Spring Preview: Defense and Special Teams

The Sun Devils’ defense and special teams are replacing all but one starter in each unit, so the learning curve in spring practice could be in full effect compared to last year’s veteran unit. Here’s our deep dive into those ASU groups.

Defensive Line

RS-SR Roman Pitre

RS-SR Clayton Smith

RS-SR Emar’rion Winston

SR C.J. Fite

SR Jalen Thompson

RS-JR Blazen Lono-Wong

RS-JR Rashad McKenzie

RS-JR Zac Swanson

JR Jeffrey Manns

JR Kirt Vakalahi

RS-SO MyKeil Gardner

RS-SO Salesi Manu

RS-SO Joshua Shanklin

RS-SO Albert Smith III

RS-SO Ramar Williams

SO Hyrum Vaeono

RS-FR Daeshon Morgan

FR Landen Anderson

FR Julian Hugo

FR Sinei Tengei*

*-Summer arrival

Departures: Anthonie Cooper (exhausted eligibility), Prince Dorbah (exhausted eligibility), Jacob Kongaika (exhausted eligibility), Elijah O’Neal (exhausted eligibility), Ian Shewell (transfer to San Jose State), Justin Wodtly (exhausted eligibility)

With a slew of graduation departures on defense for Arizona State from 2025 to 2026, the Sun Devils received a very relieving bit of offseason news when veteran standout lineman C.J. Fite announced that he would return to Tempe for his senior season.

Fite, a Second-Team All-Big 12 selection as a sophomore in 2024, posted 29 tackles with a sack, a forced fumble, and two pass deflections for the Sun Devils in 2025, and for his three-year career, he’s collected 74 tackles, including 3.0 sacks, three pass deflections, and one forced fumble.

As he enters his final college season, Fite will be counted on not only to be among the top team leaders but also to return to his all-conference form on the field.

The prime candidates to join Fite in the starting lineup are returners Blazen Lono-Wong and Zac Swanson, both of whom have seen consistent playing time as reserves the past two seasons.

Lono-Wong enjoyed his best college season so far as he registered a career-high 16 tackles in 2025. A rare high school signee to remain with the program his entire career, Lono-Wong has 27 career tackles with one sack, while also uniquely starring as a pass-catcher on fake punts, as he has two career receptions for 51 yards.

Swanson, a product of Phoenix’s Brophy Prep, transferred to ASU from Texas prior to the 2024 season and was a solid reserve that year with 17 tackles and half a sack, but last season he appeared in just two games with one tackle.  

Also competing for interior line reps will be MyKeil Gardner and Ramar Williams. Gardner, a local high school product from Peoria’s Liberty High School who transferred from Oregon prior to last season, has battled major injury issues across multiple years and hasn’t seen college game action, ironically, since Oregon’s win over Arizona State in Tempe on November 18, 2023. Williams, also a local high school recruit from Mesa’s Eastmark High School, played in all 13 games last year and posted eight tackles with a pass deflection and a quarterback hurry.  

After the 2025 season, ASU was prepared to replace what essentially amounted to its top four edge rushers, as Prince Dorbah, Elijah O’Neal, Clayton Smith, and Justin Wodtly were seniors in their final years of eligibility. However, in early March, an extremely pleasant surprise hit ASU fans’ timelines in the form of Smith being granted an extra year of eligibility to use for 2026.

A multi-year starter for Arizona State since joining the program prior to the 2023 season as a transfer from Oklahoma, the former five-star recruit has totaled 81 tackles with 13.0 sacks and five pass deflections over his entire college career. All 13.0 sacks have come as a Sun Devil, and he has posted at least 4.0 sacks in each of his three seasons with ASU.

One interesting note is that Smith is technically listed as an “Athlete” on ASU’s online roster, so it will be worth monitoring this spring to see what sort of role he has on offense. In both practices and games, Smith has flashed the ability to catch the ball as well, as he had a 15-yard reception on a fake punt in 2024 and has also caught eyes with his athleticism as a pass-catcher in practice drills.

Though Smith returns, ASU still was tasked with refortifying it edge depth and acquired two veteran rushers in Jalen Thompson of Michigan State and Emar’rion Winston of Baylor, a pair that is expected to join Smith as the primary rotation pieces at edge rusher.

