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ASU football: Simone leads strong secondary into 2015

A year ago, Jordan Simone was a backup walk-on. Now, he's leading the Sun Devil defense.

ASU redshirt sophomore linebacker Alani Latu performs hand drills at spring football practice in Tempe on March 17, 2015. (Fabian Ardaya/The State Press)
ASU redshirt sophomore linebacker Alani Latu performs hand drills at spring football practice in Tempe on March 17, 2015. (Fabian Ardaya/The State Press)

What was seen as ASU football’s biggest potential flaw just a year ago may be its biggest strength heading into the 2015 season.

The Sun Devil defense is expected to return nine starters in 2015, with the two players replacing departed seniors Damarious Randall and Marcus Harrison each having received their fair share of playing time in 2014.

In the eyes of head coach Todd Graham, the most integral players to the ASU defense are redshirt junior linebacker Laiu Moeakiola and redshirt senior safety Jordan Simone. Moeakiola has missed spring practice due to injury.

“Jordan (Simone) is the leader of our defense, a guy that is very critical to us,” Graham said. “Not having Laiu (Moeakiola) is a big deal, because I think those two guys are so vital to the execution of what we do defensively.”

Simone, a former walk-on transfer from Washington State, is in a much different position now than he was just a year ago.

Last year, he was without a scholarship and had no certainty as to whether or not he would see the field. Now, he’s the main cog in what is expected to be one of the best defenses in the Pac-12.

Simone finished second on the team behind Randall in tackles in 2014 in what was a breakout season for the then-redshirt junior. After starting fall camp on the second-string defense in the depth chart, he stepped up as a crucial member while playing at boundary safety.

Simone was rewarded for his efforts on Tuesday, sporting the flame helmet instead of the typical gold practice helmet. The flame helmet signifies excellence and championship ability on the football field, Graham said.

“We’re using the flame helmet to identify the guys that are committed to the values that we have: character, service and sacrifice,” Graham said. “They just exemplify that we can win a national championship with that guy.”

Simone embraces the leadership role.

“It comes naturally to me,” Simone said. “I want us to be national champions in everything we do, and for me to step up its no problem.”

The redshirt senior said he does look back at the change over the year, saying he’s blessed to be in the situation he’s in now.

“I feel very blessed to be where I am,” he said. “I’m nowhere without coach (Todd) Graham and coach (Chris) Ball who have trained me to get to this point. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”

ASU is joined in the secondary by returning starters Lloyd Carrington and Kweishi Brown, as well as an experienced player in redshirt sophomore safety James Johnson.

Johnson competed with Simone for the boundary safety spot in 2014, even starting the second game against New Mexico.

“(James Johnson) pushing me every day this year and last year, its great,” Simone said. “The best thing is competition amongst each other.”

Having so many returning starters allows Graham to become even more aggressive and creative with his play calling, something that is difficult to do with inexperienced players.

“These coaches, they expect the national championship out of us and that’s what we expect of ourselves,” Simone said. “We can’t come out here with a 10-win season, we’ve got to get better ever week.”

The defense was particularly strong inside on Tuesday, Graham said. The secondary wasn’t too shabby, either, forcing two turnovers over the course of the day.

Graham said, however, that the goal of the spring is to take a good program into a championship-level one.

“Our big standard throughout the spring is not being satisfied with being good when we’re trying to be great,” he said.

Practice Notes

- A pair of second-teamers lit up the offense in Tuesday’s practice. Redshirt freshman quarterback Manny Wilkins and sophomore running back Kalen Ballage each had stellar days, scoring two touchdowns each. Wilkins was sharp in the pocket with a couple of nice touch throws, and Ballage broke a pair of big runs in 11-on-11 action.

- Freshman running back/linebacker Nick Ralston has continued to be a physical force in practice. In practicing with the running backs Tuesday, Ralston showed some athleticism in juking a defender during an Oklahoma-style drill.

- Interior defense dominated the offensive line in 11-on-11 drills, with a notable play being redshirt senior defensive lineman Demetrius Cherry and redshirt sophomore linebacker Alani Latu combining on a big hit in the backfield to take down sophomore running back Demario Richard.

- Redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici showed off his legs, scoring on an option run down in the red zone.

 

Reach the assistant sports editor at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.

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