Safeties coach Chris Ball said two words could be used to describe the Sun Devils’ secondary.
One is talented, the other, deep.
The Sun Devils ranked third in the country in passing defense in 2012, which means coach Ball has his work cut out for him to fill the voids left from outgoing seniors in the secondary.
Fortunately, he said he has a lot of options to choose from.
“At the free safety spot we’ve got (redshirt freshman) Laiu (Moeakiola), you’ve got Marcus Ball, you’ve got James Johnson who’s working both our free and our bandit (safety position),” the coach said.
During the first two veterans only practices, Moeakiola played on virtually all of the snaps at the first team field safety position. But on Wednesday, in the team’s first combined practice, he was splitting reps with true freshman safety Marcus Ball.
Marcus was happy with his first-team reps and said he believes he is ready to be the starter next to bandit safety Alden Darby.
“There’s nothing like playing right next to the starter,” Marcus said. “It’s a good feeling and it makes you feel like you belong out there … honest to god I think I belong out there right next to him.”
Although it may seem like a stretch to have a true freshman potentially starting in the secondary, Darby doesn’t seem to mind.
“I want the best players on the field regardless of who’s been here longer,” he said. “I want the best players on the field.”
No matter who wins the starting field safety job, Graham wants a definitive starter named before too long.
“That’s a quarterback (type) position,” Graham said. “We need to name a starter by the first week.”
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