The Arizona State Sun Devils
Spring Outlook

SEASON OUTLOOK

Led by first-year head coach Dirk Koetter, the Sun Devils are looking forward to a promising season with 50 returning letterwinners, including 16 returning starters. With this established leadership as well as an outstanding recruiting class, the future looks bright for the Sun Devils as they head into the Pac-10 conference race.

OFFENSE

Quarterback
Sophomore Jeff Krohn returns to the squad in 2001 after starting 10 games and setting the school single-game record for a freshman with 432 yards and five touchdowns in 2000. He also headed up the Pac-10's top-ranked passing offense, throwing for 1,751 yards and 12 touchdowns. Also a possibility for the quarterback spot, junior Matt Cooper appeared in 5 games last season, completing a touchdown pass at the Aloha Bowl. Andrew Walter, a freshman, redshirted last season and returns to the squad this spring as another quarterback hopeful.

Tailback
All three tailback possibilities started for the Sun Devils over the last two seasons and will give this position the most depth in 2001. Delvon Flowers, a senior, is a talented playmaker who scored six touchdowns and rushed for 512 yards last season. Flowers also led the team with an average of 6.4 yards per carry in 1999. Another senior, Tom Pace, led the team in rushing last year, carrying the ball 180 times for 720 yards and scoring six touchdowns on the ground and two through the air. Sophomore Mike Williams will also challenge for significant playing time after starting three games last season as a true freshman. He finished second on the team in rushing last year with 514 yards and five touchdowns on 121 carries. Also adding depth will be sophomores Derick Arnold and Jermaine McKinney.

Wide Receiver
Arizona State will have good depth to contend with at wide receiver. While the Sun Devils lost their two top wide receivers last season, senior Donnie O'Neal and sophomore Shaun McDonald look to pick up where they left off. O'Neal started all 12 games last season and led the team with seven receiving touchdowns. He caught 39 passes for 661 yards while McDonald had 22 passes for 358 yards and a score. Junior Justin Taplin, who caught 13 passes for 169 yards last season, and senior Ryan Dennard, who caught the first touchdown pass of his career at the Aloha Bowl, will also figure into the mix for playing time. The Sun Devils also have a number of young players who will challenge for playing time in sophomore Skyler Fulton and redshirt freshman Mike Smith as well as some newcomers to the team in true freshman Daryl Lightfoot and Matt Miller.

Tight End
The tight end is the team's least experienced position with just two returning players. After catching six passes for 100 yards last season as a back-up tight end, junior Mike Pinkard will have the opportunity to earn a starting position. Also challenging for the position will be sophomore Frank Maddox who played 12 games last year and freshman Lee Burghgraef out of Corona, California.

Offensive Line
With returning seniors Scott Peters and Kyle Kosier, the trenches are looking to be the strength of the offense. Peters started all 12 games last season at center and will most likely pick up where he left off. At the guard positions, sophomore Regis Crawford will enter the fall as the starter on the right side but can play all three positions on the offensive line, while senior Marquis Muldrow will return at the left guard where he started nine games last season. Senior Levi Jones will resume his duties as a left tackle and Kosier will move to right tackle after starting all of last season as right guard. ASU's offensive line also features a number of talented young players who will challenge for playing time. Redshirt freshman Drew Hodgdon will be a backup for Peters and senior Travis Scott will compete for right guard. Also looking for playing time will be redshirt freshman Adrian Ayala and sophomores Damien Niko and Tony Aguilar.

DEFENSE

Defensive Line
Arizona State's defensive line is stocked with experienced veterans, including four seniors at defensive tackle, led by Kurt Wallin. Wallin started 12 games last season at right tackle and finished eighth on the team in tackles. Joining Wallin on the defensive side will be Tommie Townsend, Paul Glass and Danny Masaniai. The Sun Devils's depth at the defensive end will come from four sophomores and two freshman. Terrell Suggs was the first true freshman in school history to start the first game of the year last season and ranked among the Pac-10's best with 16 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. At the other end will be sophomore Brian Montesanto who played all 12 games with four starts last year. Backing up Suggs will be sophomore Brian Fox and sophomore Chad Howell will back-up at the other end. also figuring into the mix at the defensive end will be redshirt freshmen Jared Wolfgramm and Jimmy Verdon.

Linebacker
ASU also appears to be well-stocked with depth and experience at linebacker. Senior Eric Fields and juniors Soloman Bates and Mason Unuck will head up the lineback crew. Fields has started 23 games in his career and was seventh on the team last year in total tackles. Bates finished second on the team in total tackles with 99 and also tied for second in the Pac-10 with four forced fumbles. Unuck will also look to pick up where he left off last season where he started 10 of 12 games. The Sun Devil's linebacking corps also features a number of young players in junior Josh Amobi, previous redshirt freshmen Connor Banks and Zach Mims, and junior Jamall Anderson.

Safety
Although strong at linebacker and the defensive line, Arizona State's secondary features the least amount of playing experience and depth. Veteran senior safeties Willie Daniel and Alfred Williams will lead the young new players in the right direction. Daniel started all but one game last season finishing fourth on the team in tackles, while Williams started all 12 games and was third in tackles with a pair of forced fumbles and an interception. Senior Davaren Hightower will also challenge for playing time after finishing third on the team last year in rushing. At the other safety position, junior Brandon Falkner, senior Monte Franks, and junior Patrick Wilson will figure into the mix for playing time. For the third free safety spot, a pair of freshman including Riccard Stewart and Michael Holloway will compete for a starting position.

Cornerback
To replace last season's two star cornerbacks, Arizona will look to redshirt freshmen, R.J. Oliver and Emmanuel Franklin, as contenders for the starting position. Junior Josh Igono is the only returning player from last season at cornerback and will be in the mix for playing time as well. Igono appeared in 11 games last season with three pass inflections and an interception. Sophomore Adrian Thomas will also add depth and look to contribute at the position. A trio of newcomers may also figure heavily into the mix. True freshmen Lamar Baker and Courtney Sterling will join junior transfer O.J. Hackett in competition for playing time.

Special Teams
One area where the Sun Devils seem to be solid heading into the fall is the kicking game with the return of honorable-mention All-Pac-10 punter Nick Murphy and placekicker Mike Barth. Last season Murphy, a senior, booted 86 punts for an average of 41.3 yards per punt. Barth connected on 65.2 percent of his field-goal attempts and 32 of 34 PAT attempts last season. A likely back-up punter will be junior Brian Biang and other players challenging for kicking postions will be junior Greg Pieratt and freshman Travis Cloyd. The position of snapper will be covered by senior B.J. Miller and junior Jay Beckenridge, while senior Scott Peters will continue to handle the short snappy duties, backed up by fellow senior Travis Scott. A trio of players will combine to handle the kickoff returns including senior Delvon Flowers and Tom Pace and sophomore Mike Williams. Sophomore Shaun McDonald and junior Justin Taplin split the punt return responsibilities last season and will once again be counted on in that role in 2001.