When Arizona State’s defense is discussed by fans and media alike, much of the emphasis seems to be placed on the returning starting cornerbacks standout freshmen that held down starting spots from week one last season in linebackers Merlin Robertson, Darien Butler, and safety Aashari Crosswell.
Between a significant departing senior and other upperclassmen players transferring, resulting in the paper-thin depth it had during Spring practice, the narrative around the defensive line is one of an overlooked unit and a group that may not generate much optimism for 2019.
Senior nose tackle Renell Wren was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the NFL draft, while seniors Jalen Bates and Darius Slade entered the transfer portal to finish their careers elsewhere, Bates at Colorado State and Slade at South Florida, respectively.
The Sun Devils’ defensive front features only two upperclassmen who have ever played a game in the maroon and gold, that being redshirt senior George Lea and junior Shannon Forman. The remaining 11 players who fill out that position group are underclassmen, save for a senior transfer in Roe Wilkins (this excludes freshman Amiri Johnson, who is listed as a lineman on the roster but has practiced only with linebackers in camp).
Arguably the most prominent player of this group, however, is sophomore Jermayne Lole, a returning starter at defensive end. The 6’2’, 284-lb. lineman was easily was one the biggest surprise newcomers for ASU tallying five tackles-for-loss, including three sacks, plus four passes defended and a forced fumble in 11 games played.
Yet, he’s hardly resting on his laurels.
“I feel like we have a a chip on our shoulder,” Lole said. “When people talk about ASU, they talk about our DB’s (defensive backs) and our linebackers…(position coach Jamar) Cain wants us to be up there in the same conversation to where we’re not the end parts of the defense, where it’s not like DB’s, linebackers and the d-line, we want to just put our own brand out there like how the linebackers and DB’s are.”
The former Long Beach, California Poly High School player feels confident after the first week of preseason practice, not only for himself but for the other players that round out the group.
“It feels good especially because we have depth,” Lole commented, “but it’s not really depth if the dudes behind you aren’t picking up on the defense-it’s a waste. But they’re picking up on the defense, they’re playing better, especially our new dudes coming in, our young guys and Roe (Wilkins) too coming in, they’re getting more familiar with the defense, so they’re playing faster.
“Plus, we came in in-shape, but conditioning shape and football shape are two different things, so running around the football field makes that better for us too.”
For himself specifically, Lole said there was one major key to getting himself prepared to be well-conditioned ahead of this season.
“I just took the weight room,” Lole explained. “Not that I wasn’t taking it as seriously before- but I really dedicated this offseason to the weight room and conditioning with (sports performance coach Joe) Connolly.”
Considering how limited his snaps were until over a month into the 2018 season, as Lole didn’t notch his first start until the tenth game of the season (started all four of the remaining contests from there on out), it quite impressive to hear him talked as being one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the Pac-12.
Lole feels that his improvement this year can undoubtedly be credited to Jamar who according to the sophomore has brought a technical aspect to his game that he feels could surely benefit young players, let alone the veterans who have now had multiple position coaches during their time in Tempe.
“I love his coaching style,” Lole said of Cain, “especially when you get a new d-line coach you learn new techniques. I still use stuff I learned from (former position coach Shaun) Nua, and getting a new coach like coach Cain, he’s real technical with the way he teaches, so it helps out a lot.
“Some people don’t like getting a new d-line coach because they have to get used to a new dude, but I love it because- well, this is my first time- but I’m liking the experience so far because I’m learning new stuff.”
Another newcomer that has made an impression on Lole aside from Wilkins, a graduate transfer from Rice is T.J. Pesefea, a sophomore junior college transfer.
“T.J. and Roe both are the same,” Lole said. “They’re in that stage where they’re just trying to do a little too much, or overthinking it because they think they got to impress or something, but they’re starting to get more and more familiar with the defense as practice goes on.”
Lole feels that it was a privilege playing behind Renell Wren last season, and although he’s previously said they were never too close due to their age gap, he emphasized how much of a role model the outgoing senior was to him.
“He worked very hard outside the football field,” Lole recalled. “Picking up just trying to get way stronger in the weight room, he transitioned that a lot. His game is a real power game, so from him, transitioning that from the weight room to the field works pretty good for me.”
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