Player capsule:Sirri Kandiyeli
Position: offensive lineman
Eligibility:redshirt freshman
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 275pounds
2023 season review:Kandiyeli redshirted in his first college season at Arizona State.
Sun Devil Source analysis:As a relatively lightly recruited 2024 addition out of Mesa Mountain View High School, Kandiyeli's only major scholarship came from the Sun Devils, which contributed to his decision to become Kenny Dillingham's first in-state commitment on Dec. 2, 2022, about one week after Dillingham took the job.
An elite high school student, Kandiyeli was recruited to play football at Cornell and Harvard, among other high-academic schools. He would have likely ended up in the Ivy League or possibly at the Air Force Academy if he had not felt a calling to join the hometown Sun Devils, which offered a scholarship under their prior coaching staff. Former personnel staffer Dave Boller, a friend of prominent local offensive line coach Ron Sowers, who at the time was working with Kandiyeli, presented his candidacy for a scholarship offer to the team's prior line coach, Mike Kavanaugh.
Kandiyeli took a lot of projecting as a high school recruit because he weighed in the 250s as a high school senior, which perhaps contributed to his lack of other major conference scholarship offers. At the time of his signing with the Sun Devils, Kandiyeli said he wanted to get his weight up to as much as 285 pounds by the time his first college preseason camp started. Even so, he was listed by the team at 275 pounds this spring, more than eight months later.
Adding more size and strength is essential for Kandiyeli to have a realistic chance to play in the future for the Sun Devils. He is at least 15 pounds shy of what he'll need to weigh to garner serious consideration at the center position next year or into the future as he seems destined to go through a second developmental year in which he does not get on the field in meaningful reps.
The Sun Devils are very deep along their offensive line, with at least 10 scholarship players ahead of Kandiyeli in the competition for playing time. Senior Leif Fautanu is the team's starting center this year, with senior Cade Briggs and sophom*ore Sean Na'a also ahead of Kandiyeli in the pecking order at the position. A year from now, Fautanu and Briggs will be gone but Na'a and Kandiyeli are in the same class and Na'a is the likely heir apparent to Fautanu at center, though he can also play guard.
One of the limiting factors for Kandiyeli is that his length and size limitations make it unlikely he would play guard any time in the next couple of years. So he has to work very hard to add heft and strength and become so competent at the position that coaches consider playing Na'a at guard, where he will primarily play this season save for an injury to Fautanu. To Kandiyeli's credit, he is extremely mature and level-headed for his age. He appears to have a clear-eyed understanding of his circ*mstances.
Kandiyeli is perhaps a bit further ahead as a pass protector than a run blocker due to his functional posture and footwork, but one-on-ones in spring practices made clear that he's able to be dislodged off his anchor by powerful defensive tackles who could knock him back in the pocket near enough to disrupt the quarterback. Though he performs well in the weight room, additional lower body girth is required to hold up against the type of power he'll reliably go up against at this level.
That lack of size also impacts the capability of Kandiyeli in the run game. He's just not big enough or powerful enough to move bodies the way he wants to even when he gets his hip level low enough to provide good leveraging through his pads. He's technically improved in the last year but it's just not going to be enough, at least this year, without being paired with quite a bit more size and strength.
As the Sun Devils will lose four seniors at the position group after this season, including two of their top three centers, Kandiyeli could be better-positioned for a two-deep opportunity a year from now — but only if he makes significant additional size and strength gains. Even a couple of the team's younger walk-ons, especially redshirt freshman Makua Pule, at 6-foot-3 and 310 pounds, appear to be ahead of Kandiyli from a physical standpoint
Projected depth chart status: Kandiyeli is unlikely to play much this season, with the possible exception of a limited special teams role.
