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2027 Four-Star Quarterback Interested in ASU Football and Basketball
Nov 22, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Jeff Sims (2) prepares to pass the ball in the first quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Arizona State has already landed a quarterback in the 2027 cycle, securing a commitment from Weston Nielsen, a four-star prospect from Bastrop, Texas. However, that doesn't necessarily prevent the Sun Devils and head coach Kenny Dillingham from pursuing another signal-caller, as they are targeting one of the nation's most unique prospects.

The Sun Devils have been making progress with a four-star quarterback from California who's reportedly not only interested in playing football at Arizona State, but also hopes to play basketball

Arizona State Making Progress 2027 Quarterback and Two Sport Star

Throughout the 2027 recruiting cycle, Arizona State has been targeting Caden Jones, a four-star athlete from Crean Lutheran High School in Santa Margarita, California. The Sun Devils football program extended an offer to him in June 2024, and the basketball program extended an offer to him in May of this year. 

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Jones is a highly touted football prospect, ranked among the top players in the 2027 class. Although recruiting sites list him as an athlete, most analysts project him to play quarterback at the college level. 

He's garnered interest from several Power Four football programs, but little interest from schools as a basketball player. However, in a recent interview with Rivals' Adam Gorney, he stated that he prefers playing basketball. 

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
  • “My favorite sport is basketball but I have a lot more opportunities in football,” Jones told Gorney. “I would prefer to do basketball but I have better options in football so for now my option is football, that’s what I plan on doing."

Ideally, Jones would like to play both sports at the next level and has told Goreny that he has even mapped out a plan with some coaching staffs for how he'd be able to do it, using Arizona State as an example.

  • “What I’ve talked about with the coaches is that I’d do both [football and basketball] until I got a starting job or a big role and then I’d transition over into one," Jones told Gorney. "That would be a good way to do it because trying to keep up grades as well."
  • He continued, “Let’s say I’m the starting quarterback at ASU and we go to a bowl or we go to the College Football Playoff and they’re halfway through basketball season, by the time I go over it’s already February so that would be a really hard transition.”
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

While several teams are targeting Jones, Gorney reported that Arizona State is the main program pursuing him in both football and basketball. That could give Dillingham and the football program the chance to land the four-star athlete while also adding a talented player to the Sun Devils basketball team for head coach Bobby Hurley


This article first appeared on Arizona State Sun Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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