Speak of the Devils Podcast Sun Devil Football All-Quarter Century Team: Defense and Special Teams
Before the 2025 season kicks off for Arizona State, Brad Denny and I recently took a comprehensive look back at the first 25 years of the 21st century for Sun Devil football and named our All-Quarter Century Team.
This list includes a variety of program legends and Hall of Famers, but compiling the team also required some extremely difficult—and in some cases, controversial —decisions.
Defensive End: Terrell Suggs (2000-02), Dexter Davis (2005-09)
The most dominant player at any position for ASU over the past quarter century and possibly the school’s most dominant competitor of any era, few selections to this team are as much of a “no-brainer” as Terrell Suggs at defensive end.
Suggs’ 2002 season stands among the most incredible single-season efforts in college football history as he set the NCAA single-season record with 24.0 quarterback sacks, adding a nation’s best 31.5 tackles for loss that year. He cleaned up on a laundry list of postseason accolades, including the Rotary Lombardi, Bronko Nagurski, and Ted Hendricks Awards, while also being named a Unanimous All-American, the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, and the defensive winner of the 2002 Morris Trophy.
Far from just a one-year wonder, Suggs posted double-digit sacks in each of his first two seasons before his explosive junior year, and after being named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2000, he was then named a Third-Team All-American in 2001.
A 2022 inductee to ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame, Suggs was chosen 10th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft, enjoyed a decorated 17-year pro career, and before long should be inducted into both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
Dexter Davis shares similarities to Suggs in that he was a local high school product who went on to be the team’s top pass-rusher of his time.
A Phoenix Thunderbird High School graduate who was just a two-star prospect for the 2005 class, Davis ultimately started a school record 50 games at Arizona State and finished his career third on ASU’s all-time sacks list with 31 behind only Suggs and Shante Carver.
A Freshman All-American, First-Team, Second-Team, and Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 pick throughout his Sun Devil career, Davis posted back-to-back double-digit sacks seasons with 10.5 in 2007 and 11 in 2008 and also ranks ninth all-time at ASU with 45.0 career tackles-for-loss.
Interior Defensive Line: Lawrence Guy (2008-10), Will Sutton (2009-13)
Before embarking on what would become a 14-year NFL career, Guy, a former four-star recruit, was a three-time Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 selection. A Freshman All-American in 2008 and the team leader in sacks in 2009, Guy appeared in 35 games with 31 starts for ASU and totaled 122 tackles, including 23.0 for loss with 8.0 sacks.
If not for the superhuman season put together by Terrell Suggs in 2002, we likely would be talking about Will Sutton as the most dominant defender ASU has featured this century, as Sutton’s junior season sparked a two-year run as one of the most fearsome defensive linemen in college football.
A solid rotational lineman for ASU in 2009 and again in 2011 after having to sit out the 2010 season, Sutton enjoyed a meteoric rise into All-America conversations with his spectacular 2012 campaign, which was followed by another elite season in 2013.
The Pac-12 Conference Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year in both 2012 and 2013, the defensive recipient of the league’s Morris Trophy both years as well as a back-to-back first-team all-conference pick, Sutton was a Consensus All-American in 2012 and a First-Team All-American in 2013.
Overall, he ranks eighth all-time at ASU in career sacks and career tackles for loss, and his 13.0 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss in 2012 both stand as the fourth-best single-season efforts in program history.
Last year, Sutton was inducted into ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame as a member of its 2024 class.
Rush Linebacker: Carl Bradford (2010-13)
A devastating force off the edge for ASU, Bradford was one of the nation’s premier threats to strike the backfield from the linebacker position.
In 2012, he totaled 81 tackles, including 20.5 for loss, with 11.5 sacks, and followed that with 61 tackles, including 19.0 for loss, with 8.5 sacks in 2013. A Second-Team All-Pac-12 pick in 2013, Bradford ranks seventh all-time on ASU’s career sacks list (21.5) and 10th in career tackles-for-loss (43.0).
Just Missed the Cut: Antonio Longino (2013-15)
Longino was a steady defender in 2013 and 2014, before an incredible 2015 season in which he posted 22.5 tackles for loss, including 11.5 sacks. That said, Bradford’s two-year run in 2012 and 2013 gives him the edge.
Linebacker: Dale Robinson (2004-05), Brandon Magee (2008-12), Salamo Fiso (2012-16)
Robinson likely does not receive his due recognition now that we’re 20 years past the conclusion of his college career, but those who saw him play in 2004 and 2005 know full well he perfectly embodied his “Manimal” moniker with his ferocious style of play.
