4 Sun Devils, 1 Wildcat named to PFF All-Pac-12 1st team

A quartet of Arizona State Sun Devils joined the Arizona Wildcats’ Roy Lopez as Pro Football Focus’ All-Pac-12 first team selections.

The four Sun Devils included offensive lineman Dohnovan West, defensive lineman Jermayne Lole, cornerback Chase Lucas and safety Evan Fields.

Wildcats lineman Roy Lopez was the lone Wildcat to be a first team selection after racking up 18 tackles and a sack this fall.

West’s inclusion on the first team stemmed from his ability to protect ASU QB Jaylen Daniels and ensure a clean pocket for the sophomore signal-caller, wrote PFF’s Anthony Treash.

West may have played only four games, but there were virtually no negatives to speak of with his pass protection. He allowed two total pressures in four games. West also was consistently doing positive things for the run game, posting a 74.7 run-blocking grade as a result (second among Pac-12 guards).

Treash said that Lole’s addition as a first-team selection at interior defensive lineman stemmed form his innate ability to get after opposing QBs, giving co-defensive coordinators Marvin Lewis and Antonio Pierce a presence on the defensive line.

We were excited to see him there full-time as a result, and he has been as good as we all hoped through four games. Lole produced 17 pressures, 17 defensive stops, a forced fumble, two batted balls, zero missed tackles on 21 attempts and an 85.5 PFF grade in those outings.

The analytics site said that Lopez’s inclusion stemmed from his ability to disrupt opposing offenses in both the pass and run game from the nose guard position, a rare skill in the college game.

Lopez came to Arizona this offseason after four years at New Mexico State, and he ended up having his best stretch of play with the Wildcats. In his five games this year, Lopez recorded an 82.2 PFF grade. Considering the fact that he played almost 100% of his snaps at heads-up nose tackle, that’s extremely impressive.

Lucas’ inclusion stemmed from his ability to cover opposing wideouts in a more efficient manner than in his first three seasons in Tempe.

The senior’s growth in disrupting opponents’ top-line receivers warranted such an honor, PFF wrote.

This was Lucas’ fourth year starting in the Sun Devils’ secondary, and it was by far the best he looked in his college career. Lucas earned coverage grades of 66.2, 65.0 and 60.3 in the three years prior to 2020; this season, his coverage grade sat at 84.8. He forced six incompletions, recorded four passing stops and allowed just five first downs/touchdowns.

Fields rounded out the ASU quartet, after posting a senior season where he finished tied for fifth in the nation in forced fumbles.

It was only four games, but Fields looked a lot better in 2020 than he did in 2019. He posted a poor coverage grade of 55.9 last season before raising it to 73.7 this year. Fields has also made several impact plays in those four games, forcing three fumbles.

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