Team preview: Arizona State

Editor's Note: ESPN Insider has teamed with Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook to provide a comprehensive look at all Division I-A teams. To order the complete 2008 edition of Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, visit www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-866-805-BALL (2255).

(All information as of June 20, 2008)

So, did everyone enjoy the Dennis Erickson Rebuilding Plan? You know, the one that lasted, oh, about 20 seconds as Arizona State started his first season 8-0 en route to double-digit wins and a share of the Pac-10 championship.

For those aware of Erickson's track record, his quick turnaround in Tempe wasn't surprising. Rebuilding is what Erickson has done at virtually every other collegiate stop of his career. He doesn't need three or four seasons to stock the program with his own players; he institutes his spread offense, brings in a few junior college players to fill needs, surrounds himself with Team Erickson, a collection of assistants who have been with him for decades, and wham, bam, there he is, winning Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors in his first season at Arizona State.

And this when many thought his career was finished after a rough two-year stint as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 2003-04. The phone didn't ring for more than a year -- through Signing Day 2006, when through a fluke, the Idaho job became available in late February -- and before you knew it, there was Erickson at the podium. And before the majority of fans even knew he was back in coaching -- Idaho doesn't exactly have Notre Dame's television contract -- there he was taking the ASU job on Dec. 11, 2006.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email
• Subscribe