Blake Barnett has chance to prove doubters wrong at Arizona State

Alabama Crimson Tide transfer Blake Barnett has a chance to prove himself as a quarterback with the Arizona State Sun Devils.

When a high school recruit enters the college ranks, the pressure put upon these star athletes is in many ways unbelievably high. For star recruits, the pressure of having to step up right away and be the man can be too much or in some cases, not have the patience necessary to succeed. Both of those things may or may not be true about new Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Blake Barnett.

Coming into college football as a former Elite 11 MVP made Barnett’s stock skyrocket him to being the top quarterback recruit in the nation. Just as they do with all the top recruits that are available, the Alabama Crimson Tide scooped him up. Coming off of a national championship in Tuscaloosa meant high expectations for Barnett as he started his college career.

Jake Coker had left to pursue a career in the NFL and Barnett found himself competing with Jalen Hurts for the position. Their first game of the season pitted the defending national champions against the USC Trojans. Seeking to be back on top, the Trojans came into the game with confidence.

Unfortunately, it was the game where Barnett lost his. After the Trojans took a brief but small lead, Barnett was pulled from the game as the Crimson Tide struggled to get moving on offense. It was history from there, as Jalen Hurts stepped up and delivered the Crimson Tide to a blowout win over USC. He didn’t just deliver them a win over USC, he proceeded to take them on an undefeated streak all the way to the National Championship Game, where they lost a rematch to the Clemson Tigers.

Barnett didn’t stick around for that part of the journey. The Santiago High School product quickly left the program and began to pursue new opportunities elsewhere. With the offers he had from the local schools as a product in Corona, California, there was no doubt in the minds of many that he would find himself out west.

However, it wasn’t USC, UCLA or even California that ended up securing the commitment of Barnett. In a bit of a surprising move to many, it was the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils that landed the prized quarterback. Todd Graham has searched for a quarterback since the departure of Mike Bercovici and he potentially landed a recruit that could change the fortunes of his program.

Graham will be the first one to tell you that this is something the program needed. After a season that started optimistically at 5-1, the Sun Devils would lose their last six games and manage to find themselves on the outside looking in during bowl season. After having taken back a step in 2015, the failures of 2016 have put Graham in a bit of a bind.

Yes, he’s in the middle of a transition period with younger players coming in and seeing expanded roles. However, he can’t keep up the losing seasons after the winning seasons he brought when he first took over the program. Patience is a virtue and the Sun Devils are completely committed to their head coach, but even Graham knows he needs Barnett to be every bit the recruit people thought and to some extent, still think he is.

The good news for Barnett is that he has some weapons on offense. The bad news for Barnett is that he might have to think on his feet with an offensive line that is still growing. There’s also the added difficulty of having to put up several points to match whatever the defense that has been terrible against the pass the last couple of seasons has given up.

Amidst the constant coaching changes on Graham’s staff at Arizona State, there is one move that may very well be to the benefit of Barnett. The Sun Devils hired Alabama wide receivers coach Billy Napier to be their new offensive coordinator. In the back of their heads, this collectively had to be a move made with Barnett in mind.

The expectations for Barnett at Arizona State are always going to be different from what they were for him at Alabama. He’s not being brought in to make the Sun Devils a National Championship contender. He’s being brought in to make the team relevant again and a winner in the Pac-12.

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With USC on the rise again and a multitude of talented teams in the Pac-12 South, the Sun Devils have a long but competitive road ahead of them. It’s going to take a total team effort to get there, but Barnett has the chance to be the catalyst.