Arizona State Football

Arizona State will partner with the Pat Tillman Foundation to commemorate active U.S. military members and veterans with "Brotherhood" uniforms.

According to Adidas' news release, the Sun Devils will wear the special gear on Nov. 4 when they host Colorado. 

Tillman, who led ASU to the Rose Bowl in the 1996 season, later left the NFL to enlist in the U.S. Army with his brother, Kevin. He died in a friendly fire incident while serving in Afghanistan.

The school will honor his sacrifice with tan jerseys inspired by standard Army uniforms and designs recalling the 1996-97 team. Per Adidas, the back of each player's helmet lists the names of former and current ASU players and coaches who have served or are serving in the military. 

"Brotherhood" product will be available for sale, with part of the proceeds going to the Pat Tillman Foundation.

Frank Kush, who coached the Arizona State University football team for more than two decades starting in 1958, died Thursday at age 88.

Arizona Sports passed along the news, which was confirmed by the Sun Devils' athletic department:

"Frank Kush was able to get out of me something that no one else could get," former Arizona State and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White told Arizona Sports. "He affected hundreds of athletes that he coached in that same way."

The Pennsylvania native posted a 176-54-1 record across 22 years with the Sun Devils. That includes a 6-1 mark in bowl games, including four Fiesta Bowl victories in five years beginning in 1971. Only once during his tenure did the team finish with a losing record (4-7 in 1976).

He led Arizona State to seven Western Athletic Conference and two Border Conference championships. He was also honored with the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award in 1975 after guiding the team to a perfect 12-0 campaign.

Kush left Arizona State in 1979 amid the Kevin Rutledge harassment investigation. He was found not liable in the subsequent lawsuit.

He went on to make stops with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL, Baltimore Colts of the NFL and Arizona Outlaws of the USFL, but Kush never matched the consistent success he found with the Sun Devils.

Kush earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

His legacy lives on at Arizona State with the program's home games being played on Frank Kush Field at Sun Devil Stadium.

Arizona State picked up a key commitment for its 2018 recruiting class Tuesday in the form of coveted running back Demetrious Flowers.

Greg Biggins of Fox Sports confirmed the offensive playmaker's choice of the Sun Devils.

Flowers later made the decision official on social media:

He's a 4-star prospect who rates as the No. 23 overall running back in next year's incoming class, according to the Scout.com rankings. The powerful rusher is also listed as the third-best running back from California.

The St. John Bosco High School standout is a physical presence at 6'0'', 210 pounds. He's going to make his biggest impact running between the tackles, especially in short-yardage situations, but he's showcased enough versatility to become a three-down workhorse.

D1Bound Nation provided a further scouting report of the newest Sun Devil:

Flowers could end up making an immediate impact, too.

Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage, who remain atop Arizona State's running back depth chart after ranking first and second in rushing yards last season, are both seniors. They will leave a major void to fill heading into the 2018 campaign.

Arizona State has chosen not to extend head football coach Todd Graham's contract for the first time in his five-year tenure at the school.

Graham had previously received one-year extensions to his deal to keep it at its original five-year length throughout his tenure, per Jeff Mecalfe of the Arizona Republic.

The Sun Devils have gone 11-14 over the last two seasons after being 28-12 over his first three years at the school.

"We continue to have the right culture in terms of what we expect from our student-athletes and their leader as their football coach," Arizona State vice president for athletics Ray Anderson said. "I think we have recruited at a high level. I think we have been able to bring on coaching and staff for those that left that will elevate us.

"The notion that sometimes you have to look in the mirror and change how you do things and incorporate the advice and counsel of others gives me great confidence that those things are going to translate into a very successful season in football."

Graham is under contract through the 2020 season. His contract includes language that says Arizona State is expected to ask the board to extend Graham by one year on a rolling basis, should there not be grounds for termination. However, Anderson said it was "not an automatic provision in the contract."

The 52-year-old previously coached at Rice, Tulsa and Pittsburgh before coming to ASU after the 2011 season. The 2016 season was the first time Graham failed to take one of his teams to a bowl game since 2009.

Graham has nonetheless been an unquestioned success after taking over for Dennis Erickson, who failed to make a bowl in three of his final four seasons. 

Arizona State has added a big-time safety for the 2018 class in Ely Doyle.

Doyle announced his decision with the following tweet:

Doyle is a 4-star recruit, listed as the No. 30 safety in the nation and No. 6 player at his position from the state of California, per Scout.com.

While he has spent time at receiver, cornerback and safety in his high school career, Doyle might be best suited to play safety in college. He has good size for the position at 6'1", 185 pounds, as well as the speed and athleticism necessary to cover a lot of ground in the defensive secondary.

Additionally, he has enough physicality to make an impact against the run as well.

His ability to make plays with the ball in his hands could allow him to see some time at receiver, but his future will likely be on the defensive side of the field.

How long it will take for him to see the field is a question. Even with impressive strength, he could use a redshirt season to add some more weight to his frame.

Whether he waits a year or not, Doyle has the talent to make an impact early in his career.

Although Arizona State has brought in talented players for the secondary, the recruit should be able to compete for playing time and find a spot on the field before too long.

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Current Arizona State and former Alabama quarterback Blake Barnett revealed Thursday that critical comments made by Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban led to his decision to transfer.

Barnett won Alabama's starting quarterback job going into the 2016 campaign and started the season opener against USC, but he was replaced by Jalen Hurts after a slow start.

