Under coach Todd Graham, the ASU football team relies on a feast or famine defense that either makes big plays or gives them up.
In 2013 and 2014, when the Sun Devils finished first and second in the Pac-12 South respectively, the unit was fat and happy, led by defensive tackle Will Sutton and safety Damarious Randall, both of whom now take snaps on Sundays.
In 2015, though, they starved.
While often stout against the run, the Sun Devils were picked apart through the air, leading to their demise. ASU’s pass defense was the worst in program history, giving up 337.9 yards per game and forcing the fewest takeaways (21) in the entire Todd Graham era.
Thankfully for ASU, most of its run-stopping front seven is returning, including linebacking standouts redshirt senior Salamo Fiso and juniors DJ Calhoun and Christian Sam.
Added alongside the three stalwarts is redshirt sophomore Tyler Whiley, who Graham has raved about since he stepped on campus. Whiley is slotted second behind redshirt junior Marcus Ball at Spur linebacker.
"(Whiley's) done a great job," Graham said. "He's been one of the most improved players on our defense, and I'm hoping he'll have a great transition to game day."
The back end, however, is a different story.
Hampered by injuries to redshirt sophomore Armand Perry and Jordan Simone, the secondary struggled for most of the season, and there is very little continuity in units.
Including the departure of three starters, ASU lost coach Chris Ball to Memphis and brought in Super Bowl champion TJ Rushing to coach the defensive backs.
Sophomore Kareem Orr, who moved back to his natural position of cornerback this year following a year at safety, is the lone-returning starter from the 2015 squad.
Orr, who led the Sun Devils in interceptions with six, said the Sun Devils have come a long way since a season ago.
“We’ve been eliminating deep balls,” Orr said. “We haven’t been giving up that many during fall camp, so we feel very confident going into this season that we’re going to be much better than we were last year.”
One reason for the confidence is the (sort of) additions to the secondary in Perry and redshirt senior Laiu Moeakiola. Perry missed most of last season with injury and Moeakiola moved this off-season from Spur, where he played for the past two seasons.
“Those are two very good players that I like to play with,” Orr said. “I think we’re going to be very good with them on the back end.”
But that position does have problems, as Moeakiola and Perry have both missed time in fall camp with injuries. So, Graham can't be fully confident in the group's immediate production.
"Am I concerned? Of course I'm concerned," Graham said. "I can tell you that where we're 100 percent healthy, I'm not as concerned."
But with that, Orr said the backfield is ready to get going Saturday and prove themselves to everyone, including themselves.
"We've got a chip on our shoulder," Orr said. "We were the worst defensive back group last year, so we're coming in with the chip. We're not going to get beat over the top. We're trying to eliminate all that."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.
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