Arizona State Sun Devils No. 19 in SI post-spring practice top 25

Todd Graham has helped establish the Arizona State Sun Devils as one of the best football programs in the country.

Following an eight-win campaign in 2012, his first in Tempe, the Devils have gone on to win 10 games in each of the last two seasons. With an experienced and talented roster returning for 2015, expectations are as high as they have been at any time during the program’s history.

A third consecutive top-25 season is pretty much expected, both internally from those inside the program and externally, by those who cover it.

Take, for instance, SI.com’s Ben Glicksman, who ranked the Sun Devils 19th in his post-spring practice top 25 rankings.

How stacked is Arizona State’s stable of running backs? So stacked that senior D.J. Foster, who rushed for 1,081 yards in 2014, has moved to slot receiver to help the team and boost his 2016 NFL draft stock. That puts the onus on Demario Richard, spring standout Kalen Ballage and touted redshirt freshman De’Chavon “Gump” Hayes to perform. Mike Bercovici takes the reins at quarterback, while nine starters are back from a defense that came together after a 62-27 loss to UCLA last September. Most notable may be redshirt senior cornerback Lloyd Carrington, who earned lofty praise from coach Todd Graham after the spring game. “Lloyd is the best corner I’ve worked with in my career because he’s the smartest, has the best character, has the best technique,” Graham told reporters.

The Sun Devils’ backfield is indeed loaded, but most of the pressure for this season will fall on Bercovici. A noted darkhorse Heisman candidate, he has never been the unquestioned starter at the NCAA level, and though he played well in three starts last season, still has much to prove.

But if he is as good as many think he is, ASU should be in store for one of its better seasons. Nothing will be easy, though, as the Pac-12 looks like it will be tough once again.

The Devils are joined in Glicksman’s rankings by five other Pac-12 teams, as UCLA (8), Oregon (10), Stanford (11) and Arizona (13) are all listed ahead of them.