Blake Barnett’s transfer a potential game changer for Todd Graham, Sun Devils

Arizona State football coach Todd Graham isn’t permitted to talk about the massive birthday present he received on Monday, per NCAA rules, but it’s fair to say that his 52-year old lungs held a little more wind than usual as he blew out his candles.

Forks Up #committed pic.twitter.com/buQWSnOuex

— B² (@Blake8Barnett) December 6, 2016

#Boom Great night & Happy Birthday @CoachGrahamASU #ForksUp #ASU pic.twitter.com/qTManfIRFm

— Lance Barnett (@LanceBarnett) December 6, 2016

In the stroke of two tweets by erstwhile Alabama quarterback Blake Barnett and his dad, Graham simultaneously silenced his critics and thoroughly reshuffled an already crowded quarterback situation.

The Barnetts broke the news that Blake is transferring to ASU by tweeting the picture and video above of he, Graham, offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, and assistant Jay Norvell, but the Sun Devils cannot comment on the news until Barnett officially signs.

#Boom! We just got better!!! pic.twitter.com/nXfCK7gxba

— Todd Graham (@CoachGrahamASU) December 6, 2016

Barnett, a five-star prospect in the Crimson Tide’s 2015 recruiting class, took an unofficial visit to ASU during the regular season and took an official visit last week. He is currently taking classes at Palomar College in California after leaving Alabama in September. ESPN.com ranked him as the nation’s top pocket passer during his senior year at Santiago High School. In 2014, the Corona, California product was named the MVP of the Elite 11 Quarterback competition.

Barnett was the opening-day starter for Alabama (13-0), the No. 1 team in the nation, but he was replaced after two series against USC by Jalen Hurts, who became the full-time starter.

He is expected to enroll at ASU in January and will have three years of eligibility left. Per NCAA rules, he has to sit out one calendar year from his transfer date, so he’ll probably have to miss the first month of the 2017 season, but when he joins the fray it is hard to envision him being anywhere but at the head of the pack.

Graham has taken a lot of criticism the past two seasons for the Sun Devils’ performance on the field in 6-7 and 5-7 seasons. He has faced questions about his inability to recruit enough depth or talent, with many critics focused on his inability to land a big-time quarterback.

There is no telling how Barnett will pan out. Any time a player transfers it is always fair to question the reasons behind that transfer, even if this seems like a clear-cut case of one talented player losing out to another talented player. All the same, if you have to pick up someone’s castoffs, you’d rather have it be Alabama’s castoffs than any other program in the nation. The Crimson Tide has won four of the last six national championships and is the favorite to do so again. To simply make it on the field for coach Nick Saban has to count for something.

You have to feel for current ASU quarterbacks Manny Wilkins, Brady White and Bryce Perkins, all of whom battled hard for the starting job this season — all of whom were in the midst of stressful final exams when the news broke. It’s one of the coldest realities of college football that recruiting can change your future, and it’s a quest in which every coach must engage when he has the opportunity to improve his program.

Late in the season, Graham responded to questions about the quarterback competition next season by reaffirming to Arizona Sports that “Manny would be the guy”. With Barnett in the fold, that has clearly changed.

It would not be surprising to see one or more quarterbacks transfer, and that list could include true freshman Dillon Sterling-Cole and Chandler Basha quarterback Ryan Kelley, a four-star prospect who committed to Graham’s 2017 class.

It’s a fallout Graham is willing to risk. With his final bite of birthday cake and one swipe of the napkin, Graham just may have wiped clean the memory of the 2016 season.

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