What Dirk meant....

Certain cryptic comments made by Dirk Koetter after being fired have caused a mild stir in Sun Devil Nation. Koetter in his usual guarded self left much room for interpretation when he was quoted saying "The thing is, and I was guilty of this, a lot of people look at ASU on the outside and have this perception of what Arizona State is. And that's not what it is. You have to go on the inside for a while". Some Devil fans were outraged by these comments viewing them as a parting shot by Koetter. While others looked at it as a view to some of the issues that Koetter and now Dennis Erickson face as the head of the football program. A recent article from the San Diego Union Tribune about SDSU recruiting might give some insight into Koetter's remarks. The article and the accompanying chart show ASU as a school that has been reluctant to make exceptions when admitting student athletes who don't meet the normal admission standards of the school. Obviously this practice does not aid ASU in recruiting, but let’s not let Koetter off the hook based on this information. It's hard to make the argument that ASU admission standards are at such a high level that makes them non-competitive. There were much deeper issues that hurt ASU recruiting under Koetter. Too many local and elite recruits reported ASU interest level as mild. ASU was typically a non factor in major Los Angeles and Northern California area prospects. Sure there were some close calls such as with Brigham Harwell, but that was an exception the last 5 years. With many top instate recruits ASU seemed to get in late compared to other big schools. Gerell Robinson a top player for 2008 has already declared to Arizona. Moving forward the question is will Erickson have enough gravitas to affect change in ASU admission policy and in the larger sense will he be as successful in recruiting as he was at Oregon State and Miami.