Sun Devil Notes: Todd Graham responds to WSU coach Mike Leach’s accusations

TEMPE, Ariz. — Todd Graham exhibited restraint when responding Tuesday to Mike Leach’s ongoing contention that the Sun Devils steal signals during games.

“Make this perfectly clear: We do everything exactly by the rules. Period,” ASU’s coach said. “We take a great deal of pride in the integrity our program has. I’ll just leave it at that. I’m not going to get involved in things like that, that are ridiculous, but when you speak about our integrity and my integrity and our integrity as a program, we take great pride in that.”

Leach has been making accusations of illegalities for two seasons, but he ramped it up a notch when he suggested the Sun Devils’ practice is remarkably refined and includes what he called “a whole command center that’s designed around this stuff.

“They’re pretty clever about it,” Leach said at his Monday press conference. “It’s like breaking the Enigma code with them. I think they ought to do a full-on investigation to see how they’re doing it and see if it’s within the rules. That is a very unsavory practice that they have, and we’ll have to do what we can to defend ourselves against it. They’ll try to victimize you with some sign-stealing, there’s no question. You got to cover (play-call signs) up.”

To date, Leach hasn’t produced a shred of evidence that ASU is engaged in anything illegal, but the rumors have also been fed by Utah and Oregon. The Ducks brought giant white sheets to Sun Devil Stadium last season (Washington used them as well) to hide their signals. Some of Utah’s players and coaches also accused the Devils of the practice last season.

Stealing signs, by the way, is a legal practice, and several Pac-12 coaches defended Graham last season, insisting it is incumbent upon each coach to protect his signals.

AIR RAID MASTERS?

ASU has already defeated two teams this season that use a version of the Air Raid offense: Texas Tech and Cal. Graham said that should not lead people to believe the Sun Devils have an advantage over Washington State.

“Each team is different,” he said. “This team is different because of how they are playing defense. I think that Washington State is a better team than both of those football teams so we’ve got to play our best game.”

Washington State is tied for 53rd in the nation in scoring defense at 25.3 points per game, and 54th in total defense at 382.7 yards per game.

Cal is 123rd in scoring defense (40 points per game) and 121st in total defense (494.7 yards per game). Texas Tech is 124th in scoring defense (40.2) and 117th in total defense (479.2).

WILKINS SHOULDERS BLAME

QB Manny Wilkins was asked what went wrong with the offense in a 40-16 loss at Colorado on Saturday.

“I’ve just got to play better,” he said. “I’ve got to put the ball in guy’s hands, be more decisive with locations and like I said before, earlier in the season just get things rolling faster.”

EXTRA POINTS

— Guard Sam Jones was in a walking boot for his right foot after getting hurt late in Saturday’s loss at Colorado.

— Cornerback Kareem Orr has been dealing with a knee injury, but Graham said he is much better this week.

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