Analyzing Arizona State Football's Roster Reconstruction

2021 was a season of disappointment and frustration for ASU and its fans. Will they rebound in 2022?

Arizona State had an a rather underwhelming season under head coach Herm Edwards, going 8-5 under the former NFL head coach increasing his career win total at ASU to 25 by seasons end. Weeks after the beatdown the ASU offense took from the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers, starting QB Jayden Daniels (LSU), backup running back (now linebacker) Chip Trayanum (Ohio St.), Lead Wide Receiver Ricky Pearsall (Florida), star linebacker Eric Gentry (USC), Wide Receiver LV Bunkley-Shelton (Oklahoma), cornerback Tommie Hill (Nebraska), and Defensive Tackle Jermaine Lole (Louisville) all hit the transfer portal and left their 8-5 team in the dust for greater opportunity. That wasn’t the only hit this once deep team took as the NFL draft took stars and graduates into the league above. 1000 yard rusher Rachaad White looks primed to be the next all-pro running back in Tampa Bay with Tom Brady, Jack Jones is looking like an elite nickelback in Bill Belichick’s famous New England defense, Chase Lucas could be a valuable piece of an up and coming Detroit defense, Nose Tackle DJ Davidson was drafted by the New York Giants, Kellen Diesch looks like he may secure a roster spot in Miami, and Dohnovan West is looking to grab a spot as the 49ers backup center.

That sums up to 13 players who contributed in every game last season not on the 2022 ASU roster. With many holes to fill, Coach Edwards looked towards the transfer portal for talent to poach and plug into new roles in a new offense under new OC Glenn Thomas. In what initially looked to be a lost season is now a ray of hope aimed directly towards Sun Devil Stadium. Arizona State knocked the transfer portal out of the water. Edwards and company brought in two SEC quarterbacks in Florida’s Emory Jones and Alabama’s Paul Tyson. Throughout camp Jones has looked far and away the most poised QB ASU has had since Brock Osweiler. Not a knock on Daniels, but Jones has the traits and better understanding of the game to not flail around without direction like Daniels had once showed. Whilst Emory Jones is also a mobile QB, he uses his mobility in a different way than Daniels ever did. Jones seems to only run or escape the pocket once it either collapses or there is miles of green grass ahead of him. Not only does this keep him healthier as a QB, it helps keep the defense from over committing to the run or pass. With Daniels at the helm, ASU’s offense and former OC Brian Billick could never get on the same page and it showed blatantly on the field. After far and away leading the PAC-12 in penalty yardage and a memorable sequence of three straight false starts against Utah, Emory Jones should bring a new sense of leadership and experience after his four years in the SEC. On a side note, Emory Jones deciding to keep his Florida #5 marks the 7th straight year ASU’s QB has sported the number 5.

Other transfers include Wyoming star running back Xazavian Valladay who ran for over 1000 yards in 2019 and 2021 and probably would have given a full 2020 season. Valladay looks to be the new starting running back but still has to compete with Daniyel Ngata for the role. New vertical weapons WR Cam Johnson (Vanderbilt) and TE Messiah Swinson (Mizzou) should add more experience and versatility to this offense. Swinson, who is a 6’8 giant, has been very impressive in training camp. Swinson has often been seen in 3rd down and deep ball situations using his high point any defender who dares jump with him. After the departure of DJ Davidson, the Nose Tackle position was all but solidified. That was until former Miami D-Lineman Nesta Jade Silvera committed to the desert. Jade Silvera should eat up the run and command at least two lineman per rush. The Final Transfer I’ll mention is my personal favorite. JUCO transfer to Auburn then to ASU, Defensive Back Ro Torrence. There are very few players with the physical capabilities that Torrence possesses. Torrence is a solid 6’4 build with 4.4 speed. Torrence has the frame of a stud wide receiver but chooses to lock them up instead. Torrence was redshirted as a JUCO transfer at auburn and then entered the transfer portal where ASU scooped him up. He will likely start as a boundary corner Week 1 and I will be following his play very closely.

Thanks for reading and as you can tell, I am very excited for this highly anticipated chapter of Arizona State Football. I am planning on publishing one to two news letters or articles per week throughout the season. These will likely contain game recaps, around the PAC-12 recaps, and other FBS and ASU news.