ASU football once again has new faces in new places on the defense.
Last week, redshirt senior Anthony Jones was moved down to the second string at Spur linebacker where he had started all season. Senior Chris Young replaced Jones at Spur.
When Jones lost his spot, he was far from happy, but now Jones is back in a starting role on the defense, taking first-team reps at Will linebacker all week.
“I wasn’t the happiest person in the world,” Jones said. “I’m back in the starting position now, and I’m happy with that.”
The Will linebacker is a little different from the Spur position in that the Will is more of an interior, traditional linebacker, whereas Spur is a hybrid safety/linebacker. But Jones isn't worried about the transition.
“It’s really not that different,” Jones said. “I’ve got the same responsibilities. I’m just in the box now. More of a linebacker, less of a cover guy.”
Coach Todd Graham said Tuesday that if the game were played that night, Jones would start at the Will spot, Young at the Spur spot and redshirt freshman Salamo Fiso and senior Steffon Martin would both see time at Sam linebacker.
Kelly, Sutton ready for Colorado
Losses are never good, but they don’t hurt as bad when they’re not conference losses.
However, as ASU returns to Pac-12 South play this weekend, this game is more important than last week's, redshirt senior defensive tackle Will Sutton said.
The Sun Devils enter the game as favorites, but Sutton isn’t taking the Buffaloes lightly.
“You look at Colorado and you say, ‘They don’t have the talent,’ but you never know,” Sutton said. “It’s college football; anything can happen. We can’t look past anybody. You can’t take anybody lightly. We have to go out there and play our game.”
Through four of their first five games, the Sun Devils have completed a gauntlet that was one of the toughest in the country. Redshirt junior quarterback Taylor Kelly said he feels they are a better team for having gone through it.
“Playing a great, quality opponent every single week, week in and week out, is definitely going to improve our team,” Kelly said. “I think we’re a lot further along than we were last year ... based on those four games.”