The co-winner of the 2005 Pac-10 Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year award with Oregon’s Haloti Ngata, Robinson naturally also earned First-Team All-Pac-10 accolades that season after registering 115 tackles, including 15.0 for loss with 4.0 sacks, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
In 2004, he earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 recognition after tallying 93 tackles, including 13.0 for loss, with 4.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, and an interception.
A fiery, passionate leader, Brandon Magee was a forceful presence for the Sun Devils during the changing of the guard from Dennis Erickson to Todd Graham as head coach.
An Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 pick in 2010, after missing the entire 2011 season due to a preseason foot injury, Magee returned with a vengeance to lead the Sun Devils with 113 tackles in 2012 on his way to Second-Team All-Pac-12 accolades. Magee would go on to play both football and baseball at the professional level.
Does Fiso’s name surprise you, especially considering that we chose him over a certain No. 7 who posted a series of highlight reel hits both at Arizona State and in the NFL? Well, the body of work speaks for itself.
To this day, Fiso ranks fourth all-time at Arizona State with 204 career solo tackles, an achievement made even more impressive given the fact that among the other members of the school’s top five in
that category, outside of Fiso, the most recent defender to play for ASU finished his career in 1992. To clarify, what I mean is that it’s quite rare for a player to amass 200 solo tackles in his career, so for Fiso to have done so speaks volumes about his capabilities as a defender.
Additionally, Fiso ranks 11th all-time on Arizona State’s all-time tackles-for-loss list with 41.0. You know who is tied for 12th? Pat Tillman.
Fiso first became a known figure as a redshirt freshman starter for ASU’s 2013 division champion team, and his top statistical season came in 2015 when he tallied 99 tackles, including an outstanding 20.0 for loss.
Just Missed the Cut: Vontaze Burfict (2009-11); Not Eligible (did not play at least 15 games from 2000-24): Adam Archuleta.
Few players in program history are as polarizing as Burfict in the sense that he could completely dominate opposing offenses with his attacking style of play and at the same time just as easily also be his own – and his team’s – worst enemy with horribly timed penalties or other disciplinary issues. Though he had amazing highs throughout his Sun Devil career, the lack of consistency and reliability in those years keeps him on the sidelines of this list, though he certainly warrants consideration and discussion.
Cornerback: Omar Bolden (2007-11), Chase Lucas (2016-21)
The orchestrator of one of the all-time greatest recruiting commitment videos of all time, Bolden came to ASU with tremendously high expectations after spurning the likes of USC to become a Sun Devil.
Though injury issues forced him to the sidelines for a substantial share of his ASU career, Bolden was still able to produce an outstanding career in Tempe.
A Freshman All-American in 2007 and an Honorable Mention All-American in 2008, Bolden was a First-Team All-Pac-10 selection in 2019 as ASU’s team-leader in interceptions that year.
Bolden was also an elite kickoff returner and ranks second on ASU’s all-time list with two kickoff return touchdowns.
The heart and soul of the Sun Devil roster during his days with the Devils, Chase Lucas, a proud Arizonan from Chandler High School, achieved marks at ASU that are unlikely ever to be matched.
Lucas appeared in 53 games with 49 starts – the second-most starts in program history – and totaled 223 tackles, including 12 for loss, with 28 pass breakups and six interceptions.
A two-time Second-Team All-Pac-12 pick and a one-time Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 selection, due to the extra season of eligibility that was granted to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucas holds a bragging right that may never be duplicated as he was a part of five straight wins over rival Arizona from 2017-21.
Safety: Troy Nolan (2006-08), Damarious Randall (2013-14), Shamari Simmons (2023-24)
Coincidentally, all three safeties chosen for this team played for just two years at Arizona State and had previously spent time at the junior college level; however, each of the three made an incredible impact on the Sun Devil program.
Troy Nolan came to ASU as a JUCO transfer in 2006 but missed that season due to injury, but when he was finally cleared, he became arguably the most dynamic playmaking defender in program history when it comes to cashing in turnovers for touchdowns.
A Second-Team All-Pac-10 pick in both 2007 and 2008, Nolan remains ASU’s all-time career leader with four pick-sixes and added a fumble return for a touchdown to amass an incredible five defensive touchdowns in two seasons. He also posted six interceptions in 2007, a single-season total that has not been exceeded by a Sun Devil since.
A Florida native, Damarious Randall came to ASU by way of nearby Mesa (Ariz.) Community College and quickly became a key figure on Arizona State’s back-to-back 10-win teams in 2013-14.
After posting 87 tackles in 2013, Randall enjoyed a sensational 2014 season that saw him earn Honorable Mention All-America and First-Team All-Pac-12 recognition. That season, he had team highs of 106 tackles and three interceptions, including 87 solo tackles, which ranks seventh all-time for a single season at Arizona State.
