TEMPE — ASU football’s biggest advantage this season is continuity, and it’s especially the case on defense where the Sun Devils will replace just one starter.
While that could provide the opportunity for defensive coordinator Brian Ward to become even more creative because not as much time has to be spent teaching scheme, head coach Kenny Dillingham said Tuesday it’s likely that the Sun Devils will play more straight up.
“Just ’cause you’re back, doesn’t mean you need to change or get cute,” Dillingham said. “I think you have to double down on what you’re good at, and then you have to add wrinkles. Can we disguise things better? Do we know how much we can or can’t disguise things?”
The one schematic tweak he suggested that could be made is playing slightly more man coverage due to the returning secondary talent such as Keith Abney II, a junior cornerback earning draft buzz.
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So if the rotation and schemes are mostly established, what is the coach looking for when fall camp opens Wednesday?
“I want our guys to play the game with passion, toughness and physicality,” Dillingham said. “At the end of the day, football is a very simple game. You have to beat the crap out of the person in front of you physically.
“It’s not rocket science. If you move somebody two yards, we’re going to gain yards. If they move you back, the odds are we are not going to gain yards, you have to make special plays all day.”
The “line up and beat them” mentality will lead to more instances where the pass rush is squarely the responsibility of the defensive line, which will then get the benefit of going straight at assignments instead of stunting around other rushers.
But as with any defense, the Sun Devils seek to put enormous stress on offenses for third downs. It’s the getting to those third downs where the emphasis is being placed.
Of course, there are areas on the offense side where toughness and physicality need to show up in the same way. But the defense has the chance to set the tone on that front.
“If you don’t turn the ball over and you whoop the person’s butt in front of you, you’re gonna win a lot of games. Then you add a quarterback, add pieces to that and talent, you’re gonna win a ton of games,” Dillingham said.
Which position will have a new starter on ASU’s defense?
Nickel defensive back Shamari Simmons was the only starter from the 2024 unit to move on, and there are players in the running to replace him.
Montana Warren took the most first-team reps in spring after he was Simmons’ backup for much of the year and started the Peach Bowl in his place due to a targeting call from the Big 12 title game.
Purdue transfer Kyndrich Breedlove, a starter at nickel with three interceptions and four passes defensed in the Big Ten last season, could have just as much of claim to the role after he’s now been acclimated to the system.
Washington State transfer Adrian Wilson, initially recruited by Ward’s staff before the coordinator departed for ASU in 2023, missed spring with an arm injury. He split his snaps between nickel and free safety in 2024, which Ward has said are interchangeable positions in his scheme.
Warren likely has the leg up in the battle thanks to his knowledge of the system, seeing how to play the position firsthand behind Simmons.
Box safety Myles Rowser sets the bar high for physical defensive backs at Arizona State, and it appears to have rubbed off a bit.
“We have enough talent that the talent will take care of itself. It’s the effort and the physicality from that defense that I’m looking forward to,” Dillingham said.
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