Winston registered 25 tackles with 3.0 sacks last year after beginning his career at Oregon, where he posted 27 tackles with two pass deflections across the 2023-24 seasons. Thompson collected 65 tackles with 4.5 sacks, three pass deflections, and one forced fumble across his three seasons with the Spartans. He reunites with former position coach Diron Reynolds at ASU and arrives in Tempe on the heels of his best collegiate season so far, as he posted single-season career highs of 29 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2025.

With multiple departures from the upper depth chart roles of the edge rusher positions, Roman Pitre and Albert Smith III could be in line for increased playing time and possible two-deep roles this spring and beyond. Last season, Smith appeared in 10 games with five tackles, including a sack and one pass deflection, while Pitre played in 11 games with four tackles and a pass deflection.

Salesi Manu also adds defensive line depth after appearing in two games last year, though he did not record any statistics.

Class of 2025 additions Daeshon Morgan, Rashad McKenzie, and Joshua Shanklin will also add depth along the interior of the defensive line this spring. McKenzie transferred from Washington State prior to last season and appeared in one game for ASU last fall, while Shanklin, one of the top JUCO pass rushers during the 2024 season, redshirted and did not see game action for the Sun Devils last year. Morgan was rated the No. 24 defensive line prospect in the nation by Rivals for the 2025 class and redshirted last season without making a game appearance.

As part of its 2026 signing class, ASU added a trio of junior college defensive linemen in Jeffrey Manns, Hyrum Vaeono, and Kirt Vakalahi in addition to a trio of high school signees in Landen Anderson, Julian Hugo, and Sinei Tengei.

Vakalahi (6-5, 260) was rated as the No. 9 JUCO defensive lineman and the No. 61 overall JUCO prospect by Rivals and also had scholarship offers from programs including Cal, Kansas State, Utah and others. The defensive end is credited with 25 tackles, including 4.0 for loss, with 1.5 sacks in nine games played for New Mexico Military Institute last season.

Vaeono (6-3, 285) was listed as the No. 16 JUCO defensive line recruit and the No. 101 overall junior college prospect by Rivals, while Manns (6-2, 299) was listed as the No. 27 JUCO defensive lineman in the country by Rivals and had competing offers from schools including Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Wisconsin and others. Both are coming in as defensive tackles.

Vaeono appeared in seven games for Butler Community College last season and posted 18 tackles, including 4.5 for loss with 2.5 sacks, while Manns played in 12 games for Hutchinson Community College in 2025 with 31 tackles, including 7.5 for loss with 4.0 sacks, along with a fumble recovery, an interception, and three blocked kicks.

Hugo was rated the No. 80 edge prospect by Rivals but has a four-star Rivals Industry Ranking and picked ASU offer offers from the likes of Houston, Kansas State, North Carolina, Pitt, SMU and Texas Tech, while Anderson was rated the No. 50 defensive line recruit for 2026 by Rivals and also had scholarship offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma State and others.

Local signee Sinei Tengei of Westwood High School is slated to join the program this summer, and therefore, the Edge prospect will not be available for spring practices. Tengei was a three-star prospect who chose ASU over scholarship offers, including Boise State, BYU, and Iowa State.

Linebacker

RS-SR Zyrus Fiaseu

JR Martell Hughes

JR Owen Long

RS-SO Ramere Davis

RS-SO Prayer Young-Blackgoat

SO Isaiah Iosefa

RS-FR Tristan Bacon

RS-FR Lee Fuimaono

FR Oscar Aguilar, Jr.

FR Mason Marden

Departures: Jordan Crook (exhausted eligibility), Keyshaun Elliott (exhausted eligibility), Krew Jackson (exhausted eligibility), Tate Romney (transfer to Oklahoma State)

ASU’s starting linebacker duo of Jordan Crook and Keyshaun Elliott was nothing short of a force in 2025 as both defenders enjoyed outstanding seasons individually and collectively formed perhaps the top linebacker tandem in the Big 12.

With both having completed their eligibility, ASU looks to some familiar faces and some newcomers to reload its linebacker room.

Following an injury-riddled 2025 season, Zyrus Fiaseu was granted an extra year of eligibility for 2026. Fiaseu came to ASU from San Diego State prior to the 2024 season and has collected 46 tackles with three pass deflections, one fumble recovery, and an interception across his two seasons as a Sun Devil.