Randall went on to be a first-round selection of the Green Bay Packers in the 2015 NFL Draft, making him the first true Sun Devil defensive back to be chosen in the first round since Craig Newsome in 1995, who ironically was also a former junior college transfer and had been selected by the Packers.
Don’t let the incomprehensible lack of major postseason accolades fool you, Shamari Simmons was as widely productive across the entire defensive stat sheet and as vital to the team’s success as any defensive back ASU has had this century.
In 2023, Simmons posted 73 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, with six pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, two fumble recoveries, a sack, and an interception while being named Arizona State’s Team MVP for the year.
Last season, he followed that by again collecting 73 tackles, this time including a team-high 9.0 for loss – remarkable for a defensive back – while adding four forced fumbles, four pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, an interception, and a safety. For his efforts in 2024, Simmons was named ASU’s Defensive MVP for the second consecutive year.
Just Missed the Cut (all secondary positions): Riccardo Stewart (2000-04), Jason Shivers (2001-03), Justin Tryon (2006-07), Osahon Irabor (2009-13), Alden Darby (2010-13), Jordan Simone (2013-15), Kobe Williams (2017-19)
Irabor was under strong consideration for one of the cornerback selections with Tryon and Williams also having strong cases as well, but the safety positions might have been the most difficult cuts to make across the entire team. Alden Darby and Riccardo Stewart were very difficult to leave off the team, as were tackling machine Jason Shivers and fan favorite Jordan Simone.
Kicker: Zane Gonzalez (2013-16)
ASU joins Florida State, Tulane, and UCLA as the only programs to produce multiple Lou Groza Award winners from 2000-2024, so the selection process for this pick included two nationally elite kickers from Arizona State.
In the end, Gonzalez gets the nod, not just for his memorable 2016 season but for the overall consistency across his four-year Sun Devil career.
The 2016 Lou Groza Award winner and a semifinalist for the award in 2013 and 2014, Gonzalez was a Consensus All-American as a senior, a two-time First-Team All-Pac-12 pick, and a one-time Second-Team All-Pac-12 selection.
He finished his career with six FBS career kicking records and is ASU’s all-time leader in categories including career points scored and made field goals, and he also set the school record by connecting on a 59-yard attempt at Colorado as a senior.
Just Missed the Cut: Thomas Weber (2006-10)
The winner of the 2007 Lou Groza Award, if ASU hadn’t later produced the NCAA’s all-time leading kicker, Weber undoubtedly would have gotten the nod.
Punter: Michael Turk (2018-20)
Turk’s Sun Devil career was brief – only 17 games played for ASU in 2019-20 before transferring to Oklahoma – but his achievements warrant this pick. The only punter since 2000 for ASU to twice earn first-team all-conference accolades, Turk remains ASU’s all-time leader in punting averages at 46.2 yards per punt.
Just Missed the Cut: Josh Hubner (2011-12), Eddie Czaplicki (2021-22)
Long Snapper: Mitchell Fraboni (2014-17)
Regarded as an elite snapper during his tenure at ASU, the Phoenix Mountain Pointe High School graduate has been with the Denver Broncos since 2022 and earlier this year signed a 3-year, $4.175 million contract extension with the team.
Kick Returner: Jamal Miles (2009-12)
ASU’s all-time leader with three career kickoff returns for touchdowns, the Peoria High School graduate has two of the top eight seasons in program history in terms of both total kickoff returns and kickoff return yards.
A Second-Team All-Pac-12 kickoff returner in 2011, Miles’ two kickoff return touchdowns that season are matched only by Terry Battle in 1996 for the Sun Devil single-season record.
At the time his college career ended, Miles was tied with Rudy Burgess as the school’s all-time leader in career kickoff return yards with 1,517.
Punt Returner: Terry Richardson (2002-06)
At his peak, few punt returners in America were as dangerous as T-Rich, especially throughout his spectacular 2005 season at Arizona State.
A Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-Pac-10 selection as a returns specialist in 2005, Richardson returned two punts for touchdowns that season and his 337 total punt return yards are the fifth-most in a season in school history and the only top five entry on that list since 1970.
For his career, Richardson averaged 13.2 yards on punt returns and 28.7 yards on kickoff returns.
Just Missed the Cut: Tim White (2015-16)
White was heavily leaned upon as a returns specialist during his time in Tempe, as in just two years he broke the school record for career kickoff returns (69) and both single-season (972) and career kick return yardage (1,681), while also establishing the top two single-game kick return yardage totals in school history (177 vs. West Virginia and 169 vs. Utah, both in 2015). White also added one kick return touchdown and one punt return touchdown during his career, including a tie of the school record with a 100-yard return against Utah in 2015.
