Sun Devils' Fall Camp Preview: Defense and Special Teams
An ASU defense loaded with returning starters and depth players is poised to be one of the best units seen in Tempe this century, and its special teams have been upgraded. Here’s a detailed examination of these units.
Note: All positions are listed by seniority
Defensive Line/Edge
GRAD Anthonie Cooper
RS-SR Prince Dorbah
RS-SR Elijah O’Neal
RS-SR Ian Shewell
RS-SR Clayton Smith
RS-SR Justin Wodtly
RS-JR Blazen Lono-Wong
RS-JR Rashad McKenzie
RS-JR Roman Pitre
RS-JR Zac Swanson
JR C.J. Fite
RS-SO MyKeil Gardner
RS-FR Salesi Manu
RS-FR Albert Smith III
RS-FR Ramar Williams
As a team, Arizona State returns a substantial amount of production from 2024, and this theme is evident throughout the entire Sun Devils’ defensive line, as only two players who saw game action last season are no longer on the roster.
Returning starting interior lineman C.J. Fite showed significant progress from year one to year two at ASU, and entering year three, he is expected to be one of the better defensive linemen in the Big-12 Conference.
A Second-Team All-Big-12 selection in 2024 and a Preseason All-Big-12 pick for 2025, last season Fite posted 30 tackles, including 4.0 for loss, with 2.0 sacks, two quarterback hurries, and a fumble recovery run back for a touchdown.
Among the top candidates to join Fite along the interior are Jacob Rich Kongaika, as well as valuable reserves Blazen Lono-Wong and Zac Swanson.
Kongaika enjoyed a solid season in 2024 after transferring in from rival Arizona, as he posted 10 tackles, including 5.0 for loss, with 3.0 sacks and one quarterback hurry in 11 games. Swanson, a former Texas transfer, tallied 17 tackles, including 2.0 for loss, with 0.5 sacks and one quarterback hurry in 13 games, while Lono-Wong appeared in all 14 games and added six tackles with a sack, along with an impressive reception on a fake punt pass.
On the edges, returning starters Clayton Smith and Prince Dorbah, as well as key reserve Elijah O’Neal, are all back, but with a distinct task ahead of them for 2025 – improve the pass rush.
Last season, Smith, a former five-star recruit and Oklahoma transfer, appeared in all 14 games with 33 tackles, including 6.0 for loss with team-highs of 4.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hurries, adding four pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery and like Lono-Wong, Smith showed his versatility last year by catching a fake punt pass.
Dorbah, who came to ASU from Texas prior to the 2023 season, played in 11 games, recording 12 tackles, including 3.5 for loss with 3.0 sacks, three quarterback hurries, and one pass breakup.
Both seniors in 2025, Smith and Dorbah, are likely to be tasked with increasing their sack totals closer to the range of 7.5 each, as opposed to the 7.5 combined quarterback sacks the two starters collected in 2024.
Entering year three with the program, O’Neal showed significant improvement last season as he ended up with 29 tackles, including 4.5 for loss, and ranked second on the team with 4.0 sacks. He also added five pass breakups and five quarterback hurries. A former JUCO transfer, O’Neal’s college career was presumed to be finished after 2024, but he, along with numerous former junior college transfers across the nation, and through a court decision, was given one extra year of eligibility to play in 2025.
Aiding the cause of attacking quarterbacks is versatile lineman Justin Wodtly, capable of playing multiple positions. Wodtly, who spent the 2020-23 seasons at Cincinnati, played in 13 games last season for ASU with one start, collecting 26 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, with 0.5 sacks, along with three fumble recoveries and one pass breakup.
Also, back for a final tour of duty is seventh-year senior Anthonie Cooper, predictably the longest tenured player on the entire roster, who missed all of 2024 due to a preseason injury.
Cooper, who joined the program back in 2019, has appeared in 36 career games with 20 starts as a Sun Devil and has collected 67 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, with 5.5 sacks. He started all 12 games of the 2022 season and had his best campaign in 2021, when he posted 29 tackles, including 4.5 for loss, with 3.0 sacks.
A player with potential to see an increased role compared to last season is former Purdue transfer Roman Pitre. Pitre spent two years with the Boilermakers but did not see game action and saw reps in nine games last season for ASU, but he could be in line for a viable spot in the edge rotation in 2025.
This offseason, ASU gained defensive line transfer acquisitions in the form of MyKeil Gardner (Oregon) and Rashad McKenzie (Washington State), along with junior college transfer pass rush specialist Joshua Shanklin.
A product of Peoria’s Liberty High School, Gardner was a high three-star prospect for the 2023 class and rated the No. 40 defensive tackle recruit in the country. Gardner posted one tackle for Oregon in 2023 but missed all last season due to injury.
McKenzie brings impressive size to the position group (6-6, 290) but, like Gardner, has had some injury issues as he appeared in just three games across the 2022-24 seasons at Washington State. As a three-star prospect out of high school, McKenzie had scholarship offers from the likes of Oregon, Texas, USC, and Washington before signing with the Cougars.
