Manny Wilkins already the man for ASU at fun spring game
My Sunday best ...
One of the players most sought out by fans after Arizona State's spring football game Saturday isn't even on the team yet.
Autograph? Picture? Manny Wilkins was happy to oblige.
"This was very exciting for the recruits and guys that have signed coming in," Wilkins said about the game at Sun Devil Stadium. "A lot of teams don't put their full effort during spring ball. This squad did and it was fun to watch. I can't wait to be here."
Wilkins reports on June 14 and it can't come soon enough, he said. For fans, too, excited about the 6-foot-3 quarterback from San Marin High School in Novato, Calif. One reason is the talent that lured a number of high-profile schools to pursue him. Another is how much he has embraced the idea of coming to ASU. He is frequently on social media encouraging other big-name recruits to take a look at the Sun Devils.
It's too early to predict Wilkins' future but he definitely has that "it" factor. It was evident in the way people flocked around him Saturday. One of his mentors is former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, who was a trainer at the Elite 11 quarterbacks competition in Beaverton, Ore., when Wilkins first approached him for guidance.
Manziel's best advice?
"Be yourself," Wilkins said. "Don't let the game change you. You change the game." …
The new format for the ASU spring game was a far more fan-friendly event. The game, televised by Pac-12 Networks, was crisper, more entertaining and easier for fans to follow. …
Among those in attendance was former ASU quarterback Andrew Walter, who is running for Congress in Arizona's 9th District. …
Robert Sarver has been a target of criticism when things have gone south with the Suns so he deserves credit, too, for overseeing one of the best story lines of the 2013-14 NBA season. It was his money and his final OK in the assemblage of decision-makers that helped put the team in a position to succeed. …
Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest mock draft for ESPN has the Cardinals selecting a quarterback in the first round. The 6-foot-2 Derek Carr from Fresno State is Kiper's fourth-best rated quarterback.
"The Cardinals have a pretty good roster in place," Kiper said, "will be getting an extra first-round pick when you consider that last year's first-rounder, Jonathan Cooper, will return from injury in 2014, and they don't have a worthy Number 2 behind Carson Palmer, who will turn 35 during the 2014 season."
Kiper wrote that his mock draft doesn't reflect his rankings but how he believes "decision-makers for teams currently value players." …
The three-day NFL draft is scheduled to start May 8, which is in 18 days for you draft junkies. The Cardinals have the 20th pick in each of the first six rounds. …
Pat's Run, the annual 4.2-mile race honoring the legacy of the late Pat Tillman, gives me chills every time I watch its start. It's hard to believe it was just a germ of an idea a decade ago being discussed in a bar by Perry Edinger, the former head athletic trainer at ASU; Alex Garwood, Tillman's brother-in-law and the first executive director of the Pat Tillman Foundation; and Doug Tammaro, director of media relations at ASU.
No one imagined it would explode to the degree it did. An impressive 5,500 runners participated in the first race. Now approximately 28,000 take part. …
Saturday's event will feature 55 participants from the Tillman Military Scholars program, which provides scholarships to U.S. military veterans and spouses who reflect Tillman's values, strength of character and commitment to service. They will be leading runners out of each corral. …
Edinger is the official race starter and wounded warrior Cory Remsburg is the kids race starter. Remsburg has been the subject of national attention when his determination was singled out by President Barack Obama in January's State of the Union address. …
One of the best parts of the race is where it ends: on the 42-yard line at Sun Devil Stadium. (Tillman wore 42 with the Sun Devils.) ASU football players greet the runners. …
More than 30 shadow runs are in operation all over the world. The largest is in New York City. Many Troops Runs are held overseas. …
All 50 states will be represented in Saturday's race. …
Loyalty can be a tough thing to find in the high stakes world of college sports. Kudos to Arizona State women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne for the way she handled incoming recruit Tiare Kanoa of Honolulu.
After helping her Kamehameha High team to a state title in 2013, Kanoa's senior season was cut short by a torn ACL, after she already had committed to ASU.
"That was hard to deal with, but I knew I could do it because I tore an ACL as a freshman, too," Kanoa told ScoringLive.com. "I called them the night that it happened and I told them that my season was done and that I tore it, but they were supportive the whole time and helped me through it. They said that when I committed to them, they committed to me and they were going to stand by that."
Reach Boivin at paola.boivin@arizonarepublic.com and follow her at twitter.com/Paola Boivin. Listen to her streaming live on "The Brad Cesmat Show" on sports360az.com every Monday at 10:30 a.m.