A key piece of ASU’s linebacker rotation in the time he’s spent with the Sun Devils, Fiaseu will again be in the thick of the competition for steady linebacker reps.

One of the most notable young up-and-coming stars on the team the past two years, Martell Hughes has established himself as a top-tier playmaker and could be in line for explosive growth on the field as a junior this season.

In 2025, Hughes appeared in all 13 games and posted 39 tackles, including two for loss, along with two interceptions, two pass breakups, and a quarterback hurry. As a true freshman in 2024, he played in 11 games with 15 tackles and a critical blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown.

It would not be a surprise if Hughes were to take the next step in his career to become an all-conference caliber performer, and spring practices will be his first opportunity toward that objective.

One of the most notable transfer portal acquisitions made by ASU this offseason is the addition of Owen Long, previously of Colorado State, who became one of the nation’s most productive linebackers in 2025.

Last season’s FBS leader in total tackles (151) and tackles per game (12.6), Long earned First-Team All-Mountain West Conference honors in 2025 as he also chipped in five tackles for loss, two sacks, five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble. Long totaled double-digit tackles in 10 of 12 games last year and never had fewer than seven in a game, while registering five games with at least 14 tackles. He had a season-high 17 tackles on two occasions last year.

With his accomplishments last year, Long certainly should be right in the conversation for a starting linebacker role this year and should be the early favorite to be ASU’s leading tackler in 2026.

Two Sun Devils with Flagstaff ties – former NAU transfer Ramere Davis and Flagstaff Coconino High School graduate Prayer Young-Blackgoat – will also compete for practice reps this spring.

As a high school recruit from the prominent Mater Dei program in Santa Ana, Calif., Davis had an impressive offer sheet including schools such as ASU, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, but he opted to attend Northern Arizona for his first two seasons.

Davis appeared in five games but redshirted in 2024 and enjoyed an excellent redshirt freshman campaign last fall in which he started all 12 games at outside linebacker and was the team leader with 5.5 sacks and nine quarterback hurries, tied for the team lead with 65 total tackles, and ranked second on the squad with 7.5 TFLs.

Young-Blackgoat appeared in all 13 games for ASU last year as a reserve and on special teams and totaled seven tackles, including one for loss.

A trio from ASU’s 2025 high school signing class, consisting of sophomore Isaiah Iosefa and redshirt freshmen Tristan Bacon and Lee Fuimaono, will look to work their way up the depth chart this spring.

Iosefa appeared in five games last year as a true freshman, Bacon appeared in one, while Fuimaono did not make any game appearances as he redshirted. Iosefa did not record any statistics in his game appearances last season.

To further bolster the linebacker depth, ASU signed a pair of high school linebackers for its 2026 class in Oscar Aguilar, Jr., and Mason Marden.

Aguilar, a product of Downey (Calif.) High School, had scholarship offers from other programs including Boise State, California, Fresno State, Oregon State, and San Diego State, while Marden comes to ASU from the state of Missouri and had competing scholarship offers from teams such as Cincinnati, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, and others.

Defensive Backs

RS-SR Lyrik Rawls

RS-JR Chance Rucker

RS-JR Ashton Stamps

RS-JR Montana Warren

RS-JR Adrian Wilson

JR Antoine Belgrave-Shorter

JR Rodney Bimage, Jr.

JR Kyan McDonald

JR Maurice Williams

SO Ben Alefaio-Lilii

SO Jessiah McGrew

SO Nigel Pringle

SO Joseph Smith

RS-FR Caleb Chester

RS-FR Xavier Skowron

FR Daquwan Dunn

FR Davis Kinney

FR Zeth Thues

FR Jalen Williams

Departures: Keith Abney II (NFL Draft early entry), Xavion Alford (exhausted eligibility), Jack Bal (transfer to Washington State), Kyndrich Breedlove (exhausted eligibility), Adama Fall (transfer to Montana), Nyland Green (exhausted eligibility), Chris Johnson II (transfer to Montana), Plas Johnson (position change), Nikko Klemm (transfer to Sacramento State), Joseph McGinnis II (transfer), Tony-Louis Nkuba (transfer to UNLV), Javan Robinson (transfer to Wisconsin), Tommy Romano (transfer to Weber State), Myles Rowser (exhausted eligibility)

At cornerback, ASU faces a substantial reload as both primary starters, as well as four additional players who were among the five listed on the Sun Bowl depth chart, have all left the program.

