(Photo via Brendan Belfield/WCSN)
Entering the 2022 season, Arizona State Football had an idea of what its defense could be – a group with returners and newcomers with a lot of experience. ASU’s defense also had the advantage of promoting within the program, elevating former defensive backs coach Donnie Henderson to defensive coordinator. Henderson has explained that he plans to keep the defense the same from last season, creating continuity in the defense.
Despite the continuity in the defense, the Sun Devils are welcoming many newcomers to the defense, even asking some to play crucial roles in the 2022 game plan. However, the newcomers have accumulated their own experience in other programs, making the task slightly easier.
“I feel like because we have a lot of experience, I think that’s what was big, but transferring here and grabbing a lot of the guys in the portal a lot of the dudes have played,” graduate defensive back Khoury Bethley said. “So, yeah, we all [are] coming from different places, but at the end of the day, we know what the expectation is. And we know what’s at what’s on the line for this season.”
Having the player experience is a plus for Arizona State, but the experience doesn’t end there. Multiple coaches on staff have many years of experience in the NFL, which could help elevate the team reach higher levels.
“I mean, it helps a lot,” redshirt junior linebacker Connor Soelle explained about the coaches’ experience. “We have a lot of really great coaches all across the board on the defensive staff. A lot of NFL experience. So, they get us really prepared for the games. Our scouting report is always really good. So really thankful for that. And yeah, it translates a lot. So we definitely see it a lot on the field and game.”
The experience on the defensive side of the ball has helped the Sun Devils create versatility in their personnel groups. During camp, players have rotated in the secondary. The rotation makes sense as the defensive back position is arguably ASU’s deepest position with 21 players, creating an almost endless list of combinations.
“It just brings versatility to the defense,” junior defensive back Chris Edmonds said. “I know whoever’s out there with me, I trust them, and I can play with them. And vice versa. They know when they’re out there with me they can trust me [and] they can play with me. So just knowing like one day I could be playing with [redshirt junior defensive back] Willie [Harts] for one down I could play with [Bethley] or [redshirt junior defensive back Jordan Clark]. And we all just building that chemistry together. It just makes us all great.”
The chemistry and flexibility that has developed during fall camp have helped the Sun Devils develop players across the secondary. Despite multiple personnel packages, there’s only so much playing time to go around. However, the practices have helped the players continue to develop and be ready when their number is called.
“I feel like it serves us well. So being able to get reps with different guys, like building chemistry with different guys, it just helps us a lot,” Edmonds said. “Right now, we have like 20 guys in the DB room. And like most of us, we can all go out there and play. A lot of us can go out there and be that one. So when you have that much depth, just say if a guy goes down, the next guy that steps up, you’re not really losing a step. It’s just like another one is playing.”
Despite the number of players who could play across the defense, playing time couldn’t be more of an afterthought. The goal that ASU has been talked about all off-season is to prove the outside noise wrong and win football games.
“I only had one goal, and that was just to play my first college football game. And after that, I just wanna help the team win,” redshirt junior defensive linemen Dylan Hall said. “As long as we win, I really don’t care about nothing else. I just want to win games and hopefully get a ring.”
No matter who is on the field for Arizona State, the keys to a successful season is understood among its players.
“Consistency. I feel like I’ve said that a lot, but consistency is the number one thing,” Soelle said. “You can’t let your highs get too high. You can’t let your lows get too low. You got to say all across the board and make sure you know what you got every single play, and if we do that, then we’ll be fine. We don’t have to do anything extra. We just have to be who we are and play as we do.”
