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There was fear, there was snow, but ultimately, there is a National Letter of Intent.
On Thursday, the Arizona State Sun Devils rounded out their recruiting class by signing 4-star athlete Kalen Ballage out of Falcon, Colo. Ballage's letter of intent comes to Arizona State a day late after his school district closed on National Signing Day due to a snow day.
Though the schools in Falcon were closed again on Thursday, Ballage was able to make his way to a fax machine and finalize his recruiting process.
Throughout most of the recruiting cycle, the majority of Arizona State's verbal commits were squarely in the Sun Devils' corner, but the same could not be said for Kalen Ballage.
Ballage entered Signing Day as Arizona State's lone "soft" verbal commitment and his status as a potential Sun Devil was relatively unknown until now. For Sun Devil fans, the thought of losing Ballage to a competitor was a nightmare, as the Colorado native represents one of the most versatile and athletically impressive players in the entire country.
After receiving Ballage's letter of intent, the Arizona State coaching staff can rest easier knowing the Sun Devils will be adding an outstanding athlete to their 2014 recruiting class.
Aside from Arizona State, Rivals lists scholarship offers from schools around the country including Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and more for Ballage. The highly-sought after talent took his official visits to Arizona State, UCLA, Washington and Colorado.
According to Rivals.com, Ballage is a 4-star "athlete" and the sixth highest-rated athlete in the country. Scout.com considers Ballage a running back instead of an "athlete" and lists Ballage as a 3-star recruit.
Ballage was one of two recruits from the state of Colorado expected to sign with Arizona State on Wednesday along with offensive tackle Sam Jones. Jones was able to get his letter in on Signing Day, but Ballage kept Arizona State waiting one extra day.
Ballage's highlight film shows a great downhill burst and a low-pad level that should help ease his transition to the college level. In high school, Ballage played both running back and linebacker and spent time at a few other positions as well. His versatility suits any team well, which is why the Sun Devils will be excited to get him in the mix next season.
It's unclear what position Ballage will start his college career at, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the Arizona State coaches on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball fight for the right to keep him in their position groups.
