tempe, but i if they have finalized any of that, it hasn't been made public yet. At least not that I've heard.
Tom Hardon (09:31)
'cause at least as far as I'm concerned, it would make more sense from a game preparation standpoint to go straight from straight from college station. ⁓ scheduling wise, you know, like you said, with class work you know, class load and, you know, everything everything else that's involved there, it's a little bit more logistically difficult. But in terms of on field preparation, I think that you know, that's probably what the team would prefer.
David Howman (09:59)
Yeah, I it it makes sense, but also you get like where are you practicing for that week? That's the other question.
Andrew Hayslett (09:59)
Yeah, I a
I I
I do think they they are gonna go straight to London. that's
what I have heard, I don't know how much truth there is to that, but I I do believe they're going straight to London from college station.
David Howman (10:32)
Yeah, I think if if they can make that work, I think that's probably what everybody on the football team would prefer. I we'll find out. We we will find out for sure. and you know, i in in thinking about that that Texas AM game too,
My favorite quote from from the last couple of days, ⁓ unsurprisingly was Kenny Dillingham and he was talking about ⁓ he was like, Yeah, you know, like the London game's hard, but also like we have to go to we have to go to college station and we gotta play there. last time we played there didn't go so well. Kenny Dillingham was on that still on that coaching staff ⁓ for that that Miles Garrett game. ⁓ he clearly remembers it. ⁓ he was like we had to play there and we had to play in Lubbock and you know by the way, any any Sundevil
Fans that are gonna go to Lubbock, if you guys want to throw tortillas onto the field if we ever get in a third and fifteen, that'd be fine by me.
Tom Hardon (11:32)
Le leveraging the ⁓ le leveraging that that looming penalty. I love it.
David Howman (11:37)
Right, which which for the for those who don't know, Texas Tech has a tradition of throwing tortillas. I guess technically the tradition is you throw up in the air, but inevitably tortillas end up on the football field. And it's something they've been doing for a long time, I guess. And two years ago, one year ago, the Big Twelve officially banned it. And ⁓
Tom Hardon (12:01)
I think it was going into
last season.
David Howman (12:03)
Yeah. A and and they banned tortillas being thrown if they get on the field, it's a fifteen yard penalty on Texas Tech. ⁓ and and Texas Tech fans are still pretty upset about it.
Texas Tech fans are upset about a lot right now, which that's that's another thing that we gotta discuss is the the Brendan Soresby saga. The the quarterback ⁓ that that transferred from Cincinnati to Texas Tech for a whole boatload of money this offseason. and then
has a gambling problem. And he he's bet ⁓ you know a lot of money on his own team, on his own games, and there is a whole week's worth of of drama where
You know, the NCAA, they they indefinitely banned him, and then a a Lubbock judge said that he could play and Texas Tech was gonna sue the NCAA and then eventually Brendan Soresby you know gave up because he realized he doesn't have much of a legal fight here. so basically what happens is Brendan Soresby is not gonna play this year. He's not gonna get to go to the NFL until the twenty twenty-seven NFL draft.
And and it's it's thrown a wrench into everything for Texas Tech, who thought that they got one of the top QB transfer QBs this off season. and ⁓ so before we get into what was said about Brendan Sorsby at Media Day, I just want to talk to you guys about the whole Sorceby saga, because I know we were gonna try and do an episode talking about it back when it was all fresh, but things were happening so quickly, every single day there was a new development. ⁓ what is your guys' main takeaway from
Andrew Hayslett (13:54)
I think the end result was correct. Like you shouldn't be able to play. It's you look across every single sport, you get banned for life for betting in games where you compete and I yeah, that should be the punishment. I it's this isn't a gray, this isn't a black and a white. I wish I I ob obviously there's gonna be an
investigations and
stuff with Cincinnati if there hasn't been already. I don't I don't know the full scope on that timeline, but that's probably gonna have some detail to that that we don't know at this point. And and like if if with with Texas Tex case it came out that they knew about the gambling to an extent. You s the rules are the rules.
be breaking those rules as far as I'm concerned.
Tom Hardon (14:59)
Well it's it's funny you mention investigations into Cincinnati. The NCAA actually did issue a formal letter of inquiry today to ⁓ to ⁓ to Cincinnati claiming that the Athletic Department knew about the the gambling going on and covered it up for the two years while he was there.
