El Cerrito graduate has grown into role as ASU linebacker
As only the seventh Arizona State football player to start a season opener as a true freshman, DJ Calhoun made a great impression when he arrived in Tempe.
This season, the 2014 El Cerrito graduate is putting the finishing touches on a college career that ASU fans won’t soon forget.
Calhoun, a 6-foot, 234-pound senior, is second on the team with 61 tackles, 6½ of those for losses. He enters Saturday’s Pac-12 Conference home game against No. 11 USC with 199 career tackles, 32½ for loss, 15 sacks and four pass deflections.
This season, Calhoun — who returned an onside kickoff for a touchdown last year in a 51-41 home win over Cal — is fourth in the Pac-12 in tackles per game (8.7). Teammate Christian Sam is first (9.7).
“I think DJ has elevated his game tremendously,” Arizona State coach Todd Graham said last week after the Sun Devils defeated then-No. 5 Washington 13-7. Sam and Calhoun “are kind of the heart of the defense.”
Calhoun, a 2013 first-team All-Metro linebacker, entered Arizona State as a fast, hardhitting 190-pound outside linebacker.
With 35 tackles (seven for loss), he was named a freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and was All-Pac-12 honorable mention.
After a rough sophomore season — just 20 tackles (5.5 sacks) — “it was time to grow up,” Calhoun told SunDevils.com. “I had to turn around the inner person.”
The death of his grandfather, with whom he was very close, also woke up Calhoun.
He dedicated his junior season to his grandfather and responded by leading the team with 77 tackles, 11½ for loss. With a continued commitment to the weight room — he’s gained 44 pounds since he first arrived — Calhoun is a big force in the middle.
“I feel like I’ve grown up to be a man since I got here,” he said.
Arizona State junior receiver Jalen Harvey, who starred with Calhoun and UCLA standout safety Adarius Pickett at El Cerrito, said Calhoun has always had a strong presence.
“If you come to the middle of the field, watch out,” Harvey told SunDevils.com. “DJ is going to bring the wood.”
With 4.62-second speed in the 40-yard-dash, Calhoun is projected as a possible lateround pick in the 2018 NFL draft. If those dreams aren’t realized, he said, he hopes to become a firefighter and a “wonderful father and a wonderful person.” Briefly: Harvey has 22 catches, for 390 yards and a touchdown this season. He hurt his knee in a 30-10 win over Utah on Saturday but practiced with the team this week. … Pickett, the 2013 Metro Player of the Year, has 44 tackles, two sacks and an interception for the Bruins, who visit Washington on Saturday. … Another Arizona State standout, quarterback Manny Wilkins (San Marin-Novato) ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 1,837 passing yards. … UC Davis junior wide receiver Keelan Doss (Alameda) was added to the Walter Payton Award watch list last week. He has 66 catches for 976 yards and seven touchdowns. UC Davis (3-4) hosts Cal Poly on Saturday.