ASU Football: California offensive lineman commits to ASU

The football season might be starting up, but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t time to recruit. It’s year-round, and non-stop.

That was made evident when ASU received its 16th commitment of the 2020 recruiting class on Sunday afternoon. Three-star offensive lineman Aidan Finney out of Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, CA committed to the Sun Devils.

According to 247Sports, the 6-foot-7, 287-pound big man is ranked as the No. 121 offensive tackle overall and No. 112 recruit in California. Finney is a former run-blocking tight end who put on weight to become a lineman ahead of his junior season in Chico.

With the weight increase, he jumped from about 235 pounds to around 290. Finney’s recruitment was led by o-line coach Dave Christensen and defensive line coach Jamar Cain. Finney attended a camp at Sacramento State, a city where Cain grew up and used to coach at Sacramento City College.

Both Sun Devil coaches were impressed with what they saw and that’s what led to his offer. The o-lineman also had interest from west coast schools such as Fresno State, Nevada, Oregon State, and San Diego State.

Finney becomes the sixth offensive lineman of the class, joining Ben Bray, Frank Thompson, Jacob Nunez, Micah Soliai Howlett, and Paul Rubelt.

It appears that head coach Herm Edwards is backing up on his sentiments to become a pro-style football team that runs the ball, and the linemen coming in are certainly an indication.

With Cain’s ties to northern and central California, and linebacker coach Antonio Pierce’s foothold in the southern part of the state, the program’s recruiting efforts appear to be getting stronger throughout The Golden State as well.