"Go Devils. I'm ready to work. Let's get Rose Bowl championships." - D.J. Foster

One of the most heralded local recruits in years has decided to stay home, as Scottsdale Saguaro running back D.J. Foster declared his intentions to play at ASU. The Sun Devils were among three finalists for Foster's services, beating out Cal and USC.

The 6'0", 185-pounder was a four-star recruit and one of the top running back prospects in the entire nation. As a senior, he ran for 3,058 yards (averaging over 13 yards per carry), caught 13 passes for another 250 yards and set a state single-season record with 60 touchdowns. Yes, 60. That number includes a 10 touchdown game against Sunrise Mountain, in which he also rushed for 508 yards.

Foster is a dynamic and explosive gamebreaking player who instantly becomes one of ASU's top offensive weapons. He gives new offensive coordinator Mike Norvell three versatile players--including Deantre Lewis and Jamal Miles--who are lethal as either a runner or receiver to complement the more traditional talents of starting running back Cameron Marshall. Foster's athleticism also led him to be recruited as a defensive back by schools such as USC, and as a junior at Saguaro he tallied 60 tackles and seven interceptions.

The declaration was made at Saguaro High School on Friday morning, ending a recruiting period that has taken several twists and turns.

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The woes continue for the Arizona St. Sun Devils basketball team. Without Trent Lockett, the Sun Devils dropped their third straight game on Thursday with a 60-54 loss to the Washington Huskies.

The Sun Devils started out well, hanging with the Huskies all through the game' s opening 20 minutes. A lay-up by guard Chris Colvin at the buzzer put the Sun Devils up 24-22 at halftime and gave the team momentum heading into the locker room.

Unfortunately, that momentum didn't translate onto the floor once the second half began as ASU managed to score only six points through the half's first nine minutes. The Sun Devils fell behind and couldn't quite recover, though Jonathan Gilling did do a good job of keeping the game interesting in the final few minutes with some big three-pointers.

Gilling led the way in scoring for ASU with 20 points. Colvin pitched in with 10 points as the only other Sun Devil in double-figures while Jordan Bachynski contributed with nine points off of the bench. Meanwhile, guard Tony Wroten lit ASU up with a game-high 22 points.

The Sun Devils play host to the Washington St. Cougars this Saturday with hopes of ending their three-game losing streak. The two squads will tip-off at 3:00 p.m. MT this weekend.

The ASU basketball team returns to Wells Fargo Arena to play its first home game in roughly two weeks tonight. The Sun Devils host the Washington Huskies, who are tied for third in the Pac-12 with a 5-2 record, while ASU is in the midst of a two-game losing streak. Trent Lockett is questionable for tonight's game, and if he can't play the other Sun Devil players will have to step up in a way that they didn't last week to make this one interesting.

The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona. Can the Sun Devils spring the upset? Tune in at 6:30 to find out and make sure to share your comments throughout the game below.

We're pleased to introduce a new feature--The House of Sparky Roundtable, where the site's staff will debate a pressing issue regarding Sun Devil athletics, and then turn over the discussion to you. It will be a great forum for informed and insightful ASU viewpoints on all sides.

This week's topic: Should head basketball coach Herb Sendek get a mulligan for this season?

Brad Denny: Personally, I do give Sendek a mulligan for 2011-2012. There is no question that this season is nothing short of awful, and a coach is always the man responsible for his team, but I think the cavalcade of circumstances surrounding the team's performance can't fully be pinned on Sendek.

This was poised to be a bounce back season of sorts for Sendek and the program, with top recruit Jahii Carson joining a team with a nice core that was going to push the tempo. But then Carson eligibility drama carried on, injuries to key players struck and then disciplinary issues arose that resulted in suspensions to key players and the dismissal of ASU's most productive player in Keala King. For most of that, I'm not putting on Sendek's shoulders.

I can certainly see why fans are livid with a 6-13 record, but I don't think placing the blame on Sendek is warranted. I actually think that had he not received the contract extension in December amidst this chaos, the heat wouldn't be nearly to this level.

Nikil Selvam: I'm torn on this one, but ultimately I think that this season does fall on Sendek's shoulders. He shouldn't be held accountable for Carson's academic ineligibility, but he does deserve some of the responsibility for the disciplinary actions taken against his players. A coach needs to evaluate his players and find ways to motivate them, and Sendek failed to do so with King as he morphed into a problematic teammate.

Sendek definitely deserves props for taking immediate action with King, thugh. Rather than letting him stick around, Sendek made the wise--and bold--move to cut the team's leading scorer at the time to help his program. For this, he deserves some praise.

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The first major event of the Todd Graham era is less than one week away.

