Arizona State receiver Jaelen Strong named to ESPN’s All-American Team
Dec 12, 2014, 9:10 PM | Updated: 9:12 pm
Catch one game-winning hail mary and all of a sudden everybody wants you on their All-American team.
Well, it may have been more than the incredible touchdown catch against USC that earned Arizona State wide receiver Jaelen Strong a spot on ESPN’s All-American squad, with the redshirt junior consistently making some of the most jaw-dropping plays by any receiver in the country.
Jaelen Strong
Wide receiver | Arizona State
Strong hauled in 75 passes for 1,062 yards with 10 touchdowns this season, averaging a stout 14.2 yards per catch. But it’s not just the numbers with Strong. It’s not even about all his big plays. It’s that he made the most difficult catches look easy, whether he had just one available hand or a defensive back was riding him like a bronco. This season, he earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors after making the second team in 2013. At 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds with good speed and outstanding body control, Strong is a difficult matchup for most cornerbacks, which is why he’s a top NFL prospect. — Ted Miller
Strong had a touchdown in eight of the 11 games that he played this season, highlighted by a monster performance against USC when he caught 10 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns, capped off by the aforementioned hail mary.
Strong’s 2,184 career receiving yards put him eighth all-time in school history and the most by any player who only suited up for two years with the Sun Devils.
With one more game left this season, the receiver only needs 58 yards to move up to seventh on that list, and 60 yards to surpass his 1,122 yards from 2013.
The Sun Devil’s next game is Dec. 27 at 12 p.m. when they take on the Duke Blue Devils in the Sun Bowl, held in El Paso, Texas.