David Howman (15:22)
Yeah and
Yeah, like you said, that came out ⁓ today, today being Wednesday. and it was great timing because Scott Siderfield, the Cincinnati head coach, he had his his media availability today. And so, you know, maybe two, three hours after that was announced is when he comes out onto the stage for his QA. And honestly, it took a while before anybody asked about it. I I I I assume that some
of some of the people in the attendance that there were asking questions just hadn't seen it yet. But I I just kept waiting for it. And then somebody asked like like can you give any comment on that? And Satterfield immediately was he all he said was yeah we can't comment on that at this time and then just left it at that. And
Tom Hardon (16:14)
Do you think
it's more people who just hadn't seen it yet or people taking cues from ⁓ from Commissioner Yormark's comments yesterday saying that it was too early to comment on the Swordsby situation?
David Howman (16:27)
Yeah, well
so so d to that point, so for for those who didn't watch the the live stream of it all, which I don't blame ya, there's a you know it's it's not always the most entertaining thing, but ⁓ you know on Tuesday, the first day starts off Commissioner Yormark gets up and basically gives his state of the conference speech. highlights are the Big Twelve is doing great and there's nothing that they're doing wrong. ⁓ and and
Also, they they signed a ⁓ an entitlement deal with Monster Energy. So the Monster Energy logo is gonna be on every single thing for football and basketball this season, so get ready for that. but then he opens it up to the QA, and the very first question is Brendan Sorsby. And and ⁓ it basically was just like
You know, what what support, if any, did you give to Texas Tech and at what point did you take away that support? This is a very very well-worded question, very safe. ⁓ and your mark gave exactly the kind of response I would have expected, not one that I liked, but basically just said, now's not the time for that. We're here to talk about these football teams and I don't want to get bogged down with any of that. You know, now's not the time. ⁓ and then you know, everybody else go on to ask
Their questions, and at one point, another guy gets up and he's like in the front row, and he asks, first of all, he's sitting down, and and they tell you specifically, like, stand up when you get the mic, introduce yourself, blah blah blah. And this guy's sitting down and asks this question. He's basically like, he's like, Well, you guys banned ⁓ tortillas for tech fans, and ⁓ but OSU, Oklahoma State, they they're still allowed to to bring in oars and bang them on the on the ⁓ walls to.
Make noise. They get an exception for that. And his his actual question was: he was like, you're talking about, you know, the Big 12 is gonna be more than just 12. We're greater than 12, but why should Texas Tech fans believe you? Is exactly how he phrased it.
And your mark this whole time was standing at his podium, and then he starts he starts walking over towards the guy on the stage, and he says, I want you to stand up and ask me that question again, right in front of me, and then I'll give you the answer I want to give you. And and so this guy stands up and asks word for word the same exact question, and then
Tom Hardon (18:53)
Mm-hmm.
David Howman (19:08)
and then Yormar goes, Well, actually, that's not right. You're misquoting me. I said we're 16 strong, and that's my answer for you.
And so didn't even answer the question or anything, but ⁓ but you know, it was definitely a a tense exchange and and there I think the the overwhelming feeling of a lot of other people that were in attendance was a mix of like that wasn't exactly the best look for your mark, and also he didn't even come close to answering the question. but also like
Can we just move on? Like nobody nobody but the tech media there agrees with what this guy was going on about. like they're not gonna talk about Brendan Soresby. Let's talk about something else.
Tom Hardon (19:56)
And from the sound of it, not even really a a question that is that he should be answering or or whatever. Like it just very very poorly you know, poorly structured all around and just kinda like throwing stuff out there hoping something sticks.
David Howman (20:14)
Right. Very very clearly trying to start something. Like like basically saying Texas Tech fans feel like we've been cheated even though we were defending somebody who was cheating. and like we want our tortillas back.
Tom Hardon (20:31)
Ooh, okay.
Andrew Hayslett (20:34)
Yeah, it to me it the this question did I answer was it it's stupid you play stupid games you get stupid prizes look. Simple as that. And you can eat your tortillas. They're they're tasty, they're good. I like having tacos. Don't just chuck in the air.
David Howman (20:54)
Yeah, it's a waste of tortilla.
Tom Hardon (20:56)
Exactly. What did the tortilla ever do to deserve that?
David Howman (21:01)
Now the important question before we get back into the Soresby stuff is corner flower.
Tom Hardon (21:08)
Depends on the situation. ⁓ for like for street sacos, corn tortillas, for quesadillas, flour.
David Howman (21:20)
Expand.
Tom Hardon (21:22)
⁓ I mean flour tortillas are just bigger. I like more cheese on my quesadilla. And then I I like the the understated almost crunch that comes with a a corn tortilla for like especially when you're having a like a soft street taco. So it's just a little a little more ⁓ a little better texture.