Shanklin comes to ASU from the JUCO ranks with the goal of helping to fortify the Sun Devil pass rush after he collected 64 tackles, including 19.0 for loss, with 14.5 sacks, six pass breakups, four forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 11 games last season for Foothill College in California.
Ian Shewell will also add depth along the defensive line, as will a group of redshirt and true freshmen, including Salesi Manu, Daeshon Morgan, Albert Smith III, and Ramar Williams.
Shewell, a former New Mexico transfer, appeared in one game last year and posted one tackle.
As true freshmen in 2024, Manu played in two games, while Smith appeared in five games – one of which occurred after the regular season and did not compromise his ability to redshirt – and chipped in one tackle. Williams sat out the entire season as a redshirt last year.
Morgan, a high three-star recruit from Texas, was rated the No. 24 strongside defensive end prospect in the nation for 2025 and had competing scholarship offers from teams including Big-12 foes like Houston, TCU, and Texas Tech.
Linebacker
RS- SR Zyrus Fiaseu
RS- SR Krew Jackson
SR Jordan Crook
RS-JR Tate Romney
RS-FR Prayer Young-Blackgoat
FR Lee Fuimaono
Though ASU loses impactful veteran Caleb McCullough from 2024, a trio of seniors in Jordan Crook, Keyshaun Elliott, and Zyrus Fiaseu lead what should remain a highly potent position group in 2025.
A Second-Team All-Big 12 pick in 2024, Elliott is the Sun Devils’ leading returning tackler among linebackers as he posted 73 tackles, including 4.0 for loss with 2.0 sacks, two pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, and one interception. Elliott totaled 111 tackles for New Mexico State in 2023, prior to transferring to ASU, and he should be among the top linebackers in the Big 12 in 2025.
Crook, who came to ASU from Arkansas, missed three games but eventually became a key force on defense, collecting 57 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, with two pass breakups and one interception. Crook’s average of 5.2 tackles per game from 2024 ranks as the third-highest average among returning Sun Devil defenders.
After coming to Tempe from San Diego State, Fiaseu had a solid debut season in maroon and gold as he tallied 34 tackles in 14 games, including 3.0 for loss with two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, and an interception returned for a touchdown on the opening drive of the season opener.
Martell Hughes earned ample playing time on defense and special teams last season and could be a candidate for even greater action in 2025. Last season as a true freshman, Hughes had 15 tackles in 13 games along with a critical punt block against UCF that was returned for a touchdown by teammate Montana Warren.
One of ASU’s top defenders in 2023, Tate Romney now fills the role of one of the team’s key reserve linebackers, as does fellow Arizona high school product and former Kansas State transfer Krew Jackson. Romney, a Chandler High School graduate who transferred in from BYU, had five tackles and one quarterback hurry in seven games last year, while Jackson, a product of Queen Creek High School, had four tackles in 13 games.
Redshirt freshman Prayer Young-Blackgoat and true freshmen Tristan Bacon, Lee Fuimaono, and Isaiah Iosefa will also compete for action along with ASU’s veteran-heavy group of linebackers.
Young-Blackgoat walked on to the program prior to last season, while Bacon is a two-star graduate of Glendale’s Kellis High School. Fuimaono and Iosefa were three-star prospects out of the states of California and Hawaii, respectively.
ASU cornerback Keith Abney II enjoyed a meteoric rise in 2024
Cornerback
RS-SR Nyland Green
RS- JR Javan Robinson
RS-FR Rodney Bimage
RS-FR Plas Johnson
RS-FR Tony-Louis Nkuba
FR Joseph Smith
The starting cornerbacks tandem of Keith Abney II and Javan Robinson improved dramatically throughout the 2024 season, and in what provides a significant luxury to the Sun Devil defense, both return in 2025.
As a true sophomore in 2024, Abney registered 52 tackles with a team-high nine pass breakups and a share of the team lead with three interceptions, while Robinson, a former Washington State transfer, shared the team lead of three interceptions with Abney and also added 43 tackles including one for loss, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
With Laterrence Welch being dismissed from the team late in the season, prompting his subsequent transfer to UNLV, the third cornerback spot was up for grabs this offseason. Redshirt freshman Rodney Bimage had an impressive spring, and the youngster appears ready for ample game-day reps.
Bimage appeared in five games but preserved a redshirt season in 2024 and totaled four tackles, including one for loss.
Former four-star prospect Nyland Green, who transferred to ASU this offseason from Purdue after beginning his career at Georgia, also figures to be in the mix for significant action this fall. Green posted 23 tackles with five pass deflections and 2.0 sacks in 2024 with Purdue after collecting 13 tackles and two pass deflections in three seasons at Georgia.
Tony Louis-Nkuba and Joseph Smith will also battle for reserve reps, while Plas Johnson showed an impressive skill set before suffering a spring injury that is expected to sideline him for the 2025 season.
