When the ASU football team has had a leak to plug this season in the secondary, it has relied on the versatility of junior Brett Hudson.
The Sun Devils have done a much more admirable job at stopping the pass, and they've done it even with a rash of injuries. When there's been a need to fill, Hudson has risen to the occasion.
After receiving first-team All-American honors at Grossmont Junior College in El Cajon, Calif., Hudson has played a bigger role for ASU than anyone could have fathomed. Despite playing through a pair of injuries, Hudson has persevered. ASU's coaches have been so impressed with his ability that Hudson has received significant playing time at both cornerback and safety.
"I've overcome a lot but, but I'm just happy to be on the field," Hudson said. "I knew I was going to come back and I knew I'd be all right once I got back on the field. I didn't think I'd have the chance to play both [corner and safety], but I got a good opportunity, and I'm going to stay with it."
When senior strong safety Alfred Williams broke his wrist Aug. 24 in the season opener at Nebraska, the Sun Devil coaching staff anticipated Hudson would take his place in the starting lineup. But Hudson pulled a hamstring and was forced to miss the next two games.
Hudson returned Sept. 14 at San Diego State, just a few days after ASU lost freshman safety Joey Smith to injury. After a bye week, the Sun Devils had to face Stanford, which boasts the Pac-10's tallest wide receiver in 6-foot-7 sophomore Teyo Johnson.
With Hudson standing at 6 feet, 2 inches, ASU's coaches decided to test him out at cornerback to match up with Johnson. The experiment was a rousing success, as Hudson played 39 snaps and held Johnson to a mere 21 yards receiving. Hudson was subsequently named ASU's starting cornerback opposite sophomore R.J. Oliver.
"Whatever gets me on the field," Hudson said. "There is a lot more speed in playing corner. Playing safety is a lot more physical, but they're both tough in their own ways. Corner is harder because everything has to be perfect or you're going to get beat, especially in the Pac-10 … but Teyo Johnson wasn't very difficult."
Sun Devil head coach Dirk Koetter was impressed with Hudson's debut at cornerback.
"He did a really nice job," Koetter said. "He competed the whole game. He was going up against a tough guy, and he held his own. Some days, we don't match receivers … but we were trying to match Brett on Teyo."
Hudson suffered yet another setback Oct. 5 against North Carolina when breaking a metacarpal bone in his right hand. Hudson was forced to leave the game because he couldn't jam receivers with an injured hand.
But Hudson returned to practice the very next week with a soft cast on his hand. He was in the starting lineup Saturday during ASU's 13-9 win over Oregon State.
The Sun Devil coaching staff took full advantage of Hudson's abilities by constantly switching him from corner to safety throughout the game. When the Beavers came out in two tight end sets, Hudson played safety. He moved to corner when Oregon State lined up with three wide-outs. Hudson logged 44 plays at safety and 28 at corner.
"He probably played his best game last Saturday," ASU safeties coach Dan Fidler said. "He's a versatile athlete. He missed a lot of time earlier in the year, but it was good to see him play well because that's how we expected him to be able to play. The thing that was surprising is his ability to play corner and safety and bounce back and forth. He's handled it real well. I think he enjoys it."
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
