For Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep tight end Grant Martinez, his recent verbal commitment to Arizona State was a life- long dream finally come true. Martinez, who was born and raised in the Valley of the Sun, grew up rooting for ASU on Saturdays dreaming of one day suiting up in the maroon and gold.

Martinez, the #35 ranked tight end in the country by Scout.com, possesses great hands, plays multiple positions, and is very fast for his 6-foot-5, 210-pound frame. The Devils' coaching staff is very excited about the versatility and athleticism of the local all-state product who had over 400 yards receiving and 6 TDs as a junior.

Martinez visited Stanford last week, and then went up to Oregon State to see what the Beavers had to offer. Immediately following the recruiting trip, Martinez said he knew Arizona State was the place he wanted to be, playing in front of his family and friends in Tempe.

Martinez was just recently offered a scholarship by Arizona State, oddly enough. Martinez's style did not fit in with the old regime, and he was not being recruited at all by coach Dennis Erickson. Once Erickson was replaced by newcomer Todd Graham, and the two parties were able to sit down and talk, it was not long before Martinez was offered a scholarship and within weeks the local tight end verbally committed to Coach Graham and ASU.

Martinez should fit very well into the ASU offense as a three-back, a position that lines up at fullback, tight end, or receiver, depending on which play is called. The coaching staff believes his height, combined with his speed and athleticism, will create mismatch problems for defenses throughout the Pac-12.

Also on the recruiting trail in Tempe, is the news of another Georgia player showing major interest in heading out west for his college football career.

On the heels of the Alpharetta (Georg.) Alpharetta High School quarterback Josh Dobbs verbal commitment to the Devils, another Alpharetta, Georgia player, Peyton Barber, is extremely interested in what Arizona State has to offer him.

Barber is a powerful running back out of Alpharetta (GA) Milton High School, and at 5'11", 225 pounds, the Georgia prospect welcomes physical play. The three-star running back is being recruited heavily throughout the country. Besides Arizona State, schools such as Clemson, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Ole Miss, UCLA, and Maryland, are all very high on the power back. Barber has ASU in his top 3, along with Ole Miss and Clemson, but the trump card for the Devils is the tight relationship between Dobbs, who is the #36 ranked quarterback in the country by Scout.com, and Barber. The two have grown up playing football with and against each other in Alpharetta, and nothing would be greater for Barber than receiving the rock from his childhood friend.

It seems that Arizona State and Boise State are the two schools really standing out for La Mesa (CA) Helix High School wide receiver Kendal Keys. Keys, who caught 7 TD passes as a junior and had 6 interceptions on the defensive side of the ball, is ranked as a three-star receiver by Scout.com and is also being recruited by Colorado and San Diego State.

Keys is a big receiver at 6'3", 195 lbs. which could make him an ideal possession receiver and a big-time red zone target for the Devils. Keys has great strength and concentration but must work on a couple things to become a star at the next level, like his down field blocking.

Do not keep your fingers crossed on this one though; it may not come to fruition. Keys will not be making a decision anytime soon as he does not want to rush the process, he wants to take everything in and make the right decision for himself and his family. Keys said he wants to be close to his family so they can watch him play as much as possible, hopefully this will give the Devils a leg up going into the final stretch run for his services.