ASU safety Xavion Alford is the unquestionable leader of the defensive backfield
Safety/Nickelback
RS-SR Xavion Alford
RS-SR Kyndrich Breedlove
SR Myles Rowser
RS-SO Montana Warren
RS-SO Adrian Wilson
RS-FR Chris Johnson II
At the two traditional safety positions, ASU returns a duo that rivals any in the Big-12 and is among the better pairings in the nation in Xavion Alford and Myles “Ghost” Rowser.
Alford, who came to ASU from USC after starting his college career at Texas, was one of the premier defensive backs in college football last year as he earned First-Team All-Big-12 honors after collecting 85 tackles with two interceptions, along with five pass breakups and one quarterback hurry. In addition to the accolades he received last season, Alford enters 2025 as a Preseason All-Big-12 selection as well.
Rowser, who transferred to ASU from New Mexico State after beginning his career at FCS-level program Campbell, was ASU’s leading tackler last season with 98, adding 3.5 tackles-for-loss with five pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, and an interception. An Honorable Mention All-Big-12 performer in 2024, the hard-hitting Rowser should be among the top tacklers in the conference this fall.
Beyond Alford and Rowser, the most significant shoes to fill on defense from 2024 are at nickelback, where back-to-back team Defensive MVP Shamari Simmons excelled last season.
To replace the outgoing senior, ASU has a list of potential candidates, including returners Montana Warren and Kyan McDonald, along with Purdue transfer Kyndrich Breedlove, Houston transfer Maurice Williams, and Washington State transfer Adrian Wilson, as well as the other safety roles.
Last season, Warren appeared in all 14 games and totaled seven tackles, while McDonald, who essentially had his redshirt year lifted due to injuries at the position, posted one tackle in 10 games as a true freshman in 2024.
Breedlove is on collegiate stop number four as he began at Ole Miss, then moved on to Colorado before transferring to Purdue last season. He played in 19 games across the 2021-23 seasons and then last year appeared in 12 games with 11 starts for the Boilermakers, leading the team with three interceptions on the year.
A former four-star prospect, Williams played in 10 games on defense and special teams as a true freshman last season for Houston, but he did not record any statistics.
Wilson was on the Washington State roster for the 2023-24 season and was recruited by ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward, who had served in that role with the Cougars a year earlier. After appearing in four games with six tackles as a true freshman, he started in 12 games last year and posted 47 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, with three pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Redshirt freshman Chris Johnson II and true freshmen Ben Alefaio-Lilii and Xavier Skowron will also push for reps among a deep group of safeties and nickelbacks.
Johnson was a high three-star prospect in the 2024 class out of the state of Texas, while 2025 signees Alefaio-Lilii and Skowron were three-star additions from the states of California and Texas, respectively.
Also returning from last year’s roster to compete for time across positions in the secondary are Jack Bal, Adama Fall, Nikko Klemm, Joseph McGinnis, and Tommy Romano.
Eastern Michigan transfer Jesus Gomez is expected to be a major upgrade for ASU at placekicker
Special Teams
RS-SR K Tommy Christakos
RS-SR K Jesus Gomez
RS-SR LS Tyler Wigglesworth
SR LS Cade Davis
RS-SO K Carston Kieffer
SO P Kanyon Floyd
P Matt McKenzie
It was no secret that ASU had to make dramatic improvements this offseason at kicker, and Eastern Michigan transfer Jesus Gomez could very well be the solution to an issue that has plagued Arizona State for multiple seasons.
Last year, three Sun Devil placekickers combined to make just 15-of-23 field goal attempts (65.2), and two of those three players are no longer on the roster.
During his career at Eastern Michigan (2021-24), Gomez has made 45 of 58 field goal attempts (77.6%) and has made at least one kick of 55 yards or longer each year, with a career-best 57-yarder last season. Ironically, his first-ever three made field goals at the collegiate level came in a 2022 30-21 upset win in Tempe. In a chaotic conference such as the Big-12, it is logical to predict that placekicking alone will win or cost games for teams, so for ASU to acquire such a seasoned and accomplished kicker could be a massive asset in 2025.
After averaging 40.7 yards on 40 punts as a true freshman, Kanyon Floyd returns as the incumbent starting punter for 2025, though ASU also added Australian punter Matt McKenzie, and fall camp will go a long way to determine what role he has in his first season with the program.
At kicker, Carston Kieffer, who connected on 3-of-5 field goal attempts last year, returns to compete for time, while Tommy Christakos, a Scottsdale Chaparral High School graduate and formerly a wide receiver for California, returns to his home state to try his hand – or rather, foot – on special teams.
With Cole Marszalek having transferred to Jacksonville State, the primary competitors for long snapping duties will be former Northern Arizona transfer Tyler Wigglesworth and Cade Davis, who transferred from Marshall this offseason.
Wide receiver Jalen Moss figures to be the primary punt returner, while running back Raleek Brown should get the nod at kick returner.
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