ASU’s Will Sutton named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year
Nov 26, 2012, 10:24 PM | Updated: 10:47 pm
After a dominating season, Arizona State junior defensive lineman Will Sutton was named the Pac-12’s Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year Monday.
Sutton, a junior from Corona, Calif., led the conference with 20 tackles for loss, ranked third with 10.5 quarterback sacks and helped the Sun Devils lead the Pac-12 in pass defense and pass efficiency defense.
Sutton also garnered First Team All-Pac-12 honors — he was the only Sun Devil to win that distinction.
Senior linebacker Brandon Magee, junior safety Alden Darby landed on the second team defense, while senior punter Josh Hubner was the second team punter.
Magee led the Devils with 104 total tackles, including 17 in ASU’s Territorial Cup win over Arizona in Tucson last Friday. For his efforts, Magee won the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honor. Magee’s accomplishments come just a year after he missed the entire 2011 campaign with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Darby finished the regular season with 72 total tackles, three interceptions for 154 yards and a touchdown. He also broke up four passes and forced a fumble. Darby also became the first Sun Devil to earn the “PT42” camouflage practice jersey this season. The jersey pays tribute to former Sun Devil Pat Tillman and in the words of head coach Todd Graham “embodies all the things that he emulated.”
Hubner led the Pac-12 in punting with a 47.13 gross average, which also ranked third in the nation.
The following Sun Devils received Pac-12 honorable mention:
LB Carl Bradford, CB Deveron Carr, TE Chris Coyle, OT Evan Finkenberg, RB D.J. Foster, RB Marion Grice, DT Jaxon Hood, DB Osahon Irabor, S Keelan Johnson, QB Taylor Kelly, RS Rashad Ross
