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The Arizona State Sun Devils will be considered strong contenders in a highly competitive Pac-12 South Division this fall thanks to the stability that Todd Graham has brought to the program in the last few years. But the biggest question mark for ASU coming out of spring practice was at the wide receiver position, where they had suffered some serious losses. But with the news that former UCLA Bruins receiver Devin Lucien will be coming to Arizona State as a graduate transfer, the Sun Devils’ issues at receiver may be solved.
There was no doubt that ASU would be looking to add receiver talent after Jaelen Strong announced he would be declaring for the NFL draft. Strong was a phenomenal presence on the outside, recording 82 receptions for 1,165 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014. Losing Strong was a definite blow to the offense, to be sure, but the Sun Devils were confident that they could overcome his absence with the rest of the talent on the depth chart.
But then Cameron Smith, the second leading wide receiver on the team last season, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Smith figured to be a leader of the offense after recording 41 receptions for 596 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore last season. The team responded by moving D.J. Foster from running back to receiver full time (after he caught 62 passes for 688 yards in 2014) and signed a JUCO speedster in Tim White.
Overall, though, the group still lacked a veteran presence. Enter Lucien, who should fix that issue immediately.
Lucien was a 4-star recruit in the 2011 class but struggled to find consistent playing time in what has been a stacked UCLA receiving corps over the last three seasons. In 2014, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound receiver caught 29 passes for 225 yards with a pair of touchdowns while starting in five games. Sitting as the sixth-best returning receiver on the roster for 2015, Lucien decided in March to take his talents elsewhere for his final season of eligibility.
Arizona State will benefit greatly from that decision, adding a Pac-12 veteran receiver with solid skills to their depth chart. With Lucien in the mix, receiver depth, considered the biggest weakness of the Sun Devils heading into the 2015 season, is suddenly no longer an area of concern as ASU ramps up for a run at the Pac-12 title.
You can follow Tyler Brett on Twitter @ATylerBrett, on Facebook and on Google.
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