Andrew Hayslett (21:49)
I I lar I largely agree with Tom. ⁓
David Howman (21:49)
And
Andrew Hayslett (21:55)
I if I had to keep one, get rid of the the other forever, I'm keeping flour. I just like the bigness of ⁓ personally. ⁓ like the the flavor ⁓ like to me it it's like there's trade offs, but at the end of the day, I just like bigger tacos personally.
Tom Hardon (22:16)
I mean neither one really has a flavor by themselves either. It's all about what you what you put in them. So, you know, I'm I'm not out out here eating tortillas just plain, but for you know, depending on whether I'm eating a taco or a quesadilla, like that'll that'll determine which tortilla I go with.
Andrew Hayslett (22:19)
Yeah.
David Howman (22:29)
I really.
I you know, I I can't relate. I eat tortillas by themselves as I'm making the things that are gonna go in the tortilla later. You know, there's moving past that, there's a there's a restaurant
Tom Hardon (22:42)
Well you also don't like stuffing, so you know, we already know you're weird.
Mm-hmm.
David Howman (22:52)
⁓ I'm pretty sure it's still there in Chandler, right across from Chandler High, called Elmer's. Elmer's Taco Shop. And anybody listening that went to Chandler High, they know. ⁓ amazing place. But there's one thing that they do there. Literally you just you get a corn tortilla and they just lather it up in butter and roll it up. And at least when I was there, it was only a dollar. And so I would get like three of those and just eat that. And that was my lunch. And
It was amazing and it was great. So corn tortillas all the way. The only time I will use flour tortillas, it's purely a utility because I need something, as Andrew said, with bigness. And and and it's it's just to have the size. Like if I'm if I'm making like a big burrito. but corn is corn's the way to go. If I have a choice, I'm going corn tortilla every time.
Tom Hardon (23:51)
Well,
you will be happy to know that Elmer's is still in operation.
David Howman (23:56)
That's good. I I not the last time I was there, but the time before that, I drove through Chandler and I specifically drove down that street to make sure that it is still there and I was very happy to see them still open. but back to the Brendan Sorsby thing. Yeah. but ⁓
Tom Hardon (24:16)
Now you have been thinking about tacos.
David Howman (24:23)
And and so then so there was there was all the drama with with your mark, which I I really had an issue with with Britt Yormark saying, like, now's not the time to discuss it. and it's not necessarily that I'm surprised he didn't want to talk about it, because obviously Soresby's not on the Texas Tech roster. He's not gonna play for them, he's not gonna play for any Big Twelve team. you know, your mark definitely wants to move beyond it.
But also to say like now's not the time, when is the time? I mean, it's l literally a two-day event where you gather every member of the Big Twelve together to talk about business relating to the Big Twelve. I mean, they had a 15-minute presentation on Monster Energy. And you're telling me now's not the time to talk about one of your most high-profile could have been players that is ineligible to play his last year of eligibility now because he was sports.
gambling like if now's not the time when is there gonna be a time to discuss it
Tom Hardon (25:29)
I
think it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation because it's still an active ⁓ an active investigation. But at the same time, like you said, this is a a very high profile story. It's something that's going to be in headlines for weeks, months, ⁓ if not, you know all the way up until the NFL draft. So
It's something that has to be addressed sooner than later. I think that maybe a better way to phrase it could have been, you know, we we won't publicly comment until investigations are further along in the process or something to that effect. But simply the the cut and dry now's not the time does leave me a little bit shortchanged. ⁓ I I respect that it
you know, not commenting on it commenting on it as it's being investigated, but I think there's gotta be some kind of timeline as far as, you know, when we can expect to be able to speak about it more.
David Howman (26:45)
Yeah. I I mean yeah, and o obviously with with the investigation and stuff and especially the stuff with Cincinnati, there there's going to be more that we'll find out and that will be talked about and that'll be interesting to keep track of.
Notably when when Joey McGuire, the the Texas Tech head coach, got up for his ⁓ his media availability. and I and I gotta be honest, I really do like Joey McGuire. He's he's just a funny dude. He's like the most stereotypical Texas football coach you can think of. ⁓ he comes out, he sits down at the podium, and he goes to do his like his opening statement. And the first thing he says is, I know y nobody's gonna believe me, but I'm actually fired up to be here.
