Three games into the 2019 season, No. 24 Arizona State’s defense has been impressive, to say the least. They’ve allowed seven points per game (2nd in the FBS), as they stand only with No. 13 Wisconsin as teams that haven’t allowed a point in the first three quarters of any game.

Additionally, ASU has only allowed three red zone trips this season, tied for second-lowest in the FBS with San Diego State and Notre Dame, although Notre Dame and Wisconsin- the the only team ahead of them with two- have each only played twice this season. The Sun Devils also are tied for eighth both in fumbles recovered, with four, and passes defended, with 15.

All these figures are crazy considering where ASU’s defense was just two seasons ago. To be specific, the Sun Devils were tied for 88th in scoring defense, conceding 31.3 points per game, and tied for 111th in passes defended, with 33, at the end of the 2017 season.

One could also use that word, crazy, to describe what linebackers coach Antonio Pierce- or coach AP, as the players call him- would have thought of someone had they told him this is where he’d end up just two years ago.

“I’d say they’re crazy, because I had no intentions of coming to college,” Pierce responded when asked the question. “You either stay at (Long Beach) Poly or go to the NFL, those are the options, but obviously we have a lot of NFL ties here so it’s the closest thing I can get to it, and obviously working for coach Edwards and (ASU Vice President for Athletics) Ray Anderson is a plus.”

Now the recruiting coordinator, in addition to his positional coach responsibilities, Pierce has tapped into that Long Beach Poly connection in helping build what’s been a stout unit early in the 2019 season. In fact, one could argue that the Poly recruiting pipeline has proven to be the most crucial element of the unit’s hasty turnaround.

One of those seven players in sophomore safety Aashari Crosswell (12 tackles, 2 pass breakups, accounted for lone turnover with a forced fumble at Michigan State) explained the the direct link between his decision to come to ASU and Pierce coaching here.

“He was my head coach, so as soon as I found out he was coming here I knew right away that I wanted to play for him,” Crosswell stated. “He was probably one of the main reasons why I came here.”

Although the narrative of Pierce drawing guys from Long Beach Poly, where he coached the Jackrabbits for four seasons has been visited numerous times, it’s worth looking into again given how the unit has played through its first three games of the year.

“It’s early on, but we’re playing well, we’re playing physical and fast,” Pierced noted. “Yeah you want to be perfect, yeah you want shutouts, but what we’ve done so far is truly outstanding for the amount of young players that we’re playing with.”

To his point, the Sun Devils are starting four true sophomores, one redshirt sophomore and one redshirt freshman on defense. From the Poly contingent, this includes Crosswell in addition to standout sophomore defensive end Jermayne Lole, who’s registered 17 tackles, two for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a quarterback hit in three contests.

Not all of these former Poly players are young though, as senior starting cornerback Kobe Williams (10 tackles, one for loss, three passes defended and a forced fumble) transferred to ASU out of Long Beach City College prior to 2017, before anyone had a clue Pierce would end up here.

Even though he wasn’t recruited by Pierce specifically, he emphasizes the difference it makes to have him around in helping feel comfortable and like he can play to his highest potential.

“You connect to him, he’s just like us from the city,” Williams commented. “You just get his lingo, you just get his talk, he’s just that same guy every single day and you can hang out with him outside of football.

“I’m with him all the time, anytime we can be with him or anything, just because I’m so familiar with him, I’ve been with him so long…now, I watch film with him and the (linebackers), just because I’m so familiar with him just because I’m so used to his talk and everything.”

Pierce may not coach Williams’ position group, but the senior defensive back expanded on how much AP has taught him over the years under his tutelage. Furthermore, he alluded to specific touchdown-saving play he made in last year’s 38-35 victory as USC, which can be seen below.

This merely provides a a window into the impact Pierce has made on Williams, who’s had him as a football coach in four of the last six seasons, counting 2019. But don’t get it twisted, because Williams is not neglecting his fellow defensive backs in the film room to hang out with AP.

“I’ll just help (Crosswell and starting redshirt freshman safety Cam Phillips) with film, so they can go into a game and just know ‘we’re prepared for this,’” Williams commented. “If I see anything on the safeties that I want them to know, I’ll text them anytime of the day just to let them know ‘keep this in your notes before the game just so you can know to help us play faster.’”

This sense of camaraderie that guys like Pierce and Williams have helped create expands beyond just the guys who went to Poly, but has spread to the entire defensive unit. At the risk of sounding cliché, I don’t think I’ve talked to one defensive player since preseason activities commenced on July 23 who hasn’t mentioned the bond and sense of family all the defensive guys feel with each other, which makes sense given that the vast majority of the starters are returning players who played in multiple games last season.

In some ways, this has been facilitated by what Williams mentioned earlier in regards to guys who come from the city, and didn’t necessarily grow up in a perfect world.

“Listen, when you’re at Long Beach Poly and you grew up where I grew up and you played in the (NFL) with the guys I played in the league with, there’s a lot of different ways to make a point, make a statement,” Pierce said. “Sometimes being direct and a little strong comes off a little better for me, it works for me.”

By how the linebackers, and the entire defensive unit for that matter, have played thus far, it seems to resonate with the players as well. Crosswell, who can often be seen pointing to the sky before he takes the field in practice or on gameday offered some insight into his world, which has similarities with a number of his defensive teammates in addition to Pierce.

“That’s just me talking to my boys,” Crosswell explained. “They passed away and I’ll be talking to my brothers, so that’s just me dedicating (my play) to them. So, every time I do that, when I point to the sky, everything is for them because they’re no longer here with me anymore, but they’re still with me, so I just talk to them and say ‘this one’s for y’all,’ and just show me something.”

The sense of family that this defense has created, thanks to common pasts and common former stomping grounds, can not be overstated in helping land USC transfer and former five-star recruit Jack Jones in August, who himself was a Jackrabbit coached by Pierce.

Granted, Jones has a blemished past, but anyone capable of taking any kind of perspective on the world would understand how much more someone who grew up in that environment is exposed to more adverse situations than the average person.

Williams, who at one time was overshadowed by Jones in the eyes of recruiters while they were teammates at Long Beach Poly, explained why his Jackrabbit teammate is in good hands at ASU, saying that he’s embraced this second chance.

“He always says ‘you’re the captain, you go first,’ or ‘you’re the captain, this is your team,’” Williams said. “It’s just cool keeping him familiar with the team and everything like that, even outside of football, just keeping him around, just watching football games and all that, just knowing that his family’s here; me, AP and all those guys.”

This defense still has a whole Pac-12 season ahead of them, and a long way to go before they start to get consistently respected as a nationally elite defense. Nonetheless, if the players on this side of the ball continue to embody the identity that Pierce and his fellow former Jackrabbits have been so crucial in creating, under the the direction of defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, there’s no telling what 2019 has in store.

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