TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona State Sun Devils managed to land highly regarded high school quarterback Jaden Rashada this winter after his $13.5 million NIL deal at Florida fell through.
Rashada is hoping to put the NIL saga behind him and focus on winning what is currently a six-man QB competition in Tempe under new Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham.
Rashada's spring performance has turned a lot of heads, and while the expectation remains that Trenton Bourget will start in Week 1 - this is a competition that could truly come down to the final minute, especially if Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne or BYU transer Jacob Conover start making noise.
Locked on Sun Devils host Richie Bradshaw spoke with Spencer McLaughlin of Locked on Pac-12 about Arizona State's quarterback battle and how rare it is for true freshmen to play right away.
"The timeline is the most intriguing part," McLaughlin said. "Any time you bring in a young quarterback who has a lot of talent coming out of high school, most guys who are high four or even five star guys, there are very few guys who are ready to play day one when they step on campus."
McLaughlin goes on to note that even the biggest names in recent Pac-12 history, like Marcus Mariota and Andrew Luck, didn't play their first year on campus.
The Sun Devils have done everything they can to keep this quarterback battle a mystery, although most believe Bourget is the frontrunner here in April.
Rashada's tremendous arm strength and dual-threat ability give him far and away the highest upside of the group, however, and if Dillingham wants to make some noise in his first season perhaps they'll do something crazy and give Rashada the reigns in Week 1.