The path to success of a newcomer is rarely a trouble-free process, and Maurice Chandler can certainly attest to that. Last Saturday though in his first career start at ASU the junior college transfer defensive back got to finally reap the benefits of his hard work.

“It did set me back but you have to really look at it as a blessing,” Chandler said of his injuries that led him to miss several sessions both in spring practice and fall camp. “God always has a plan. I just kept pushing every day. It affected my mindset in a positive way because it made me fight harder and I came out stronger for it in the end.”

The 6-0 191-pound Chandler, who transferred in January from Northeast Oklahoma A&M College, stated that learning a much different and complex defense was yet just another challenge to deal with during his first season as a Division I player. Even as a Top-60 junior college prospect, the transition to a more complex system had its fair share of hurdles.

“Learning the defense, getting in-tune with everybody on the secondary,” Chandler described, “you run a simpler defense in JUCO and you come in here and just trying to learn everything quickly. Working under coach Graham I feel that I have improved in all areas, man coverage, learning defensive formations, learning to pick apart offenses, just learning every key.”

Perhaps to Chandler’s benefit was the fact that his position coach, T.J. Rushing, is a first-year assistant coach at ASU (served as a graduate assistant in 2012) who came in with no preconceived notions that could have favored incumbent players. Therefore, Chandler and all of his teammates had the same clean slate in their battle to establish themselves in the two-deep.

“Him (Rushing) being in the league he always teaches us techniques he learned from there,” Chandler commented. “Working with him makes the game fun every day.”

With that coach’s guidance and his own progression of skills, Chandler earned his first start in a Sun Devil uniform as he lined up last Saturday at field corner when ASU hosted UCLA in a 23-20 victory. In that contest, Chandler had the second-most tackles on the team with seven, all solo stops.

“It made you step up big,” Chandler said of that game. “Especially playing someone at that level, like UCLA a powerhouse team, you had to get your mind right and learn how to play quick, how to play fast.

“I wasn’t nervous about the game at all. I went and relied on my technique and relied on my coaching. It’s all about the preparation. I have to thank my brothers for helping me every day in practice. Working with coach Rushing, watching more film, helped me become more of a player.”

Chandler took satisfaction not only in his own performance, but also in the entire defense that sacked both UCLA signal callers five times, recorded three interceptions, and eliminated any threat on the ground limiting the Bruins to a -1 yards rushing total.

“It was very satisfying and it starts up front,” Chandler stated. “That really helped us in the backfield. Our secondary was working together and was in-tune all game. After the USC game (a 41-20) loss, we wanted to step up, make more plays and bounce back from that tough loss. Everyone was working hard during that week in practice.

“Everybody wanted to prove everyone wrong.”

And Maurice Chandler against unfavorable odds he encountered earlier in the year is now making his own case, and much like the rest of the defense is defying the predictions.

Eric Smith contributed to this article