(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
The Arizona State defense was dealt another blow on Wednesday afternoon, as defensive back Marcus Ball announced his retirement from football due to medical conditions.
Ball is now the third returning starter from last year’s secondary to walk away from the team; safety Armand Perry also gave up football during the summer citing health issues, while cornerback Kareem Orr transferred to Chattanooga after spring ball.
With Ball, the team’s second leading tackler from last season, added to the list of non-graduate departures on the Sun Devils’ back end, we break down the three biggest ways his retirement impacts this year’s team.
Another Experienced Leader Lost
As mentioned above, Ball in now the third starter from last year’s secondary to have left the program for reasons other than graduating. Of last season’s top seven tacklers, D.J. Calhoun is now the only ASU player left on the roster.
For a defense that was already lacking true leadership on its back end, the loss of a fifth-year senior is another step in the wrong direction.
“It’s going to be a great loss,” cornerback Joey Bryant said. “…He has a lot of knowledge; he had been here longer than a lot of us.”
Ball struggled to find playing time during his freshman and sophomore seasons in Todd Graham’s team, but emerged as a key member of the unit in 2016. Ball found a home at bandit safety, sparking a career season.
The Ohio native had 64 tackles, an interception, and was the only Sun Devil to win a Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week award.
He also rounded into form as a leader. Though the school ended the year with the nation’s worst pass defense, Ball’s contributions didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates.
“He’s a really good player, it hit a lot of us,” Bryant said. “He is still going to stick around, help us coach a little bit.”
Replacing another standout player will be a job the Sun Devils weren’t expecting, or hoping to do, a week into a new season.
“Sometimes there are just lots of things in life that are unfair, and that is one of them,” head coach Todd Graham said. “He’s a great player, we hate to lose him. But, in life, it kind of puts things in perspective.”
SPUR Position Belongs to Rhodes
Senior J’Marcus Rhodes had nailed himself down as the starting SPUR linebacker this fall thanks to a strong preseason camp. Ball had been right behind the JUCO transfer on the depth chart however, providing experienced depth at a crucial position on Phil Bennett’s defense.
With Ball gone, the job is now completely Rhodes’ responsibility. He is the only player on the roster listed as SPUR with any sort of extensive experience.
Rhodes had a solid season opener against New Mexico State, making 9 tackles (8 solo) in ASU’s 37-31 win.
Last year, Rhodes was Ball’s backup at bandit safety. He made 30 tackles in 6 games in his first season in Tempe. Rhodes has the necessary mix of tackling strength and coverage ability to thrive at the hybrid defensive back-linebacker position. He was a cover cornerback at Kilgore Junior College, where he had six career interceptions.
Now thought, he will have little proven backup behind him to bail him out if his performance dips.
Chance for Whiley to See the Field
Tyler Whiley was a four-star recruit when he left Chaparral High School in 2014, a consensus top 10 player in Arizona.
The 6-foot defensive back had struggled to find the field in his first two seasons at ASU though. This fall, Bennett moved Whiley into the SPUR position, where he slotted in as the number three option. With Ball’s unexpected announcement however, Whiley will be thrust into the backup role, and will assuredly see more playing time because of it.
Whiley played in just four games last year, collecting three tackles and a sack (all of his tackles came in the Week One game against Northern Arizona). At 210 pounds, Whiley has developed the size to play SPUR, coupling it with the wide receiver speed he picked up while playing as a pass catcher in high school. The question now is whether he can piece it all together on game day.
Bennett was impressed with Whiley’s play this preseason camp. Even being stuck behind the two seniors Rhodes and Ball on the depth chart, Whiley stuck out to his defensive coordinator throughout fall ball.
“(Whiley’s) had some good moments,” Bennett said last month when asked how he felt about his depth at SPUR. “So, I think we have done a good job there.”
Bennett will be hoping his praise was warranted. If Rhodes were to get injured, or suffer a dip in performance, Whiley will be the only viable option left to call upon at that position.
The SPUR is a crucial part of making Bennett’s defense work. It will be up to Whiley to ensure the impact of losing Ball only extends to the leadership lost in the locker room, and not the team’s play on the field.