That is, of course, National Letter of Intent Day, which is rapidly approaching on February 1st, and the Speak of the Devils show provides you the most complete and in-depth coverage of Signing Day for Sun Devil Nation that you will find.

We begin by talking to Hod Rabino of DevilsDigest.com, who provides insider info you won't find anywhere else. Then we break down the Devils prospects position-by-position and give you the names you need to know, the ones to forget and the last-minute battles. Finally, we answer listener questions from Twitter. This is one recruiting special you can't afford to miss.

Click here to stream this episode or listen via iTunes

National Letter of Intent Day is now just under a week away (February 1^st for those scoring at home), and that marks the first major event of the Todd Graham era.

When he was hired on December 14th, Graham inherited a program in complete disarray. The team had lost four straight games that had cost them a once certain South division title, the culture around the program was toxic, key recruits and assistant coaches were leaving for division rivals, and the fanbase and boosters were either livid or pushed into apathy by the school's terrible coaching search. Then, just three weeks later, he lost his two most prominent players on each side of the ball--Brock Osweiler and Vontaze Burfict--to the NFL Draft.

Yet, as January draws to a close, Graham has done something nearly impossible--he's restored faith in the program.

He's assembled a very talented, if under-the-radar staff. He's aggressively hit the recruiting trail and not only has he salvaged a large number of key recruits, he's expanding ASU's reach and making strides in keeping local prospects in state. Graham's also bringing a strong sense of discipline and accountability to a program and roster that had spent five listless years under Dennis Erickson.

But most importantly, he's brought back a sense of optimism that for once doesn't feel misplaced. ASU fans have been duped by false hopes and promises more times than anyone would care to count. But the early returns on Graham have been far better than most could have realistically hoped for back in December. He's laying down a strong foundation from which he and his staff can build a consistent winner.

So far he's talked the talk and walked the walk. We'll see on February 1st how many recruits have decided to start "speaking victory" with Graham.

Six weeks after his hire, how would you rate the early work of Todd Graham and his staff?

Follow me on Twitter @BDenny29 for the latest on ASU sports

What a brutal loss for Kyle Williams and the San Francisco 49ers against the New York Giants on Sunday evening.

With the game nearly in hand, Williams allowed a punt to touch his knee, which was then recovered by the Giants. Then, in overtime, Williams was stripped on a punt return, allowing Lawrence Tynes an opportunity to kick a 31-yard field goal, propelling Eli Manning and the Giants into the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots.

ASU fans across the country couldn't help but feel an odd sense of deja vu. In 2009, Williams tried to be a hero at the end of the Territorial Cup game between the Sun Devils and Arizona, attempting to catch a punted ball after calling fair catch. He muffed it, and the Wildcats recovered, leading to a 32-yard field goal for the Arizona victory.

Skip to :48 in this video to recap that lousy moment in Sun Devil history.

Williams did it again on Sunday, and we all feel awful for him. Though I don't know any ASU fans who would have put him back there in such a huge situation, knowing his penchant for errors.

All the vitriol on Twitter, threatening Williams' life and family, must stop immediately. This was only a game, after all. There are far more important things in life to focus on and to threaten this man in such a way is a disgraceful act.

Saturday was supposed to be a day of redemption for the Arizona St. Sun Devils after Thursday's road loss to the Colorado Rockies. Instead, the Sun Devils managed to score just a shade over 20 points each half on their way to a 64-43 loss to the Utah Utes.

As hard as it may be to believe, this game wasn't even as close as the 21 margin point different indicates. Utah stormed out to an early 12-0 lead that the Sun Devils could not counter. ASU was down 38-21 by halftime.

Things got even worse in the early stage of the second half. ASU failed to score a single point for eight- yes, eight- entire minutes. Walk-on Dave Whitmore broke the drought with 12:00 left to go in the game. By that point, ASU found itself down 49-23. In light of this score, it's pretty surprising that ASU managed to put up 20 more points over the game's final dozen minutes to reach the 43-point total.

Three Sun Devils managed to score in double digits: Carrick Felix had 13 points while Kyle Cain and Jordan Bachynski pitched in 10 points apiece off the bench. Elsewhere, the rest of the team scored 10 points combined.

This road trip proves that ASU is not ready as a team to play without Trent Lockett in the line-up. Lockett rolled his ankle last week against Oregon State but the remaining Sun Devils still won the game without him over the final 10 minutes. That ASU squad was nowhere to be seen over the recent two-game road trip, getting into huge deficits early in both games and never climbing back to compete.

ASU continues its Pac-12 season with home games against the two Washington schools (the Washington Huskies and the Washington St. Cougars) next week. Up first: the Huskies on Thursday.