Following the early NFL Draft entry by star cornerback Keith Abney II and the transfer of Javan Robinson to Wisconsin, Rodney Bimage is now the elder statesman in the team’s cornerbacks room and should, at least at this point, be considered the team’s top player at the position.

Bimage appeared in 10 games last season and totaled 12 tackles, including one for loss, with two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry. A scary-looking injury late in the season cut his 2025 campaign short, but Bimage could be one of the most notable breakout contenders on ASU’s 2026 roster.

Joseph Smith earned early action as a true freshman as a participant in seven games, including a start in the Sun Bowl, and he totaled one tackle on the year. Smith could join Bimage as the starting tandem of cornerbacks to begin spring ball, but even if so, he will have to compete rigorously to hold off a handful of cornerback transfers that ASU acquired this offseason.

Also, at cornerback, ASU’s transfer portal efforts this offseason added Caleb Chester of Texas, Nigel Pringle of Arkansas, Chance Rucker of Michigan State, and Ashton Stamps of LSU.

Stamps comes to ASU as perhaps the most intriguing cornerback transfer of this offseason, having appeared in 27 games at LSU with 17 starts, including all 13 of the 2024 season. Overall, he posted 75 tackles with 18 pass breakups – including 14 PBUs in 2024. Based purely on statistics and experience, Stamps could be an odds-on favorite to enter the starting lineup sooner rather than later.

Pringle appeared in eight games as a true freshman last fall for Arkansas, posting two tackles. Out of high school, the three-star Texan had scholarship offers from schools including Houston, Kansas, Memphis, Oregon, and UCF.

Chester redshirted in 2025 as a true freshman at Texas and is credited with one game appearance last year. He was a three-star high school recruit who chose the Longhorns over scholarship offers from the likes of Florida, Florida State, LSU, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and others.

At safety, Montana Warren and Boogie Wilson return, along with Ben Alefaio-Lilii, Kyan McDonald, Maurice Williams, and Xavier Skowron, but ASU must replace several departed senior safeties, including Xavion Alford and Myles “Ghost” Rowser.

Entering his fourth year in the program, Warren has the most team experience of all Sun Devil defensive backs, and he totaled 40 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, with eight pass breakups and two quarterback hurries in 2025. During his Sun Devil career, he played all three positions, Nicklenack, free, and strong safety, and it’s the latter position where he’s expected to be the starter.

Wilson transferred to Arizona State from Washington State prior to last season, and he is ASU’s leading returning tackler from 2025 as he registered 57 tackles in 12 games with one TFL, six pass breakups, one interception, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He won’t be fully healthy for spring as he recovers from a shoulder surgery that followed the regular season, but 2026 could be an all-conference kind of year for Wilson, who had a formidable campaign at the starting free safety. Once fall camp begins, he is expected to play the nickel.

McDonald appeared in nine games last year with 15 tackles, including one for loss, and while he mostly played nickel, he’s expected to play more at free safety this year. Williams played 13 games and chipped in six tackles, and is slated to be Warren’s backup at strong safety. Under the radar, Alefaio-Lilii emerged as one of the better cover safeties on the team, and in Wilson’s absence, will get an abundance of reps at nickel. He posted six tackles in six games as a true freshman in 2025. Skowron redshirted last year but appeared in one game, and is expected to compete for a two-deep niche at free safety.

Rawls, who is one of the top players in the Sun Devils’ transfer class, is a grizzled Big 12 veteran. He comes to ASU from Kansas after spending the 2021-24 seasons elsewhere in the conference with Oklahoma State. For his career, Rawls has 139 total tackles with 11 pass deflections, three interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble, and he joins the Sun Devil program after his best collegiate season, as he posted single-season college career highs of 72 tackles with seven pass breakups for the Jayhawks in 2025. He is fully expected to be ASU’s starting free safety.

Arizona State also added Antoine Belgrave-Shorter of Penn State and Jessiah McGrew of Florida International, both of whom are in the running for substantial playing time this spring and beyond.