It it had me laughing for a good bit. ⁓ and and he even somebody asked him about about the
you know, his his reaction going through the whole thing and he didn't really comment so much on the Soresby situation itself, but he basically just said, he he was like he like, Yeah, it was it was different for me than it was for the university president or A D, 'cause I had a bunch of coaches reaching out to me and asking, like, how are you holding up? Like this is a really weird situation to be going through whereas the president and the A D were just getting attacked, attacked, attacked. Which to be fair, they put out a
forty minute video on Twitter explaining why they're digging in their heels on this. so they kind of ask for it. And but tha that was really as much as McGuire said and then everything after that was talking about ⁓
Will Hammond their ⁓ their their quarterback that's that's now gonna be the starter who was the backup last year, had a few starts, notably lost Arizona State. and and and McGuire even said he's like if you ask him and like in his mind he's been the starter this whole time, so nothing's changed for him. which I mean
We'll we'll see how that how that actually plays out. He couldn't beat ASU last year. We'll see we'll see what he can do this year. ⁓ but for the most part Maguire kinda sidestepped it, but ⁓ I I think I I think he's he's very much ready to just put it all behind him and move on and focus on football. And and I don't think that he's ⁓ I don't know where he really felt on Texas Tech's strategy with Soresby, but either way he's just ready to to
move forward like any coach would be
Tom Hardon (29:30)
And you
you brought up the the point about Will Hammond that I was about to make and that, you know, his his mentality is just as important as Joey McGuire's and he's not taking this out at least outwardly, he's not taking this as ⁓ I'm you know, thrust into the situation. He's saying I'm I was already here. This is my job.
David Howman (29:56)
Yeah. And and and that's I I think like through the whole ordeal when it was still ongoing i in my head I was like I was like one they can't they can't keep Soresby and they can't play Soresby because the damage that's gonna do to the sport
But also just like that locker room, like every single week when players are made available, that's gonna be a question. And you j you can't subject your players to that. obviously it's still gonna be a question to some degree, but if if Will Hammond gets in there and he looks good and they keep winning, people are gonna stop asking about it. They're gonna start asking about, Hey, how'd you play so good? How'd you win, right? And and so, ⁓
You know, I I I obviously it it does not having Brandon Soresby changes Texas Tech status as the unquestioned front runner to win the Big Twelve, but I don't think that it's gonna be quite the blow that people initially thought, just because they already have a guy with experience and with confidence that's that's there and ready to go.
Tom Hardon (31:07)
Yeah, he's
he's been in that system. He knows ⁓ he knows what the ⁓ what the key to success there is and he's well positioned to well well positioned to to have another great season for the the Raiders.
David Howman (31:23)
Yeah. A and as far as Arizona State goes
We don't know who their quarterback's gonna be yet. And that was something Kenny Dillingham spoke about ⁓ at at the Media Day that we have an article ⁓ up on echofriendthebutes.com that you can read as well that details it. obviously they brought in two transfer quarterbacks in Cutter Bowley from Kentucky and Mikey Keene, technically from Oregon, but he never or from Michigan, but he never played for them. ⁓ I know him as the Fresno State quarterback that dominated the Sun Devils in Ken.
his
first year and also went to Chandler High. I bet he knows about Elmer's tacos. but like it it's pretty much an open competition between those two guys and Kenny basically just said
Tom Hardon (32:02)
Most likely.
David Howman (32:14)
I'm comfortable waiting up until the last week, like the the week before this the season starts to name a starter. And whenever one of them establishes themselves as the starter, like players will know before it's necessarily announced to the public. but as of right now, it doesn't sound like either one has necessarily pulled away. Does that make you concerned at this point in the season?
Tom Hardon (32:40)
No, this isn't without precedent because if you go back two years, Sam Levant wasn't named starting quarterback until the week of the first game. ⁓ the this is honestly something that I that I expected with two new transfers coming in, plus Jake Fetty still, you know, looking to establish himself as a as an incoming freshman. I think that Camp T next month will tell a lot of the story as to who has the inside track.
But I'm not at all surprised, not at all worried that we may not have a certain quarterback named until the week leading up to the opener against Morgan State.
David Howman (33:20)
If had to guess though, guessing today, who's your guess?
Tom Hardon (33:24)
I I think Cutterbow is the ⁓ the favorite in the clubhouse right now, but you know a lot can change in the next month and you know Camp T is going to be that high watermark. That's ⁓ you know, three years ago we saw you know we saw, you know, we thought that that that's where r where we saw the ⁓ the emergence of and then wasn't it ⁓ why am I
blank on who starter in twenty twenty three was. David, you'll have to fact check me on that.
