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The Arizona State Sun Devils picked up a commitment from junior college wide receiver Eric Lauderdale Friday afternoon. The 4-star receiver from Saddleback College held offers from Tennessee, Arkansas, Washington, Wisconsin and Nebraska.
Lauderdale reportedly chose the Sun Devils over Florida and Oregon. The commitment was first reported by Derek Tyson of ESPN.
Wide Reciever Eric Lauderdale has committed to #ArizonaState.
— Derek Tyson (@DerekTysonESPN) January 24, 2014
The Fayetteville, GA. native is one of the most sought after junior college players in the country. He is rated as the No. 23 junior college player nationally by ESPN and the No. 3 junior college receiver in the nation by ESPN. Rivals.com ranks Lauderdale as the No. 18 junior college prospect in the country.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Lauderdale went on an official visit to Arizona State last weekend, where he was joined by quarterback recruit Manny Wilkins and over a dozen more Sun Devil recruits. After the visit he promptly cancelled his trip to Eugene and set an announcement date of Saturday.
Not visiting Oregon no more..
— Eric Lauderdale (@e_lauderdale) January 19, 2014
According to ESPN, Lauderdale is the 12th 4-star recruit in Arizona State's 2014 class. He joins highly touted defensive end Edmond Boateng and running back De'Chavon Hayes as Arizona State's three commitments from the junior college ranks.
Both Wilkins and Sun Devil wide receiver Jaelen Strong showed their excitement over Lauderdale's commitment.
Want to give a special shout out to my man @e_lauderdale ... Welcome to the family can't wait to ball with you #ForksUp #BOOOOOOOM
— Manny Wilkins 2⃣ (@Manny_Wilkins11) January 24, 2014
Welcome my brother @e_lauderdale to #SunDevilNation! pic.twitter.com/aOkhxNuaAQ
— Jaelen SnpGd Strong (@JaelenStrong) January 24, 2014
Just a reminder that all commitments are strictly verbal and are non-binding until players sign on the dotted line on Feb. 5.