The Arizona State football program is now in great hands under Kenny Dillingham.
That wasn't always the case.
The Herm Edwards era (2018-22) was marred by lack of oversight, failure to maximize talented rosters, and a perceived conflict of interest via former Athletic Director Ray Anderson.
Among the players impacted was Ricky Pearsall - who starred at a local Arizona high school prior to attending Arizona State from 2019-21.
Pearsall enjoyed his most productive season in Tempe in his final one - totaling 580 yards and four touchdowns before deciding to transfer to Florida for two seasons to conclude his collegiate career.
Pearsall made the right decision for his future, as he was eventually selected in the first round of last April's NFL draft by the San Fransisco 49ers.
Ryan Smith of Pro Football Focus believes that former Sun Devil standout Ricky Pearsall is set to see a larger role in 2025 after missing several weeks of his rookie season due to outside circumstances.
More from Smith below:
"Pearsall missed the first six weeks of the season after recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest just before Week 1. He had a productive second half of the season after his return, catching 31 of 44 targets for 400 yards and three touchdowns."
"The 49ers traded wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders in March, creating a path for Pearsall to step into a bigger role in 2025. Samuel graded out no lower than 70.9 in his six years with the team, so San Francisco will be counting on Pearsall to produce in a big way moving forward."
Pearsall was seen as a potential fringe NFL prospect by the time he departed Tempe and grew into a top-level one in short order.
The former Arizona State stud is set to play with Brandon Aiyuk - they were teammates on the 2019 Sun Devil squad, and Brock Purdy - a local Arizona prodigy that was not recruited by Edwards.
Ultimately, that time period of Sun Devil football will always remind fans of what could have been, but it is pleasant to see program alumni succeed no matter where they ended their college careers at.
Read more about the current star receiver in Tempe in Jordyn Tyson here, and about where the wide receiver room as a whole stands in the Big 12 conference here.
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