{"id":53913,"date":"2025-05-16T04:56:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T04:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/53913\/"},"modified":"2025-05-16T04:56:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T04:56:11","slug":"biggest-questions-facing-asu-footballs-big-12-title-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/53913\/","title":{"rendered":"Biggest questions facing ASU football’s Big 12 title defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s important to make one thing abundantly clear when looking at ASU football\u2019s chances to win the Big 12 once again: repeating typically doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

That is unless you\u2019re Oklahoma, which no longer calls the conference its home.<\/p>\n

The Sooners are the only team to have won the Big 12 outright in back-to-back years since the conference\u2019s creation in 1996. They rattled off three- and six-year runs (2006-08, 2015-20) over a dominant 15-year stretch.<\/p>\n

Since then, there have been different champions each year: Baylor, Kansas State, Texas (left the conference when Oklahoma did) and the Sun Devils.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t even talk about (our title defense) because the goal is almost unobtainable. \u2026 Just be better every single day,\u201d ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said during spring camp on April 18.<\/p>\n

Given what his team was able to improve upon in spring camp and with a long summer ahead of opening night against NAU on Aug. 31, Arizona State looks to be in great shape to do what no one has since Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

The Sun Devils aren\u2019t, however, in such great shape they\u2019re without concern.<\/p>\n

What are ASU football\u2019s biggest question marks to answer in 2025?
\nCan the Sun Devils enjoy the same kind of injury luck?<\/p>\n

Sam Leavitt<\/a>, Cam Skattebo and Keyshaun Elliott missed just one game each, and the Sun Devils stayed largely healthy otherwise up until Jordyn Tyson\u2019s shoulder injury kept him out of the postseason.<\/p>\n

Leavitt knows his running style puts him at risk as a quarterback, just as he saw when he took a hard hit against Utah and cracked ribs in the process. He attributed the hit to motivating him to build up core strength in the offseason.<\/p>\n

He forced 34 missed tackles in 2024, ranking fourth among Power 4 quarterbacks, per PFF<\/a>. There\u2019s reason to believe that approach to contact can be sustainable, as each of the three ahead of him played all possible games in their respective seasons and all with many more carries.<\/p>\n

Should he miss games, however, backup Jeff Sims looked notably better this spring than he had all of last fall. The team is deeper at nearly every position across the board than it was in 2024, too.<\/p>\n

How can the pass rush increase its production?<\/p>\n

ASU\u2019s biggest defensive shortcoming<\/a> in 2024 was its pass rush, sitting at the bottom of the conference, per PFF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Sun Devils did a good job of getting pressure into the backfield to cause hurries, but they were too seldom able to finish that off with sacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolishing up their pass rush mechanics and especially at the quarterback because that\u2019s what it was,\u201d assistant defensive line coach Vince Amey said on April 10. \u201cWe missed so many sacks. It\u2019s not that they\u2019re bad pass rushers, we missed sacks because we got to learn how to finish at the quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

The position is packed with returning players looking to stake their claim for NFL hopes, which is something Dillingham used as a motivational tool during spring camp. Clayton Smith and Justin Wodtly appear to be the two most in position to make a statement.<\/p>\n

ASU also added the top JUCO pass rusher in Joshua Shanklin, who had 14.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss in 11 games last season.<\/p>\n

Will Jes\u00fas G\u00f3mez leave ASU\u2019s kicking woes in the past?<\/p>\n

Where ASU kickers were 4-for-12 (33.3%) on field goals from at least 30 yards out this season, Eastern Michigan transfer Jes\u00fas G\u00f3mez was 14-for-19 (73.7%) on such kicks.<\/p>\n

The lefty will likely bring stability to a position where there was none and empower Dillingham to feel less urgency to go for it on every possible fourth down.<\/p>\n

G\u00f3mez has already started to earn the trust of his coach, which has happened largely by exuding confidence in pressure situations, or at least as much pressure as can be felt away from a real game at a real stadium.<\/p>\n

The results looked the part throughout spring, as he booted kicks through the goalposts with regularity and room to spare. His kicks also sounded demonstrably different from those coming from other ASU kickers.<\/p>\n

\t
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