David Howman (33:58)
Th there there were a few in twenty
twenty three, but Jaden Rashad I think is who you're you're talking about.
Tom Hardon (34:04)
Yes. ⁓
you know, Jaden Roshada kind of wasn't on ⁓ on a lot of the on on a lot of radars but impressed and for as much as the Sun Devil struggled in twenty twenty three, still play you know, played well enough and then obviously like I mentioned with ⁓ with Sam Levitt going into twenty twenty four, ⁓ but
To wrap this all up with a bow, for for my money I would say Cutaboli would be the week one starter if we had to name that starter right now.
David Howman (34:38)
Yeah, I I I tend to agree. I think I think this is
This feels very, very similar to two years ago when Levitt was ultimately named the starter, because it was Sam Levitt and it was Jeff Sims. And so, you know, obviously with Sam Levitt, you've got a young player who was a four-star recruit, went somewhere else, and you know, has some raw abilities, but it you know hasn't really shown that he can be a high-level starter yet. and then you've got somebody in Jeff Sims who has been a starter, ⁓ has been at bigger programs.
programs but like nobody was just
Nobody's throwing NIL money at him. All due respect to Jeff Sims. Nobody, after his stints at Georgia Tech and Nebraska, nobody really wanted him as their foreshare starter. He's had an immense value as a backup because of his experience. But there were a lot of things that you had to kind of clean up. Mikey Keen is not the same. In a lot of ways, he's very much the opposite. He's, you know, physically a little bit limited compared to Jeff Sims, but also is
Kind of the the ideal bus driver type quarterback, like your offense is never going to crumble because of him, but you're also probably not getting some of those highlight plays that Sam Levitt had, for example, that Cutter Bowley had at Kentucky. whereas Cutter Bowley's big issue at Kentucky was in in in two years of
s of starting and playing as a backup, ⁓ he had one fewer interception than he had touchdowns. Like the the potential for great plays is very great with him, but the potential for like doing the surrender cobra and like, my God, what happened? It's also pretty high. And and so the the challenge with Boley is is getting him to play a little less erratic, play within the the confines of the structure of the offense. And
And and if they can get him to that point, I think he has the raw tools to where like you're gonna go with Cutter Bully because the potential when everything's clicking is greater than the potential if everything's clicking with Mikey Keene. Whereas like if if we get to Camp T and Cutter Bully just still like if he's still making mistakes, if he's if he's throwing in the dirt, he's throwing picks. they know that they can go with Mikey Keene and they're gonna be
competitive in the Big Twelve. They're gonna be able to put up some numbers, especially with these receivers that they brought in. ⁓ but it may not Mikey Keene probably isn't taking them back to the college football playoff.
Tom Hardon (37:25)
And I'm curious to see as well, like just how much the you know, the playbook may be tweaked to give opportunity to each quarterback at their strengths.
Andrew Hayslett (37:26)
Yeah.
Yeah, it's something I'm interested in too, as I do think Bowley will be the week one ⁓ starter for the Sun Devils. I I from what I've seen in in spring camp I'll I'll be it very limited, Bully seemed like the better quarterback at at this point in time.
David Howman (38:01)
Yeah, he's he's definitely definitely the obviously raw just in terms of his experience compared to Keane, but I I think you get him with somebody like Kenny Dillingham who has such a good track record with quarterbacks, it makes sense.
And and of course, either one of these guys is gonna look good in this offense with as I mentioned, these receivers, ⁓ O'Marion Miller, Reed Harris, Raiden Vinesbrite. Katie Dillingham even talked up both Miller and Harris as guys that if they if they play up to their potential, have have the talent to become first round picks ⁓ in the draft. of course that was also a topic of conversation after ASU had
For the first time since 2001, multiple first round draft picks, and now all these players on the roster right now they're they're licking their chops and they're saying, Man, I'm gonna get to the NFL now. Like the the NFL now knows that they gotta look at ASU for talent. ⁓ and and Miller and Harris are two guys that that Kenny Dillingham said have first round talent. CJ Fight was another guy he said that has that potential. He probably just needs to kind of fill up the the box score a little.
bit more than he has the last couple of years. ⁓ but he has the potential. He has kind of the right size requirements that that NFL teams look for in defensive tackles in the first round. ⁓ So it's it's kind of an interesting it was an interesting vibe from the team this year because last year they were coming off the the Big 12 championship, the playoff appearance and all of the conversation was around you know you've got all these returning starters from last year's team. How
How
do you how do you stay on on target? How do you get back to the playoff? And this year it's more like, well, you know, last year didn't live up to our standards, but we also saw like our talent development works. We're bringing in guys that have great talent. It's just a matter of like, can we play with that chip on our shoulder and finish these games and surprise some people?
