Tim Healey: ASU Has Crushed It On the Recruiting Trail & Look to Turn the Program Around | Big 12

Intro you as well Tim Healey voice longtime voice of Arizona State sundevils athletics joins us Craig smoke Paul Catalina David smoke on 365 Sports Tim I I uh I've known about you I I then went online I and just looked at a couple of things and I saw consument Pro uh is Arizona State athletics and much more and I know that you also someone that gives a lot of people around you the credit but um that says quite a bit about what people think of the work you do well I appreciate that I mean it's been a long time this will be my 27th year doing their radio I also did their television play byplay for 10 years prior to that I was a TV sports anchor in a previous life and actually as part of that life I spent four years uh in the Metroplex I was a sports caster at Channel 4 in Dallas uh from 1979 to 1983 got to work with the great Dale Hansen for a per brief period of time and uh I spent four years in Dallas in fact my son was born in Dallas and uh was as elated as anybody when the Rangers won the World Series out here last year so but uh yeah you do anything long enough and hopefully people you know will say a few nice things about you but it's been it's been fun although not as much fun the last couple of years because it's been a tough go for ASU Athletics uh this past school year was not a great one uh to be very candid the football programs coming up off consecutive three and nine Seasons the worst record in program history uh men's basketball had a tough year this past year baseball is getting better uh but still has missed the NCAA tournament the last three years but we have a new athletic director Graham rosini who is a former ASU baseball Ops director and a sundevil graduate and a passion in Arizona State Alum he and Kenny Dillingham our football coach kind of fit the same profile there both uh ASU Gra graduates who have a passion for this University for this school for its programs and uh I I just think both of them are going to succeed longterm in their jobs and uh we're all anxious to uh see how football faes and you're one of the big 12 this coming fall Tim Dale Hansen great friend of our show we've we've known him for a long time he is legendary that to say the least but uh with the changes at the top of the athletic department um how much was that that needed because it it felt to me that just outside looking in that that there wasn't a lot of Direction in the previous administration well you know it it kind of had to happen our previous ad Ray Anderson resigned in November uh Rey was very much attached to the hiring of Herm Edwards and uh all that unfolded in that although I would submit an argument that the first three years of herm's time here was a period of time where the program was actually on an upward trajectory but then the NCAA investigation into the program was revealed in June of 2021 and ever since then it's just been a struggle but I think the worst of that is behind the program now it's Full Speed Ahead uh with a new head coach entering his second year and a new conference now in the Big 12 and uh uh you know the the uh Big 12 preseason media poll came out today and picked there Iona stay dead last in the pack in the Big 12 this coming year but coming off the two seasons they've had in the last two it's not horribly surprising but I really think the the sundevils this year have a chance to be a whole lot better than what the big 12 media Bittersweet thinks they'll be well there's only uh one way to go and that's up right Tim it's like you can't that's for sure that's for sure so they they can only beat expectations or I guess meet them but it does feel like they're they're probably getting a little undervalued and and with that change conferences I know there was a lot of love a lot of history for the Pack 12 I mean that that ran deeper than just a a conference name that you slapped on your your jerseys um just how did you sort of view all that how has Arizona State as a collective kind of navigated those Waters and and I guess what would you say is kind a general feeling about now entering the Big 12 granted with some familiar faces also joining them yeah it's uh the word I've used for the last 10 months or so is Bittersweet uh and for about nine months we dealt with the bitter part of it leaving the Pack 12 as I told you guys I'm in my 37th year uh counting the time on television 37th year uh broadcasting ASU Sports and they've been in the Pack 12 that entire time uh you know we've gone to the same places the same towns uh broadcast from the same venues uh the same we've seen so many great players and coaches in this league uh favorite Hangouts restaurants bars uh whatever uh um you know you you get familiar with the territory and all these places you get to know the other radio broadcasters the other media folks in those uh in those towns uh the sports information people from each University and you develop friendships and uh it's very sad to be honest to have to uh put those on hold or uh you know wonder when will we ever get to Seattle or Eugene OR Corvalis or Pullman uh or the Bay Area or Los Angeles again you know trips that seem almost second nature to ASU uh folks but uh uh that this past school year was like that one grand you know farewell tour and saying goodbye and all that stuff last ever this is our last ever football game here our last ever basketball game there but now that we've dealt with the bitter uh it's time to look to the site and look ahead to a new conference and new places to visit and new rivalries and new folks to meet uh fellow broadcasters in the Big 12 and uh uh writers and stuff like that and sports information people and uh and visiting new venues and seeing uh you know outstanding teams