Longest tenured beat writer for Arizona State football and basketball, and a Website Publisher since 2001.
The former Hurricane provides the Sun Devils immediate help at the nose tackle role (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)
It was no secret that ASU was going to add at least 12 players from the transfer portal ahead of the 2022 season and Arizona State is more or less halfway there. Today though, Miami (Fla.) defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera, a former four-star and Top-125 prospect represented the highest-rated addition to the Sun Devils, filling in the void at starting nose tackle that DJ Davidson’s NFL draft departure left behind.
The 6-2 306-pound Silvera, who is enrolled at ASU and expected to be part of the team’s spring practice, played in 11 games last season, starting in eight, and posted 5.5 tackles for loss and 38 tackles total. This followed a 2020 campaign where he received All-ACC honorable mention when he tallied eight tackles for loss (including a sack), 35 total tackles, a forced fumble, and a defended pass. Overall in his 41-game career in Coral Gables over the last four seasons, NJS registered 105 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, and two sacks.
Silvera, who has one year of eligibility left, will battle senior Tautala (TJ) Pesefea for the starting nose tackle role and will boost up the starting four with the returns of tackle Jermayne Lole and defensive end Travez Moore (assuming he’s granted an NCAA waiver) who missed all (Lole) or most (Moore) of the season due to injury, as well as junior end Michael Matus, sack leader sophomore walk-on tackle BJ Green, sophomore end Joe Moore, sophomore tackle Omarr Norman-Lott AND sophomore end Anthonie Cooper among others.
