The 2025 season has the potential for the Sun Devils to build on the foundation established last year with an 11-win season in a Big 12 championship to once again contend for the conference title. Truth be told, it's been a while since Arizona State has entered any given season with sky-high expectations and lofty feats that the team fully believes they are capable of achieving.

If the first quarter of spring practice is an accurate predictor, the ASU defense’s performance has bred much optimism in its ability to replicate the great success it enjoyed in 2024. So far, in early April, the defense appears to be a very cohesive squad that is incredibly well-rounded and capable of influencing the game at all levels. From the trenches to the secondary, each unit has demonstrated major strides.

Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward stated that players on the defensive line, such as CJ Fite, appear to be "different human beings" than last season. Cornerbacks coach Bryan Carrington stated that he and Ward have been pushing for their group to "take the next step." With a persistent emphasis on players across their groups to pursue constant and notable improvement this season, it has been clear as to which groups have responded to that challenge.

The defensive line as a whole finished sixth in the Big 12 with 24 sacks last season. The only significant departure from that group is outgoing senior and defensive tackle Jeff Clark. Therefore, an experienced position group would give many reasons to believe that they can assert their dominance this upcoming season, especially with the never-ending hunger for improvement.

“I think we’re the most competitive group out here,” said defensive end Prince Dorbah. “We come out here every day and try to bring the juice, and it starts with us, the games run up front, so we try to be the backbone of this team every time we come out here.”

This unit's main run stoppers, including the 6-foot-1 and 295-pound CJ Fite and the 6-foot-4 290-pound Zac Swanson, have consistently halted ball carriers in their tracks during practice and disrupted their teammates on offense, penetrating the backfield with regularity. That duo is one reason why Arizona State stands to improve its sack and tackle for loss numbers this upcoming season.

“(We’re) better at pass rush, disruption, getting off blocks, and just getting after the ball really,” Dorbah described. “Now, in the spring, to get everyone back healthy, stronger, faster, bigger, it’s been a lot of good guys out here running around we didn’t even get to see last year.”

Dorbah has been a consistent component of the ASU defense for a couple of years now, witnessing both the low of a 3-9 campaign and the high of a College Football Playoff appearance. This defensive line targeted getting bigger and faster in the offseason, and sophomore Sam Leavitt would probably agree wholeheartedly that this feat was attained by the front four as he was facing persistent pressure in Thursday’s practice.

When it comes to year-to-year improvements, the cornerback group has earned a lot of attention early in spring practice. The group comprises two steady starters from last season, the junior tandem of Keith Abney II and Javan Robinson. These two players, in particular, played a significant role in ASU's success last season, contributing to six of ASU's 16 interceptions, which ranked second in the Big 12.

However, those two names have not been the bulk of the spring talk thus far. Redshirt freshman cornerbacks Rodney Bimage Jr. and Plas Johnson have made their presence known virtually in every session. Both are vying to establish themselves in the two-deep, and as head coach Kenny Dillingham has repeatedly stated, cultivating competitiveness by making players earn spots is especially crucial.

“It’s really good that everyone came back,” Bimage commented. “The whole team has a good bond, good chemistry, so now we’re into this second year, and this is gonna get even bigger, better.”

“The challenge for those younger guys is not to just have a deer in the headlights mentality,” Ward explained. “They got to understand every walkthrough, every meeting, they’re learning it. When they get an opportunity to go with the 1s, like Rodney and Plas get to…that’s their opportunity, that they’ve put the preparation in, and that their time is now.”

Carrington believes this position group still has plenty of room to grow. Bimage may be the poster boy for the "bigger" and "better phrase, having gained 17 pounds during the offseason. This unit, in particular, could take an unexpected leap from last year, given the youthful talent they have fostered from just these two redshirt freshmen and the early spring returns they have been demonstrating. A stronger two-deep can only benefit each player on that position room, and this is a group that will be a direct beneficiary of an improved pass rush .

Competition grows as a result of the abundance of skill around you, and sometimes, there isn't much competition to be had with a few clear standouts among a smaller group. That is why AJ Cooper's ultra-talented linebacker unit, and whether it's senior linebacker Jordan Crook making plays running through gaps for the first team or freshman linebacker Isaiah Iosefa getting to the backfield for the second team, has been such a disruptive group in the early stages of spring practice.

Another veteran group among the returners, led by senior linebacker Keyshaun Elliot, who has NFL aspirations, says he has been "critiquing himself to the max" but also realizing that what the team needs right now and winning supersede any individual goals.

A clear example of the type of leader Elliott is and what you can expect out of this group as a whole. Linebackers are that bridge between the defensive line and the secondary, so their ability to do both hit their gaps and impact the run while still being substantial in pass coverage has been a crucial component in the Sun Devils’ defensive prowess.

One of the most visible differences from year to year has been the linebacker group's quickness, which has completed its overall brawn, an aspect that has helped Arizona State be one of the top run defenses in the league. Its overall strides in collective agility have produced a greater rate of success in coverage and reaching the offensive backfield, perhaps the most important factor in this group's advancement.

“Our strength and conditioning are always gonna get better,” Elliott said. “I think continuing with the process you gotta restart, it’s a new year, you have to start from play one, whatever the first install is, you can’t just ‘Oh I learned the playbook last year’ so our commitment and execution of the play calls so far this spring has been pretty good.”

ASU isn’t content with its stellar performance from the previous year, as evidenced by Dillingham's constant playing of the "We Are the Champions" song to encourage players to quickly forget about their past success. In order to return to the same form they enjoyed last year, let alone exceed it, every position group has to display the work ethic and relentless drive.

This defense can enjoy the fruits of its labor because of its willingness to grow and challenge one another. As a defense that has already demonstrated its vast potential in the 2024 season, any sizeable gain in performance from last year stands to be an unpleasant sight for conference opponents who, by and large, endured this formidable group and its general ability to win games for ASU.

“Ultimately, as a defense, as an offense, we are all coming together, and keeping that competitive nature is the biggest thing,” Crook remarked. “That’s what took us as far as we went last year, the ability to come out here and play harder than others, be more competitive than others…we’re trying to get that energy back, that fire back.

“We know this isn’t last year's team: we got a couple new guys. It’s coming up day by day; it’s not perfect, but we’re getting better.”

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