Even though he didn't arrive on campus until August, Arizona State knew that junior-college transfer Jaelen Strong was going to be its No. 1 receiver this season. He is exceeding those expectations.
Strong has 24 receptions for 330 yards and two touchdowns through three games, including back-to-back 100-yard performances against Wisconsin and Stanford. The redshirt sophomore did much of his damage after the Cardinal built a 39-7 lead, with 70 of his 168 yards and his touchdown catch coming on three receptions in the fourth quarter.
Strong will have to be more explosive in the early stages of this week's game against a USC defense that has used a dominant pass-rush and ferocious set of safeties to overcome occasionally shaky play from its cornerbacks. Strong also needs to stabilize a receiving corps that has struggled with drops.
"I've seen more drops in two weeks than I've seen around here in a year and a half," Arizona State coach Todd Graham told the Arizona Republic. "It's just a lack of concentration."
Strong is already starting to draw comparisons to Cordarrelle Patterson -- who played only 12 games at Tennessee before being drafted in the first round this year by the Minnesota Vikings -- and they surely won't cease if Strong decides to declare for the draft after just one season at the FBS level. However, the comparison doesn't exactly fit.
Patterson is an athletic marvel with rare explosiveness in the open field, whereas the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Strong excels at using his frame to physically overpower defenders in the mold of Anquan Boldin.
"We're going to have to play really well, be really aggressive with (Strong) at the line of scrimmage and take him out of his game," USC head coach Lane Kiffin told the Los Angeles Times.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