Tom Hardon (40:13)
And you know, you you also mentioned Marion Miller and CJ Fight. It's worth noting that they were both named preseason All Big 12. So the the the hype is definitely there. It's you know we'll we'll wait to see how it plays out on the field, but you know, it's definitely definitely good accolades for for those two guys and bodes well for their prospects for the future.
Andrew Hayslett (40:41)
Miller in particular was a guy that stood up for me in in Springball and the way his game is, it made me go, huh. Kinda reminds me of Jordan Tyson a little bit.
So I'm not saying he'll be a Tyson two point but potentially could
David Howman (41:04)
Well and they both came to Arizona State from Colorado.
Tom Hardon (41:09)
Not a bad pipeline.
Andrew Hayslett (41:09)
That is true.
David Howman (41:12)
Not a bad pipeline.
By the way, there was also speaking of Colorado, there was also a soundbite that came out about them from Media Day where ⁓ one of the players cause they they they got a new offensive coordinator this year ⁓ and and one of the players was asked about how's it different and and he gave a very candid response and basically said, Well, you know, the biggest difference is like we're actually watching film now. Like last year we wouldn't watch film, we didn't watch defense, we just kinda went out and did like high school free ball.
And
Tom Hardon (41:45)
Well, they kind
of played like it too.
David Howman (41:47)
I mean, yeah, it's it's it it definitely you hear that and you watch their film from last year and you're just like, Yeah, I see it. But it's a shocking admission to make in public ⁓ at a a media event when there's cameras in your face. So not nothing quite that incendiary that came from ASU players, but ⁓
I I do wanna I do wanna pivot to talking about baseball, ⁓ before we wrap up. 'Cause Sun Devil Baseball, ⁓ obviously they had a reasonably solid year, got back to the tournament, didn't go as far as our expectations were, but now they're in the off season and their their roster has been churning, the transfer portal was open, is no now no longer open, but there's been a lot of change. ⁓ Andrew, Tom, you guys wanna
Walk us through that.
Andrew Hayslett (42:47)
Yeah, I can start us off. Yeah, I can start us off here. Y you look at the portal departures. That's how I want to start this. There's there's a couple of your supplementary offensive pieces who went into the portal. Garrett Michel, who was a a frequent starter by by the end of the year, kinda lost his his his ⁓ starts at the they didn't come as often as as we saw in the beginning of the year.
Tom Hardon (42:48)
Andrew, I'll let you take the lead on that one.
Andrew Hayslett (43:16)
Beck Zavork when when he played kind of the opposite. He he started a little bit in the beginning. When New Contratus went down with a with the leg injury, he played the majority of time at second base. Struggled, got bench for a few starts. ⁓ we saw Finn Leach, a freshman, play a few few of those games. Zavoric worked his way back into the starting role. And when Contratus came back, he ⁓ Zavork still did play. ⁓
cross the ⁓ diamond a little bit in a couple different roles which and he was a fairly good piece ⁓ as well. ⁓ and then you have Cohen Neekly who left the the secondary catcher, who like Michelle at the end of the year, saw his role get smaller and smaller with Brody Briggs taking it over. ⁓ and then the the fourth sizable piece in the portal was Kim Gary, a pick who was
A guy who was picked in the the draft of twenty twenty three, no, twenty twenty four by the Astros and opted to not sign with them, come play at Arizona State. There was didn't quite perform to to that level, but he he's played well, speedy guy. I liked his bat. All four of those guys I I liked their bats. I didn't necessarily love their bats, but they were playable starters. ⁓
that that you you you'd have ⁓ those four guys are gone ⁓ offensively it's you're gonna have to bring in new depth and the sundells have done that on on the pitching side you you'll you saw a few names hop into the portal like ⁓ Finn Edwards but ⁓ guys who weren't starters last season guys who weren't your big bullpen guys like your Taylor pens your Derek Schaeffers you kept
those guys. I pitching the retention rate is is good and they've they've brought in a few new guys ⁓ but what what are your two big takeaways on ⁓ outbound players
Tom Hardon (45:38)
think for me it's like you said it's losing the depth and you you know it it really makes the the catcher position weaker on the whole you know no d no disrespect to Brody Briggs. He n he did you know he he performed you know moderately well throughout the season, but you're losing that that depth at an important position when
You lose Colin Niklai and then not to mention, you know, other depth catching in Cooper Plauser, who saw some action in you know midweek games or would come in as a as a late inning pinch hit replacement in games that were getting out of hand. You know it's you know catcher's already a wear and tear position as it is, and it's it it concerns me just seeing that much depth go at at a very important position.
