2021 CFP SEASON PREVIEW AUTUMN 11

ARIZONA STATE
#4 PAC 12 SOUTH: CONF 2-2, HOME 0-1, AWAY 2-1
Head Coach: Herm Edwards (4) OC: Zak Hill (2) DC: Antonio Pierce (4)
OFFENSE:
QB: Returns starter dual-threat 6’3 junior Jayden Daniels (701 YDS, 5 TD, 1 INT passing, 223 YDS, 4 TD rushing in
short 2020 season, 2943 YDS, 17 TD, 2 INT in 2019) who is expected to be an early-round draft pick. Also returns
backup Trenton Bourguet (24 YDS).
RB: Returns Rachaad White (420 YDS, 5 TD rushing, 151 YDS, 1 TD receiving), 235lb Deamonte Trayanum (290 YDS,
4 TD), Daniyel Ngata (108 YDS, 1 TD) and Jackson He (1 TD).
WR: Lost Frank Darby (1 TD in 2019, 616 YDS, 8 TD in 2019) to the NFL. Starting Utah WR Bryan Thompson (187
YDS, 1 TD in 2020, 461 YDS in 2019) transferred in. Will have four receivers who were rated as 4-star recruits: 6’7
Johnny Wilson (89 YDS), LV Bunkley-Shelton (100 YDS), 6’1 Elijhah Badger (true freshman) and 6’1 Chad Johnson Jr
(true freshman). Also returns Geordon Porter (120 YDS, 1 TD), Ricky Pearsall (86 YDS, 1 TD) and 6’3 Andre Johnson.
TE: Returns 6’8 Curtis Hodges (98 YDS, 1 TD). Redshirt Jalin Conyers (2020 4-star) transferred in from Oklahoma.
Geor’quarius Spivey (153 YDS in career) transferred in from Mississippi State.
OL: Four starters are back. Redshirt freshman Triston Miller transferred in from North Carolina.
DEFENSE:
DL: Returns one of the best defensive linemen in Jermayne Lole (24 TOT, 1.5 sacks). Also returns 325lb DJ Davidson
(19 TOT, 1 sack), Tyler Johnson (16 TOT, 5 sacks), DE Michael Matus (10 TOT, 1.5 sacks) and 305lb Tautala Pesefea
(6 TOT). DE Travez Moore (7 TOT, 1.5 sacks in 8 games) transferred in from LSU. 315lb Matthew Pola-Mao (2019
redshirt, 2020 opt out) transferred in from Kansas State.
LB: Returns Kyle Soelle (26 TOT, 1 INT), Merlin Robertson (24 TOT, 1 INT), Darien Butler (15 TOT), Connor Soelle (5
TOT), Dylan Devito (4 TOT), Caleb McCullough (3 TOT, 1 INT) and Jordan Banks (3 TOT, 1 INT). Xavier Steel (42 TOT,
1 sack, 1 INT, 1 FF in 2019) transferred in from UMass. Freshman Eric Gentry was a highly recruited 3-star.
SF: Lost Aashari Crosswell to the NFL. Leading tackler Evan Fields (38 TOT) could be a future NFL prospect. Also
returns Deandre Pierce (24 TOT, 1 INT) and Kejuan Markham (5 TOT).
CB: Returns Timarcus Davis (16 TOT), Jordan Clark (16 TOT), Chase Lucas (15 TOT), Keon Markham (9 TOT) and Jack
Jones (5 TOT).
SPECIAL TEAMS:
KR: Christian Zensejas (9/9 PAT, 2/4 FG) and Jack Luckhurst (9/9 PAT, 1/1 FG) entered the transfer portal. DJ Taylor
will return kicks. A combination of freshmen Jace Feely and Eddie Czaplicki and FSU grad-transfer Logan Tyler
(made 1 FG, 3 PAT) will kick off and handle placekicking duties.
PR: Starting punter Michael Turk (47.1 YD AVG) initially declared for the NFL then decided to return before
entering the transfer portal in early August. Punter Logan Tyler (42.5 YD AVG) transferred in from Florida State.
SPIN
Tempe, AZ – Edwards’ first season with the Sun Devils started the youngest defense in power five football. Now
they are deep at backup with players that could be starting on a unit that ranked as the PAC-12’s best defense last
season. Returns 20 starters from last season which is tied for the most of any power five
team. There are 14 players returning who would have exhausted their eligibility if not for the
bonus year granted by the NCAA. Returns 11 starters on defense. The PAC-12’s top-ranked
rushing offense is back (264.3 YDS/G) which ranked 7 th nationally. The offense also ranked
12 th nationally in scoring 40.3 PPG. However, the passing game was lagging with only 194.3
YDS/G (28 th worst in FBS). Those numbers could be misleading since they only played three
games in 2020. This team should be in the mix for a divisional and conference title. Looking
at the schedule, ASU should sweep the non-conference games that features zero P5
opponents. A home game vs USC and road trip to Utah will be big in determining the Pac-12
South.
Twitter @Autumn_Eleven