Sun Devils’ secondary gets an extreme makeover
Five of Arizona State’s first- and second-team defensive backs were not here last season. Only one of them arrived in time for spring practice.
Five other newcomers are waiting in the wings, four of which are coming to ASU this summer.
It’s an extreme makeover unlike anything in a single ASU position group perhaps ever. Even the three returners in the 2 deep have only a combined seven starts in a cumulative six seasons.
Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, in his first season at ASU and 40th overall in college coaching, tells his green secondary players, “I have to treat you guys like kindergartners.” Not because they lack talent – Bennett believes the speed and athleticism is much improved – but even in a system designed to get them into the correct position, there is a steep learning curve in Division I and the Pac-12 in particular.
“My answer to that is let’s be sound, let’s be simple and try to give them a chance to succeed with their ability,” Bennett said.
Three junior college transfers already are in the defensive back 2 deep
with another to contend once healthy. Kobe Williams and Joey Bryant are expected to start at cornerback in the opener Thursday against New Mexico State. At least three freshmen will get playing time in the back end, two of those fresh out of high school.
Here is a primer on the secondary transfers.
Kobe Williams
5-10, 162 pounds, sophomore, Long Beach City College
Williams thought he played well enough as a junior and senior at Long Beach Poly High School to warrant major college attention. With a 3.8 grade point average, academics were certainly not a problem.
“I was very upset,” he said of his only scholarship offers coming from Division II Dixie State and Western New Mexico. “Most people go to a junior college for grades, but I felt I had everything.”
Joey Bryant
6-1, 180, junior, Mt. San Antonio College
Bryant played high school football at Saint Louis School in Honolulu with quarterback Marcus Mariota as a teammate.
So yes, if you’re doing the math, Bryant at 25 is older than your typical college junior.
He worked as a busboy at Roy’s restaurant near Waikiki Beach, making $160 per night while keeping an eye on ESPN on the TV near the bar where his real interest stood.
Bryant had a late growth spurt – he was 5-6 in high school – and with the financial support of his grandparents made it onto the Mt. SAC football team. And track team, too, which proved more than an afterthought when his football scholarship opportunities dried up because he was one class short of graduating after spring 2016.
Darien Cornay
5-11, 184, sophomore, Cerritos College
Injuries derailed Cornay’s college options coming out of Los Alamitos High School in Orange County, Calif. He missed most of his junior season with a broken collarbone and couldn’t make up for it as a senior due to hip and ankle injuries.
“I had one (FCS) offer, but I didn’t want to settle,” he said. “The plan was to do one year at Cerritos to show off my ability, and that’s exactly what I did.”
DeMonte King
6-1, 193, junior, Montana State/ Long Beach City College
King had some academic issues that kept him from signing with a major college out of high school but not FCS Montana State, where he redshirted in 2014 before starting in 2015 for nine games.
“I didn’t like my situation,” King said. “So instead of complaining about it, I decided I had to do something about it. The best route was to go to a JC down the street from my house, take whatever like a man and see what happens from there.
“I had to make something happen. I was confident because I knew I have ability.”