Andrew Hayslett (46:33)
Well, the the good news for you, Tom, is that the Sun Devils have stocked back up in in the catcher position. They've got one coming freshman whose name I can't think of off the off the top of my head, but it he is all the incoming freshmen are in my portal tracker, ⁓ which you can find at echofromthebeats dot com, which need needs some updates, but that's that's fine. ⁓ but regardless from that, you brought in
pair catchers in the port from the portal out of Moor Moorhead State Caden Sheraton, ⁓ a big bopper thumper bat who can hit for home runs, hit for power. ⁓ and then you brought in a a Juco kid down the road from Chandler Gilbert Community College who had a great freshman year there. And l a local kid from Levina as well.
Bringing bringing guys in ⁓ to fill that depth in the catcher position. The Sun Devils needed to go get with with losses to Niklai Clauser and Tommy Brown. And then across the board they brought in ⁓ a couple infielders, Marcos Rosales, who who could be ⁓
a starter at second base next year, considering that New Contratus is likely gonna be drafted, I would imagine, but hard to tell if he'll sign or not. There's always some surprises. There's no no guarantee if if if they sign or not. And then in an outfielder, ⁓ the biggest fish they've got so far out of Washington, Jackson Hotchkiss, ⁓ twenty homers last season at Washington.
seen guys come in from the portal to Arizona State and their power grows. Twenty homers last season's pretty good. Put with Landon Harrison who had twenty eight last year. That's scary.
Tom Hardon (48:46)
That's a very formidable part of the order right there.
Andrew Hayslett (48:51)
Yeah, absolutely. I I I expect to get to see some more names ⁓ in in the portal added at this point just because still still stuff happening for I would say I would say good two weeks, I would say, maybe maybe more. ⁓ but yeah. And then you brought in a bunch of pitchers as well. Alex Valentine.
I believe how it's pronounced, the lefty out of South Carolina is is is the guy I have kind of circled at as a guy who I I he's been a starter at points, he's been a reliever at points. I think he he's your next Sean Fitzpatrick. We saw how great Sean Fitzpatrick was last season. I think he's that next guy to take take that step up and be that lefty out of the pen that you want. And then one other guy, ⁓
that is really interesting is ⁓ the West Virginia transfer, ⁓ Chase Meyer, I believe, who was a pre seasonal ⁓ a preseason all Big Twelve team, had an injury in the offseason, which interestingly enough it was disputed by the coach and player when it happened that that set him set him back in his ramp up.
They were gonna make him a s their their their Friday guy.
Yeah, but but he was in the Wolpen to start out and was dismissed from the team after a reported confrontation between coach Steve Sabins and and and him. Regardless of that, I I he his potential is high. But but we'll we'll see what what w what will happen with him. He he is pitching in one of the summer leagues. I don't remember which one, there's so many. But
That that's an that's a name that you you you have to circle as well.
Tom Hardon (50:57)
think I saw him on the cape, but you know, I didn't get to see all all ten teams when I was out there. ⁓ but the the other the other pitcher coming in that that ⁓ I'm keenly interested in is Johnny Stacy coming out of D two San Angelo. you know he's had you know he had of him had an injury you know the last couple of seasons but ⁓ three thirteen career ERA at San Angelo ⁓
Yeah, I'm I'm interested to see how he you know how he fits into the the pitching room here.
Andrew Hayslett (51:37)
Yeah. There's been I think comparative to other seasons, there's been a lot of JUCO transfers and and and D two transfers. ⁓ which you look at West Virginia, Kansas, that's how they like to craft their teams. West Virginia and Kansas past few years have been two of the best teams in in the new Big Twelve baseball conference.
that might be how you should construct your teams moving forward. ⁓ but i so you gotta copy it to the best of your ability and Arizona State has got the the those those guys, which I think is huge for the program is guys who want it. And co coming from your ju junior colleges, those are guys who want it. Those are guys that are hungry. They haven't had the chance.
at the D1 level.
David Howman (52:40)
Yeah, well and and I think the the biggest news for for Sundevo baseball, obviously there's been a lot of players leaving through the portal, coming in via the portal, but the biggest one was obviously Landon Harrison not going anywhere.
