Locked On Sun Devils - Daily Podcast On Arizona State Sun Devils Football & Basketball Locked On Podcast Network

Watching Arizona State Sun Devils basketball has been difficult in recent years despite tons of talent added year after year... but none of the previous iterations of this team led by Bobby Hurley have felt quite as imposing and exciting as the 2024-25 squad. The Sun Devils aggressively added tons of talent and size through the NCAA Transfer Portal and the 2024 recruiting class. Headlined by consensus five-star center Jayden Quaintance, the highest-rated recruit in program history, Arizona State Sun Devils basketball may have enough to get fans ready to get hurt again, but with the chance of yielding a special team.

As we wind down our positional breakdown series, we turn to the safety position where Arizona State Sun Devils football possesses a ridiculous amount of depth and even better upside. The Sun Devils defense had quality safety play last year and leading tackler Shamari Simmons returns to captain the position. With him are several breakout candidates like Xavion Alford who was ruled ineligible last season due to the NCAA's two-time transfer policy but appears ready to realize his potential.

Arizona State Sun Devils football will field a very different-looking secondary in 2024, especially at the cornerback position. Four of the team's top corners from last season, including stalwarts Ro Torrence and Jordan Clark, are no longer with the program for varying reasons and the Sun Devils have been forced to retool the group. The room is vastly different but may be a secret weapon for Arizona State Sun Devils football in 2024.

Arizona State Sun Devils football yielded a sneaky good defense last year that played with an edge and a mentality of being better than they were expected to be thanks to their linebackers. For 2024, the position is a mess with no clear starters after spring practices had a seemingly endless amount of rotations, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Arizona State Sun Devils football could have a great problem to have, but it's certainly a boom-or-bust unit.

Arizona State Sun Devils football saw their pass rush take a big step forward in 2023 under defensive coordinator Brian Ward and a good chunk of the studs from last year's unit, both off the edge and in the interior, have returned. The defensive line feels special, and several players such as Clayton Smith stand out as superstars on the cusp of a breakout.

Last season saw Arizona State Sun Devils football deal with injury after injury and there was perhaps no position riddled with more injury bad luck than the offensive line. Kenny Dillingha stressed last year they felt the team was two-deep at every position and the depth was challenged consistently. As we enter 2024, Dillingham again insists the unit is two-deep along the line and it feels like there's a lot more smoke to that fire than there was a year ago.