Belgrave-Shorter appeared in 16 games over the past two seasons at Penn State – seven in 2024 and nine last year. In total, he posted 20 tackles with the Nittany Lions, 14 in 2025 and six the previous season. With Wilson’s spring absence, he could see more time at nickel, but in fall camp, he’s expected to spend most of his time at free safety.

McGrew made an immediate impact at FIU and is a very intriguing newcomer as his true freshman season of 2025 included a stat line of 12 games played with 68 tackles, four interceptions, and five pass breakups, helping him earn FWAA Freshman All-America honors as well as Second-Team All-Conference USA and Conference USA All-Freshman recognition in 2025. He’s projected to line up at free safety.

The Sun Devils also added a group of true freshmen defensive backs from their 2026 high school signing class in Daquwan Dunn, Davis Kinney, Zeth Thues, and Jalen Williams. Dunn and Williams were evaluated as cornerback prospects, while Kinney and Thues were listed as safety recruits.

A three-star prospect from the Dallas area, Dunn also had scholarship offers from schools including Iowa, Missouri, NC State, Texas Tech and Utah, while Williams, a three-star recruit out of the state of Georgia, had a list of scholarship offers including the likes of Auburn, BYU, Missouri, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and others.

Thues transferred from Scottsdale’s Saguaro High School to Liberty High School in Peoria, and before signing with ASU, the three-star recruit also held scholarship offers from programs including Boston College, Kansas, Washington State, and Wisconsin.

Kinney, a signing day flip from Northwestern, was rated the No. 56 safety prospect in the 2026 according to Rivals. The Dallas area product also had scholarship offers from teams including Maryland, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, and others. 

Special Teams

RS-SR Grayson Curtis (LS)

RS-SR Carson Smith (K)

RS-SR Tyler Wigglesworth (LS)

RS-JR Carston Kieffer (K)

JR Kanyon Floyd (P)

RS-SO Nick McLarty (P)

Departures: LS Cade Davis (exhausted eligibility), K Jesus Gomez (exhausted eligibility), P Matt McKenzie (transfer to Kennesaw State)

Special teams. Two extremely stress-inducing words for Sun Devil fans last year, but through a series of personnel changes, hopes are that the units can veer away from the level of concern felt throughout the entirety of last season.

Not only did ASU add new pieces at kicker, punter, and long snapper this offseason, but coaching adjustments were also made in Jack Nudo taking over full-time as special teams coach, while former NFL punter Michael Scifres was added this offseason as a specialists coach.

Gone from last year is kicker Jesus Gomez, who, all in all, had a very solid year for ASU and was responsible for clinching multiple victories for Arizona State in 2025.

In his place arrives Carson Smith, a transfer from the FCS program Austin Peay, which has provided ASU with a few transfers in the past, including standout and former ASU Nickelback Shamari Simmons.

Smith racked up a list of accolades last season, including AFCA FCS First-Team All-America recognition as well as being named the 2025 United Athletic Conference specialist of the year and a first-team all-conference selection after earning second-team all-league distinction in 2024.

In 2025, Smith connected on 14-of-17 field goal attempts with a long of 50 after making 13-of-20 attempts in 2024 with a long of 53. Smith also handled kickoffs the past two years and has 83 touchbacks across 132 kickoffs.

Also competing for kicking reps is team veteran Carston Kieffer, who has made three of five career field goal attempts at ASU with a long of 39 yards.

Though ASU’s punting last year felt like a consistent pain point, Kanyon Floyd technically improved upon his punting average from the previous season as he averaged 41.4 yards on 36 punts after averaging 40.7 yards on 40 punts in 2024. Floyd missed a few games of action last year, and his absence often emphasized ASU’s punting woes. In 2026, Floyd is expected to take further leaps of improvement in hopes of shifting the punt team away from a major area of concern.

Added to the 2026 roster is former Ohio State punter Nick McLarty, who brings defensive end size (6-7, 255) to ASU’s special teams room. The Australian punter averaged 36.7 yards on three punts across the past two seasons for the Buckeyes and was a part of Ohio State’s national champion squad in 2024.

At long snapper, New Mexico State transfer Grayson Curis will compete with returning snapper Tyler Wigglesworth for reps.

To get more insight on the ASU defense heading into spring, check out our exclusive interview with defensive coordinator Brian Ward