Sandwiched between trips to Auburn and Big 12 for Colorado, an official visit to Tempe convinced 6-5 252-pound Kentucky tight end transfer Khamari Anderson that the Sun Devils were the best fit for him. Consequently, Anderson, who has two years of eligibility, announced his pledge to ASU on Sunday.
"First of all, the coaches," Anderson explained his decision. "The coaches are different, and the culture that they established up there is definitely something I can add to and be a part of. They get the ball to the tight end; they have a good quarterback situation...it's really everything. So, I knew it would be a great fit. I love the scenery. Coming from Detroit, seeing the mountains and how beautiful everything was, you can't beat that. It's like paradise.
"I love Coach Mohns' (tight ends coach Jason Mohns) faith. That's something that's a big part of (0:36) who I am. He's a joyful guy. When I got to watch practice, I could tell he's a very intense coach and coaches with passion. He feels that I can stretch the field, and with a guy like me it allows us to be in 12 personnel with two receiving threats at tight end with me and (current ASU tight end) Chamon Metayer."
Anderson will add experience to a position group that will have two seniors in 2025, Chamon Metayer, a second-team All-Big 12 selection, and junior Cameron Harpole, after losing Markeston Douglas, who decided to transfer back to Florida State after spending the 2024 season in Tempe. Next year, they will have three underclassmen, Jayden Fortier and James Giggey, who both redshirted this season, as well as incoming freshman and four-star prospect Aaron Ia.
Anderson was a four-star prospect out of Detroit Cass Tech, who was the No. 6 prospect in the state of Michigan in the 2022 class and the No. 14 tight end nationally in that group. In college, he played in 11 games as a backup in each of his two seasons for Kentucky. As a true freshman in 2023, he had one reception for the Wildcats, and this past season, he hauled in five catches for 29 yards. He knows that others saw him as an underutilized player in that program, which naturally motivates him to change the narrative at his next stop.
"I'm really just trying to prove it to myself," Anderson remarked. "I'm not trying to prove it to anybody, but I guess you could say I'm trying to show the world what I can do. Coming to a team that just won a Big 12 championship and is going to be the quarterfinals of the playoffs definitely factored was a factor. I'm coming into a program that's winning, and that's my goal to help them. I'm ready to go."