Huskies beware: Sun Devils can bring the heat
TODD MILLES; The News Tribune
Aggravation, and a few shameless pokes by position coaches, have set in among the Pacific-10 Conference’s top pass-rushers, including a pair from this weekend’s Arizona State-Washington game in steamy Tempe, Ariz.
The league’s top five returning defensive ends – ASU’s Dexter Davis, UW’s Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, Arizona’s Brooks Reed, Oregon’s Will Tukuafu and Stanford’s Tom Kaiser – combined for 401/2 sacks last season.
Halfway through this season, that same quintet has combined for 11. The three leading returners – Davis, Te’o-Nesheim and Reed, who all ranked in the top 35 nationally in 2008 – have 31/2 between them.
A sack-out? It has been so far. If last weekend is any indication, signs are pointing more toward a breakout than an extended slump.
Heading into its matchup at Washington State last weekend in Pullman, the Sun Devils – widely considered to employ the most ferocious defensive front seven in the conference – had a total of three sacks in four games.
“Coaches were letting us know that stat,” said Saia Falahola, one of the starting defensive tackles for the Sun Devils. “We put it on ourselves.”
Especially Davis.
“He was anxious to get that first one,” Falahola said. “He knew they were going to come.”
And they did, for everybody. Nine ASU players totaled a school-record 12 sacks against the depleted Cougars; Davis had 11/2 of them.
Opponents have tried different means to offset the Sun Devils’ pressure. Idaho State and Louisiana-Monroe incorporated a quick-passing game. Georgia used a bullish rushing attack between the tackles. And Oregon State was, well, Oregon State.
“We were able to run,” Beavers coach Mike Riley said. “That gave us some time with our play-action (passing). We, at times, brought a lot of people in to protect to get the ball out on an individual route. We tried bootlegs and sprints just to get them from getting to our quarterback (Sean Canfield). We really respected that defense.”
UW coach Steve Sarkisian assessed ASU’s front as “as good a front as we’ve seen this year.”
Their personnel:
• Davis is the star. He’s constantly double-teamed because he easily beats man-to-man blocking with his natural leverage.
• James Brooks is the other defensive end. At 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds, he dwarfs Davis in size. Falahola calls him “a beast.”
“He’s young and has a ways to go,” Falahola said. “He shows great potential.”
• Falahola and Lawrence Guy are the defensive tackles. Throw in freshman phenom Vontaze Burfict and Mike Nixon behind them at linebacker, and the group is a handful.
“ASU’s front seven is as good as there is in the Pac-10, if not the country,” WSU coach Paul Wulff said. “They’re real physical, and play a number of players. That combination was not a good matchup for us.”
Extra points
Receiver
Jordan Polk suffered cartilage damage in his right knee during practice Wednesday, and will be sidelined up to two weeks. … Receiver
Devin Aguilar (head) ran only through individual drills Thursday but is expected to play Saturday. …Running back
Chris Polk will start the game as the UW kickoff returner, but
Quinton Richardson,
Curtis Shaw and
Cole Sager could be part of the rotation. ...
Adam Long took all of the repetitions with the first-string defense this week. Richardson is dealing with an ankle injury, so expect Long to make his first start at cornerback.
Todd Milles: 253-597-8442
todd.milles@thenewstribune.com
