ESPN Insider: The quicker to re-sign Erickson the better

It’s no secret that Arizona State head coach is enjoying
one of his better seasons.

The Devils are leading the Pac-12 South, in control of
their own destiny to reach the Pac-12 championship game
and, given the outlook of everyone else in the division,
the team could be atop for quite some time.

So it would make sense for head coach Dennis Erickson to
receive a contract extension sometime soon.

Erickson told Arizona Sports 620’s
Burns and Gambo on Tuesday the quicker the extension gets
done the better it will be for the program. ESPN insider
Mark May, as a guest on the same show Wednesday, said he
agrees with the coach.

“The only way you can get on the recruiting trail and get
some of these kids locked in is to give them the comfort
factor to know that [Erickson] is going to be there,” May
said. “I think for Arizona State, they’ve got to go ahead
pull the trigger and make that decision fairly shortly.”

With USC losing scholarships thanks to NCAA sanctions,
Arizona looking for a new coach and UCLA probably firing
head coach Rick Neuheisel at the end of the season, the
promise of stability at ASU could be a factor in luring
recruits to come play in Tempe.

“There’s a great opportunity right now to recruit,
particularly Southern California,” May said. “You’re going
to get a lot of those kids where you can say ‘you guys
want to go to a Rose Bowl do you want to play in a Pac-12
championship game, guess what you’re not going to get
there at USC or UCLA the next few years but you will have
a great chance to do it at Arizona State.'”

May not only believes the Sun Devils can steal some
recruits from Southern California, but also from all 50
states.

“I think it’s going to be a lot easier for [Erickson] to
recruit nationally,” May said. “There is going to be a
couple of those kids you’re going to see that are going to
be plucked here and there out of some states that are
going to surprise you. They will see Arizona State and see
the brand they play and say ‘I want to play in the Pac-12
and right now in the south they’re the team to beat.'”

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