and players and coaches and one of the best college conferences in the country and I've already been uh in my job at Arizona State I've already broadcast games non-conference games at Texas Tech uh uh I did uh BYU one of the greatest basketball games in Arizona State history was a dramatic 10-point win over then number two Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in December of 17 might be my biggest thrill in 27 years calling that game uh we played in a baseball regional at TCU in 2016 and I'm sure you guys probably remember we played in round two of the NIT at Baylor in 2013 and lost a close game to Baylor in the second round uh an Arizona State team that the following year went to the NCAA tournament so uh we've been to a lot of the places in the league I even did a baseball game in Manhattan Kansas at Kansas State about 16 years ago so I've been to some of the places but and we played Oklahoma State uh a couple times in football and we're going back there in football and basketball this coming season so fairly familiar to a certain extent but looking forward to uh uh getting more involved with that and also so because of my background at Channel 4 I got a heaping helping of what football means in the state of Texas and so I'm kind of looking forward to games you know against or at uh TCU and Baylor and Texas Tech and Houston in fact our first ever Big 12 game will be at Tech in September 21st and uh uh just looking forward to uh you know starting rivalries with the Texas schools and uh getting a taste of what that's like and Arizona state is already established a very solid recruiting footprint in Texas under Kenny Dillingham and in fact I think Arizona state has the number one rated recruiting class in the Big 12 for 2025 as of right now if it's not number one it's in the top two or three that's for sure I mean Kenny has and his staff have crushed it on the recruiting Trail and because of that and because of his abilities and his uh expertise as an offensive coach and the energy that he has and the staff that he has around him I have a lot of confidence that Arizona State's going to be good in football in the very shortterm future under coach dillingham's leadership Tim I have a Sleeping Giant soft spot for Tempe because my father was at Luke Air Force Base uh getting his Masters at Arizona State back in the the late 60s I've always loved Arizona State I've also thought and that's back when you you know in the 60s when you had the Reggie Jacksons and the Charlie Taylor's and much more so that's I'm 65 years old but I go back to that then of course the Jake plumber Etc uh Barry Bonds my question for you I've always thought that ASU was a sleeping giant do they understand that they're a sleeping giant well to tell you the truth that's a phrase that I I can't tell you how many times I've heard that uh and and used about Arizona State Through The Years a sleeping giant and uh you know just to a lot of our fans I'm sure it seems like the nap has lasted a lot longer than it should have uh uh but uh I I really think that we have people and coaches in place at least in the three Sports I do um you know I've talked about Kenny Dillingham Bobby Hurley has brought in two five-star recruits and I think we have a chance to be really good in basketball this coming fall and uh we have had some memorable moments in basketball under coach Hurley's leadership the last decade and he is really uh really crushed it on the recruiting trail with like a pair of five recruits coming in and uh I can't wait for the start of basketball season is you know and especially given the fact that we'll now be playing in what I think arguably is the best basketball conference in the country and uh under one of our former all-time great players Willie Bloomquist our baseball program has shown exponential Improvement each of the last three seasons and uh potentially could have been NCAA Regional teams the last two but just weren't able to finish the deal either season but uh uh I think under willly leadership I think we have a chance to turn a corner in baseball as well as we head to the Big 12 so hopefully that nap is about to end and uh all the great things that uh exist about Arizona State you know you know highly desirable place to live the Phoenix metropolitan area if you discount the 107 degree temperatures we have outside as we speak here uh for about eight months of the year the weather is as good as as any place in the country and we have very good facilities uh we do need uh a refurbishing or we need we need help with a basketball arena our basketball arena is uh getting is showing its age to be polite but uh other than that our uh our facilities uh they've redone uh what used to be known as sundevil Stadium now Mountain America Stadium uh and it's a great great venue for football uh we our baseball team plays the former home of uh spring training home of the Oakland A's Phoenix Municipal stadium and it's a wonderful facility and uh uh you know basketball does have a terrific practice facility uh you know we we have good facilities out here and there's a lot uh to be proud of at Arizona State and uh we're looking forward to the start of playing the Big 12 and I do think that uh the program the the department as a whole and in particular the programs for which I broadcast have a good chance to turn a Potential corner soon Tim um you you mentioned that you think the team has more potential than where everybody voted them um down towards the bottom of the league do you think if they had a returning starter at quarterback that might might have been a little bit different possibly uh you know I mean given the record of the last two years uh it's not as I said it's not surprising they were picked last but uh the one thing I can tell you is I think there's a