ASU’s defense has set the tone with physicality through 3 games

Arizona State football did well over the offseason to plug holes left by major departures on defense, and the veteran unit has looked as advertised through three games.

Linebacker Keyshaun Elliott and cornerback Keith Abney II, both NFL Draft picks, were replaced by Colorado State transfer Owen Long and LSU transfer Ashton Stamps, who have been among the catalysts in the defense allowing just 17 points per game.

Four of the nine scoring drives against the unit have started inside ASU’s territory after the offense put it in a tough spot, and it still held its opponent — Texas A&M on both occasions — to a field goal on two of those.

Players like Montana Warren, who laid down a big hit on the first play against Kansas, and Long, who was awarded Big 12 weekly honors for his 12-tackle showing in London, have established an identity of flying around to the ball.

And as long as the inconsistent play from the offense continues, the defense will continue to shoulder a lot of the pressure to win games. What all have we learned about the group, as well as the special teams, at the team’s lone bye?

Assessing ASU football at bye week 3 games in: Defense

Just as the offense has seen its rushing production plummet this season, the defense hasn’t been as effective against the run as it has been in recent years. It’s currently 15th among Big 12 teams in rushing yards allowed per game (124.3) after it led the conference in 2024 (112.9) and was third last season (124).

It’s come with a shift up in pass rush effectiveness, however, with the team grading out better in that area than it ever has under defensive coordinator Brian Ward.

Michigan State transfer Jalen Thompson and Baylor transfer Emar’rion Winston have been boosts to that at EDGE, and head coach Kenny Dillingham singled them out among unsung heroes to this point.

Thompson has 11 of the team’s 28 pressures so far, and Winston has four to tie for the next most.

ASU’s front did an excellent job to contain veteran dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed at Texas A&M, holding him to a 42.2 QBR and just 17 rushing yards. It followed it up by doing similarly against Kansas’ Isaiah Marshall.

asu did an outstanding job at texas a&m keeping qb marcel reed confined to the pocket for the most part. only had one rush of more than three yards (went for 19).

expect a lot of the same against kansas qb isaiah marshall, whom you'd prefer throwing the ball than running. pic.twitter.com/UJZTK6n8o6

— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) September 16, 2026

The Baylor game coming out of the bye week will present a new challenge. The Bears’ five-star quarterback transfer, DJ Lagway, has a cannon for an arm but is not a major rushing threat even before considering he’s missed the last two games with an ankle injury and is probable to return on Saturday.

Getting pressure home while maintaining coverage on the back end will be critical to forcing Lagway into the type of mistakes that led him to an SEC-high 14 interceptions last season at Florida.

While Stamps has gotten more of the headlines at cornerback, Rodney Bimage Jr. on the opposite side has the lower passer rating allowed at 60.4 to Stamps’ 97.6. Bimage has the Sun Devils’ second-highest coverage grade among defensive backs with at least 30 snaps behind safety Lyrik Rawls, per PFF.

Rawls, who picked off Reed on the first play of the second half at Texas A&M, has been arguably the biggest transfer portal addition for the defense, coming over from Kansas. He has the best overall PFF grade among ASU defenders with at least 10 snaps and was the only newcomer on the initial Tillman Leadership Council.

Dillingham previously emphasized takeaways being a major area of improvement for the unit before it went out and got three of them against Kansas to help ASU escape London with a win.

The defense’s depth will be tested over this stretch of nine games in nine weeks after the lone bye week, as three defenders — one at each level — had their seasons ended by injuries before they could begin: linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu, defensive lineman MyKeil Gardner and cornerback Nigel Pringle.

Special teams

For all the miscues ASU’s special teams has had so far, it’s also shown signs it can become great. That starts with the punting game.

Nick McLarty pinned Kansas at its own 2-yard line to set up the drive where the Jayhawks went three-and-out and shanked a punt one play before ASU’s touchdown to Reed Harris that ended the first half. He almost had another deep pin that went awry when gunner Cory Butler Jr. touched the ball after already being in the end zone.

That wasn’t Butler’s first special teams hiccup, as he muffed a punt early at Texas A&M that gave the Aggies a first-and-goal right off the bat. Jalen Moss has returned punts since (11 yards per return on two attempts so far).

ASU’s other big punting miscues so far were a fake punt that went nowhere against the Aggies and a poorly covered punt against Kansas where the Jayhawks’ returner had an easy path up the sideline to the end zone.

Kicker Carson Smith has been as consistent as you can ask for, making all three of his field goals (long of 39 yards) and all 13 of his extra points.

Kick returner Jaren Hamilton brought a much-needed dynamism to special teams in the win over Kansas when he found the end zone for the first time in his college career with a touchdown return coming out of the half, a play that gave the Sun Devils 14 points in a span of about 40 seconds of game time when adding to the Harris touchdown before the half.

Like the offense and its situational penalties, the special teams miscues could be the difference between wins and losses down the road. Cleaning them up could swing things the other direction in a major way.

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