Former Carson High School standout Paul Glass signed a letter of intent on Wednesday to play football for Arizona State this coming fall.
The 6-foot-7, 315-pound defensive tackle spent his last two seasons playing for Bakersfield Junior College, and he expects to have an immediate impact this fall. The Pac-10 Sun Devils were thin on the line, he said, and he should step in and start right away.
"I really liked the coaches and players there, and everyone was real nice," said Glass, who was also recruited by Wisconsin, Hawaii, Utah State and Washington. "The coaches seemed real genuine."
Arizona State head coach Bruce Snyder even came to Carson City two weeks ago to pay Glass a visit. Glass, who played for Carson from 1994-98, was complimentary of the entire Sun Devil football program.
"Their facilities are real nice," he said. "The stadium caught my eye too. It seems like a real good place to play."
Glass saw plenty of success during his two years at Bakersfield. The team went 10-1 this past season and defeated Palomar in the Potato Bowl. One of his best friends on the team, Sean Folweiler, also signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play for Nevada.
A few Web sites ranked Arizona State's recruiting class in the top 25, including CNNSI.com and Foxsports.com.
Glass went to junior college because he was missing some core classes from back when he attended high school in Sacramento. He was a B-student at Carson his senior year. Carson coach Bob Bateman said Glass determined the value of his stock through hard work, and he's only getting better.
"He didn't get discouraged - he was willing to work and go the junior college route, and now he's going to play in a big-time program," Bateman said. "The coaches at Bakersfield have said he's got the size and speed to possibly play on Sundays."
Glass also improved plenty while at Bakersfield.
"I improved a lot in technique," said Glass, who is undecided in his major but may study criminal justice. "Back in high school a lot of my success came just by using brute force. You can't do that as much in college. You have to know what you're doing more."
Glass said being recruited by a Pac-10 school is a "step higher" than what he was expecting.
"I wasn't sure if I was good enough to play in the Pac-10," he said. "I was thinking more that I'd be in the WAC."
In the long term, Glass would like to give back.
"I'm thinking I'll study criminal justice, but what I'd really like to do is coaching," he said. "Maybe a Division I school, but I'd like to start out with a high school."
Erick Studenicka contributed to this report.