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During his short time in Tempe, Todd Graham has shown marked improvement with local recruits, highlighted by current Freshman All-Americans D.J. Foster and Jaxon Hood.
Now it seems that even those local recruits that got away may be coming back home.
Several reports have indicated that former Hamilton High School star offensive lineman and 5-star recruit Christian Westerman has left the Auburn Tigers and has signed with Arizona State.
Word is Christian Westerman to ASU is official as of today.
— Jason Jewell (@jason247scout) December 13, 2012
Source: Auburn offensive lineman Christian Westerman was granted his release and signed his scholarship paperwork with ASU today.
— Devils Digest (@DevilsDigest) December 13, 2012
This would be a major boost to the Sun Devil offensive line. Westerman held every lofty ranking a player could have, including the top player in all of Arizona and the 27th overall player nationally by Rivals, the No. 1 offensive guard and 17th player nationally by Scout and the No. 3 offensive tackle prospect by 247 Sports.
The 6-foot-4, 298-pound Westerman appeared in three games this season for the Tigers, whose program fell into total disarray, culminating in the firing of head coach Gene Chizik. As DevilsDigest.com points out, it's possible that Westerman would not have to sit out the required one year of transfers if Auburn is hit with NCAA sanctions, but that is much too early to forecast.
What is known is that ASU has potentially landed themselves a powerful and versatile offensive line talent who could become a major addition to an area of need.
UPDATE: It may not be as official as initially thought. Jason Jewell of Scout.com updated his initial report of the signing.
False alarm. Confirmed w/ Westerman's dad that Christian has not been released.
— Jason Jewell (@jason247scout) December 13, 2012
This certainly doesn't derail any move, but could delay things for a bit, if things continue on that direction.
Below are Westerman's highlights from his Auburn Signing Day video.: