TEMPE — Arizona State’s 2025 pass rush is far beyond the pace of last year, despite minimal changes to the personnel rotating through.
The unit racked up six sacks in the 27-24 win over TCU on Friday, bringing its total to 19 on the year after five games. It took ASU nine games last season to reach the same mark, and it finished with 24 in 14 games.
Position coaches maintained over the offseason it was very close to being more impactful, it just couldn’t get home to quarterbacks as much as it broke through fronts.
Now that it’s breaking through, head coach Kenny Dillingham is crediting the developed maturity to understand how each player impacts the other.
“They’re starting to learn how to rush together,” Dillingham said postgame. “Our twist games are really, really good. They’re showing up. We’re starting to learn that like it’s not the person who goes first who gets the sack. It’s the wrapper most of the time. It’s the contained player.
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“Whereas in the past it was like, ‘Man, I’m on the wrap. Why do I got to be on the wrap? Why can’t I be in the game? Or why can’t I have the two-way?’ Well, the group is matured and they’re understanding that when you team rush, it opens everything up, right?”
Wrapping is a central part of many pass rushes, with interior linemen looping behind an edge rusher — or the other way around — to throw off the offensive line’s timing and understanding of where each rusher is coming from.
Once the offensive line is thinking for that extra second, edge rushers can pin the ears back and go to work.
“That’s how it all works together,” Dillingham said. “You team rush and then you don’t team rush, or you team rush but you send guys on one-on-ones. And they’re playing the twist games and you’re just playing one-on-ones on the edge to the B-gap. So our guys are are learning how to play together.”
And the ASU pass rush made up of returning veterans was able to tee off as a result.
Prince Dorbah, who tied to lead the Sun Devils in sacks in 2023, had his first three sacks of the season on Friday to lead the way. His strip sack in a tied game with 1:42 left deep in TCU territory prevented the Horned Frogs from a go-ahead score and set up a game-winning field goal from Jesus Gomez.
“We knew all game that we had an advantage up front, so we liked our matchups all game,” Dorbah said postgame. “Coaches just told us to go rush, communicate, play with each other.
“My mindset was just trust my teammates, they got my back. Go out and give it my all at the end of the day. … We’ve been doing this (expletive) for so long, so like me just going out there, playing football, going after the quarterback and just getting him. That’s just our main goal every single play we’re out there.”
Fellow edge rushers Clayton Smith and Elijah O’Neal each picked up one and linebacker Keyshaun Elliott had one of his own.
ASU’s 3.8 sacks per game leads the Big 12 entering Saturday, well in front of Kansas’ 3.25 per game.
The fact the Sun Devils have seen the jump they have with all of their 19 sacks coming from returning players is a credit to the coaching staff for how they’ve developed the rushers and schemed up the wraps and other moves.
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