Andrew Hayslett (52:57)
Absolutely. I staying keeping Harrison was your number one priority in the offseason. Simple as that. You you couldn't let him walk and to me he he's from just down the road in in the East Valley. It w I don't think he was ever gonna leave. I think that that's he w I think he wanted to stay a Sun Devil because that's the school he grew up watching just down the road from.
has his parents, has his family, they extended family. They can come out whenever they want. If you go to an SEC school like Georgia, that's a lot harder to do.
Tom Hardon (53:43)
And it also didn't hurt that Adidas stepped in with some of the the financial package to to keep him here either.
David Howman (53:53)
Yeah. Yeah, well and and it and it's
Again it it goes back to you know the work that that the ASU athletics department as a whole is doing. ⁓ you know, we've seen increases in in support, financial support. ⁓ for obviously for football, for baseball, they're they're working on their renovations of the basketball arena as well. ⁓ obviously, you know, using Adidas leveraging that that partnership there in this case was a huge win because
Andrew, like you said, local kid, grew up down the street, golden spikes finalist. Like you can't lose a guy like that. Like that would have been
The not as catastrophic, but similar in terms of awful vibes to when we were talking about Michigan coming after Kenny Dillingham. ⁓ like you can't you can't lose Kenny Dillingham to Michigan. You can't lose Landon Harrison to the SEC or wherever. ⁓ you know, local guys like that that turn out to be superstars, you have to keep them local. ⁓ so to be able to keep Landon Harrison just for the vibes is phenomenal, but obviously for what he actually
actually brings as a player is also incredible because now you know exactly who your best player is, who your best hitter is, ⁓ to to be able to bring him back. it it it not only helps your roster but it also shows it sends a message of yeah we get to keep our best players. Like we're we're Arizona State baseball. Like this is just what we do. We bring in good players and they stay here.
Andrew Hayslett (55:37)
Absolutely. You you
Tom Hardon (55:38)
Yep, I'm one hundred
percent agree.
Andrew Hayslett (55:41)
that that's why you you you see guys you look at the guys in the portal and and y see where their destinations are. Most of the time, if not all the time, they're they're the schools who, respectfully, aren't as good at at baseball as Arizona State. You l you you you you see most of these freshmen who didn't get the chance to play go to ⁓
mid major or low major school. And I I do think some of those guys will flourish at those schools. But they didn't have the chance to at Arizona State because the roster depth is is is something there. And I I just having depth for the program i it is huge. And I'm I'm curious how Arizona State is going to continue to rebuild that depth in the portal because
I don't think they're done yet at this time.
Tom Hardon (56:43)
By the way, Andrew, you're speaking of the the depth, you were talking about the incoming freshman catcher. I think that is Jackson Weber, according to your porn your tracker.
Andrew Hayslett (56:53)
That sounds right.
The the freshman that I I have the the the freshman that I have circled is Jet Barry, the shortstop coming out of ⁓ Queen Creek High School, I believe.
David Howman (56:58)
Records.
Andrew Hayslett (57:11)
Potentially an MLB draft pick. We'll see if he signs. We'll see if he doesn't sign. The Sun Devils can get him to campus. I think he is a freshman you have to have circled as this guy could be the next landed Harrison. Coming from Queen Creek area, like Harrison did.
Local local kid. ⁓
David Howman (57:42)
High praise. So it's a bold take.
Tom Hardon (57:43)
Mm-hmm. I mean he he's he's got a he's
he's got a great frame for a short sub, five ten, ⁓ about one seventy five, and you know he's he's he's got what it takes as far, you know, from the little bit of him that I've seen. It's just a matter of getting him to campus and we we we know just how difficult that can be with some of the some of the all commits that Arizona State has had in the past.
David Howman (58:17)
Yeah, well and and and Andrew, like you said, there's
There's still things going on with this roster too. They're still adding, they're still still figuring some things out. And that's one of the beauties of having a portal tracker, which you can find again at echofronthebeautes.com. ⁓ like Andrew said, it's gonna be updated. So ⁓ check back in there to see those updates. And of course, we're gonna have you know ongoing coverage of of all things Arizona State Athletics going forward.
We're, you know, like I said, we're all we're all it's summertime. We're it's hot out. We're tired. We're ⁓ we may not be coming back next week with a new episode, but we will be back, especially as we get a little bit closer to football season coming back. ⁓ lots to discuss, lots to break down. ⁓ so until next time, Matt Echo from the Butes, for Andrew Hazlet, for Tom Harden, I'm David Halman signing off as always. Give hell devils.