really good chance that when the sundevils play their season opener against Wyoming on August 31st that an actual quarterback may take the snap at Center on the first play of the game because in the last two games of the Season ASU was so injury riddled that Kenny Dillingham was actually having to play two nationally ranked Pack 12 opponents Oregon and Arizona with running backs and tight ends taking the snaps from Center and uh because they were they were so depleted injury-wise and uh so you know yeah if they had a returning starter it might make a difference I've always felt that a returning and especially a talented returning starting quarterback is a huge Plus for a team and you know with ASU you get you have basically uh in all likelihood three players that'll compete for the job they have a transfer from Michigan State Sam levit who is a highly recruited uh freshman from the Portland Oregon area uh you have Jeff Sims who was was a quarterback at Nebraska last year and had troubles with turnovers but he had three fairly efficient Seasons at Georgia Tech prior to that and uh then you have Trenton boray who was a one-time walk-on from the Tucson area who uh took over in the late part of the 2022 season and uh did a tremendous job and uh was in and out of the lineup last year because of injury but one of those three will probably be the starter at quarterback in August but uh uh you know it it's possible that if they had a more seasoned starter they might have been picked a notch or two higher but I don't really pay much attention to those polls I think this football team is going to be a run oriented TEAM Arizona State can actually go six deep at tailback this year and they've got some Talent there including a kid Al Alton mcll who was the uh American Athletic Conference freshman of the year at Houston a couple of years ago and uh and he got hurt uh sat out 22 played at Colorado last year for Deion Sanders but didn't play very much and he's now at Arizona State along with uh a former five-star recruit from USC reli relique Brown that I think could be used in any number of ways slot receiver wide receiver running back out of the back field uh their own running back cam scabo who was one of the players that took snaps at quarterback late in the season last year was an honorable mentioned all Pack 12 performer uh highly regard started freshman running back out of the state of Washington Jason Brown Jr no relation to reli Brown uh kid named Carlos Brooks who transferred a Phoenix area product who played started at Cal and then transferred in last year ran well when he was healthy but he was hurt for about half the season but they go about six deep at running back and they have they've added a lot of depth to an offensive line that was absolutely decimated by injuries a year ago and I you know this is a team that ran for over 200 yards even though they got their clocks cleaned by their arch rival Arizona in the season finale last year they ran for something like 220 yards against the Wildcats and uh I think they have the potential to be a pretty good running football team this year and uh hopefully they can get The Passing game going with whoever is a quarterback and Running Backs an improved group of receivers I think you kind of all addressed it there CU I was going to ask about the running backs I mean that certainly seems to be their strong suit I love the MCO pickup I mean obviously health is going to be a factor but if he's healthy then if he can replicate what he did a couple years ago in Houston that would be fantastic but I did also want to ask you about cam scabo in the midst of what was a lot of trials and tribulations and just hard times I mean how much energy and just excitement that he kind of interject from time to time how much fun do you have calling his uh his style of play and his games oh he's he's a blast I mean he is that allp purpose player he's kind of a throwback player you know he probably would have been good with in the ERA with leather helmets and no face masks you know and I think he was one of the finalists for the Paul horning award and and and justifiably so because this is a guy who played you know he was he was a running back he played quarterback at times last year uh you know he was used as a receiver uh played on special teams both Punt and kickoff teams uh just an absolute throwback of a player that was I think one of the most versatile in the country last year and he was and he was a quality running back and uh uh had a great game against USC here at home back in September and uh you know he's just a blast to watch and uh it's funny his name his name is spelled like it would be pronounced scabo but it's pronounced uh scabo and uh he's terrific uh uh you know he's he's rushed for over almost 2700 yards in his career he was at uh uh Sacramento State on I think it was before he came to Arizona State and uh you know just a you know just a terrific FCS All-American couple of years ago and just really really solid last year he was he was fun to watch no question about it hey uh Tim look forward to having you on again and and more we had CJ fight the young man from Tatum High School who was really good as a freshman for you uh at Arizona State a great personality he's going to be on this deal in Washington DC representing Arizona State and the Big 12 and there some meetings it was fun to have him on the show glad to have you on the show we'll have Coach Dillingham at Big 12 media days and so thanks for your time and uh enjoy the rest of the summer whatever you have left you too and uh hopefully we'll see you guys in Las Vegas we will be there absolutely look forward to seeing you shaking your hand and saying hi Tim Healey voice of Arizona State athletics with us on 365 Sports yeah it's fun getting to know some new