ARIZONA STATE FOOTBALL

Returning players think Sun Devil defense will be better in 2014

Mar 27, 2014, 10:22 PM | Updated: 10:29 pm

Follow @CraigAZSports...

TEMPE, Ariz. — It’s hard not to notice.

As the Arizona State Sun Devils continue working out this spring on the Bill Kajikawa Football Practice Fields, the number of faces missing on defense is staggering.

“It’s Will (Sutton) gone. (Alden) Darby gone. Rob (Nelson) gone. Osahon (Irabor) gone,” redshirt senior defensive back Damarious Randall said. “It actually is kind of different out here.”

Add Carl Bradford, Davon Coleman, Gannon Conway, Anthony Jones and Chris Young to the list of the departed and “it’s crazy,” according to redshirt sophomore Salamo Fiso. “We’re going to miss them dudes.”

In total, the Sun Devils must replace nine starters due to graduation or leaving early for the NFL.

The two starters who do return are Randall (nine starts) and Fiso (10 starts).

“We just need people to fill in,” Fiso said on Thursday. “We need people to lead and do their part. We’ve just got to play as one.”

As big a number as nine starters lost appears to be, the 2014 cupboard isn’t completely bare.

Junior defensive tackle Jaxon Hood, who is sitting out spring practice with a ligament injury in his right hand, started five games last season, including the Holiday Bowl. Redshirt sophomore Viliami Moeakiola made four starts at free safety and another at linebacker, while redshirt junior defensive back Lloyd Carrington started three games.

Plus several other players, like defensive lineman Marcus Hardison and defensive back Rashad Wadood, saw significant playing time. Hardison, listed at 6-5 and 298 pounds, is “going to be a big asset to our team” according to Fiso.

And then there are the new faces.

Both Fiso and Randall pointed to early-enrollee D.J. Calhoun, a much-heralded linebacker recruited out of El Cerrito, Calif.

“He’s running with the ones,” Fiso said. “As a freshman, I remember my freshman year, everything was so crazy, but he’s really learning.”

Of course this is only spring. The season doesn’t kick off for another five months. In other words, there is still time.

Yet, for a unit that is looking to replace nine starters, Randall believes at the end of the day, ASU will be better defensively than last season.

“Because we’ll have a lot less mental errors…we’ll be more sound and disciplined,” he said.

Fiso agreed.

“We’ve got the defense. We just need to be more disciplined, get in the film room and play smart, play where we don’t have to think too much,” he said. “We’re closer as a team. We don’t have many superstars. We don’t have people playing for draft stock. We’re just all playing for one.”

Arizona State Football

...

Arizona Sports Video

Video: What is Bobby Hurley’s future at Arizona State?

On the latest State of the Sun Devil podcast the guys react to the end of men's basketball season, and wonder what the future of the program will be and how the offseason will unfold. Plus, reactions to football's pro day.

3 days ago

ASU football field...

Dan Bickley

Arizona State reaches rock bottom at end of Pac-12 stay

Rock bottom is mostly a metaphor, a cliché for sports teams that have fallen and can’t get up. But you can find it on the map at ASU.

4 days ago

Michael Crow, Arizona State University president...

Kevin Zimmerman

Now would be a good time for Arizona State to hire an athletic director

Who's to make a decision on Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley without an athletic director? Michael Crow must make a decision soon.

4 days ago

ASU QB Drew Pyne...

Arizona Sports

Former ASU starting QB Drew Pyne headed to Missouri

After playing in just two games in his ASU football career, quarterback Drew Pyne is moving on to the Missouri Tigers.

8 days ago

Sparky's Fairway at Mountain America Stadium...

Tyler Drake

Sparky’s Fairway golf takes over Arizona State’s Mountain America Stadium

ASU's Mountain America Stadium is trading in its hash marks for yardage markers as Sparky's Fairway takes center stage beginning Thursday.

11 days ago

...

Arizona Sports Video

Video: What does Arizona State men’s basketball need to do against Bronny James and USC?

On the latest edition of State of the Sun Devils, the guys discuss what Arizona State men's basketball needs to do next.

13 days ago

Returning players think Sun Devil defense will be better in 2014