Led by Sutton, ASU tops Pac-12 in honorees

Led by Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year Will Sutton, Arizona State placed a league-best 13 players on the combined first and second-team all-Pac-12 squad announced Monday.

Sutton, a 6-foot-1, 305 pound senior defensive tackle out of Corona, Calif., is the second ever repeat winner of the award after Washington's Steve Emtman.

Through the regular season's completion Sutton has 42 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Sutton's statistical production is significantly down from last season when he won the award and was a consensus first-team All-American after tallying 23.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. He faced a lot more double teams and cut blocks in 2013 as opponents schemed against him more.

"When [ASU coach Todd Graham] told me I sounded like a kid on Christmas," Sutton said. "My voice got all high pitched, I was excited. I didn't think I would get the Defensive Player of the Year again because my numbers were down and everything, so I thought, 'oh well.' But we're winning so it didn't matter to me. But we're winning so it's crazy."

Including honorable mentions, ASU had 17 honorees as voted on by the Pac-12's coaches, which tied its record for the most in school history with ASU's 1997 output.

Senior tight end Chris Coyle and senior left tackle Evan Finkenberg were first-team selections on offense and Sutton was joined by senior safety Alden Darby and senior cornerback Robert Nelson as first-team picks on defense.

On the second-team ASU junior quarterback Taylor Kelly, senior running back Marion Grice, sophomore receiver Jaelen Strong and junior offensive guard Jamil Douglas were recognized along with senior linebacker Chris Young. and junior linebacker Carl Bradford.

Despite leading ASU in sacks, senior defensive lineman Davon Coleman was only picked as an honorable mention selection, where he was joined by fellow senior defensive lineman Gannon Conway. Sophomore D.J. Foster and junior De'Marieya Nelson were special teams honorable mentions.

But Monday's buzz was all about Sutton, who was honored by the league's coaches every week of the season with their gameplans and following its conclusion with their votes.

Stanford had the second-most first and second team picks with 12 followed by USC with six. Oregon and UCLA had four apiece.