According to ESPN.com's Ted Miller, Saban said publicly that Barnett was "nervous" during the USC game, which is something the California native took issue with: "A lot of backlash that I received from [the USC game] was that I came out nervous. I think you could ask just about every teammate, and they'd agree that I wasn't. But a certain coach went out to the media and said that I was, and so I got that negative reputation from it."

Barnett completed 11 of 19 pass attempts for 219 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on the season, while Hurts assumed the starting role, won SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors and led Bama to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Following Barnett's decision to transfer in September, Saban suggested on his weekly radio show (h/t AL.com's Michael Casagrande) that he had quit on the team:

It's one of those things where I think the culture has changed a little bit. I think there's a certain pride people have in competition. There's certain things that I was taught growing up about not quitting and seeing things through. I think if I would have come home and told my dad that I was going to quit the team, I think he would have kicked me out of the house. I don't think I'd have a place to stay.

With Hurts entrenching himself as the starter last season as a freshman, there was little opportunity for playing time for Barnett at Alabama.

At ASU, however, he has a legitimate chance to start in 2017 during his redshirt sophomore campaign.

Although Manny Wilkins will return for his junior season after starting the bulk of the contests for the Sun Devils in 2016, he had an up-and-down year that left the door open for Barnett to take control in much the same way Hurts did at Alabama last season.

Arizona State quarterback Blake Barnett, who announced his departure from Alabama four games into the 2016 season, will be eligible for the Sun Devils' 2017 opener after a successful appeal.

Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic reported the NCAA made its ruling Tuesday.

Barnett, a redshirt sophomore next season, was originally expected to sit out the first four games of 2017 to satisfy the NCAA's rule on transfers. The former highly touted recruit started Alabama's first game in 2016, but freshman Jalen Hurts replaced him after only two drives. Barnett announced his intention to transfer on Sept. 28 and chose Arizona State in December.

Typically, players who transfer schools are required to sit out a full calendar year.

"As funny as this sounds, we didn't even care about wins or losses," Blake's father, Lance Barnett, told Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic regarding the pick of Arizona State. "We didn't look at that. We looked at the depth of the team, the nucleus of the team, the energy and passion of the team, the coaching staff. That's all we looked at."

Arizona State went 5-7 last season, including a 2-7 mark in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils will return starting quarterback Manny Wilkins, who threw for 2,329 yards and 12 touchdowns against nine interceptions last season. They ranked sixth in the conference in scoring but allowed 39.6 points per game, third to last in the Pac-12.

It's unclear which of the players will go in to camp favored to start, but Barnett may have the upper hand from a schematic standpoint. Arizona State hired former Alabama wide receivers coach Billy Napier as its offensive coordinator in late January, per Metcalfe.

Barnett was originally a 5-star recruit who ranked second nationally among quarterbacks in the class of 2015, per Scout.com, trailing only UCLA's Josh Rosen.

Class of 2017 4-star safety prospect Evan Fields announced on Monday that he has committed to Arizona State, per Kerry Crowley of Sun Devil Source.  

According to Scout's ratings, the Oklahoma City native is the No. 1 safety recruit in his home state and the No. 27 safety in the country. 

The 6'1", 187-pound defensive back already has a solid frame for the collegiate level, but it's his speed that puts him over the top compared to other safety recruits. 

Fields can cover ground in the blink of an eye, which makes quarterbacks rethink their throws and gives running backs limited time to find open running lanes even if they get past the defensive line:

His ability to get anywhere on the field led to a senior season in which he recorded 11.57 tackles per game, per Scout. 

It obviously made him a hot commodity during his recruitment, as he received 32 offers from major programs, via Scout. 

Arizona State needs as much defensive help as it can get considering the season it had in 2016. 

A 5-7 record wasn't nearly as telling of a defense that allowed 6,246 total yards. Only Texas Tech allowed more total yards in the entire FBS, which is comprised of 128 programs. 

The Sun Devils pass defense was even worse, as it ranked dead last with 4,289 yards allowed through the air.

Fields is a huge commitment because he provides a step in the right direction for Arizona State's defense, which will need to see a vast improvement if it wants to compete in the Pac-12. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.

Class of 2017 4-star safety prospect K.J. Jarrell announced Wednesday he has committed to Arizona State in a piece for Rivals.com. 

The Arizona product is the second-ranked prospect at his position in the state and the 28th-ranked safety in the country, according to Scout's recruit rankings. 

Jarrell is built to wreak havoc against opposing passers given his long 6'2", 185-pound frame. 

His ability to recognize the play early constantly has him in the thick of the action, and his physicality will make him feared by receivers that dare to go over the middle:

A participant of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Jarrell wasn't going to attend a school too far away from his home state, as he revealed to Scout's Brandon Huffman that USC, California and Arizona State were his final three choices. 

It set up a busy month in January as he visited all three schools and hosted each of the programs' head coaches. 

Arizona State head coach Todd Graham was the one to put the program over the top of the other two, as Jarrell explained in his piece for Rivals.com: "Being around Coach Graham this last weekend, my family and I got a better understanding of him. I was able to see the person he is away from the football field, and got to know him outside of the business of being a recruit. He gave us more than enough reason to feel comfortable with him, and Arizona State as a destination. It was the first time I felt at home on a visit. ... It's because I am home."

The Sun Devils were desperate to add some form of defensive talent given the season it had last year. 

In 2016, they were ranked 127th in the nation, and they allowed 6,246 yards along with 478 points. The program didn't stand a chance with that kind of defense, as it hobbled to a 5-7 finish. 

Jarrell's arrival isn't going to fix Arizona State's defense overnight, but he will provide one solid piece toward an improved defense.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.