Rome may not have been built in a day, but the ASU defense experienced a 180° turn from 2023 until last season. ASU's defensive coordinator Brian Ward discusses the elements that have contributed to this dramatic turnaround, how this group is shaping up going into spring practice, and what are the necessary factors that need to be in place to exceed an 11-win season.

DevilsDigest TV: When you and I talked after the 2023 season, I felt that despite a 3-9 record, you could see the defensive foundation being built and the potential this group had. As you approached the 2024 season, how confident were you that this same foundation could materialize into the growth and elevated performance we saw in 2024?

Brian Ward: “We could tell that even though we only had, I think, three or four returning starters, that we also had several guys that had been in the building, and the foundation had been laid by guys that maybe hadn't even played a whole lot in 2023. Guys like (safety) Xavion Alford. In the safety room, you also had Montana Warren (who played in just one game in 2023), who was all in there, and all were listening and learning. And you also had a guy in Shamari (Simmons) who started every game, and the culture was in that room already.

“In our linebacker room, even though Tre Brown had graduated, we basically brought back a whole linebacker room. Guys like Caleb McCullough and Tate Romney knew the culture in that room. And then, from a defensive line standpoint, we lost Dashaun Mallory to graduation and a couple of other guys to the transfer portal, but you had guys who played like Prince Dorbah and Clayton Smith, who showed flashes of doing really good things. You also had CJ Fite and Blazen Lono-Wong, who knew the expectations that had been set in terms of our system and what we're trying to do.

"So the concrete has been laid, and we knew where we need to get better. We knew we needed to build depth and then in the cornerbacks room, even though you lose Ro Torrence and Dee Ford, you got Keith Abney there, and you bring in Javan Robinson, who has been in our system at another school (Washington State). From a schematic standpoint, we had a bunch of guys who understood what we were trying to accomplish and why we were doing it. We just didn't have a lot of guys who'd played together before. And then you bring in a bunch of other players to add to that depth, and we really hit on the character of the guys. We had guys who wanted to come in and they recognized the opportunity here.

“We knew that the second year is always better than the first, especially when it comes to how guys are going to respond to adversity, and you can grow with them in the program. We were excited about this past year, and we obviously felt way better about our chances to be competitive.”

DevilsDigest: In this era of instant gratification, players transferring as many times as they want and going for the highest NIL bidder, are you even prouder of the talent and the character you’re able to bring in, especially after a 3-9 season? Several players who were newcomers in 2024 significantly elevated this defense when, for some transfers, ASU wasn't an attractive destination…

Brian Ward: “It was really a unique group. I say it all the time, ‘One man's trash is another man's treasure.’ We brought in a bunch of guys who had chips on their shoulders and wanted to prove themselves, and by and large, that's the majority of our defense. When you bring in guys like (safety) Myles Rowser, Javan Robinson, (defensive lineman) Justin Wodtly (defensive lineman) Jacob Kongaika…guys whose value wasn't seen at the previous places that they were at. So, it had as much to do about them as it did about us, and we just hit on some really unselfish guys.”

DevilsDigest: As ASU was about to begin their first year in the Big 12 when I was talking to some of my counterparts who cover teams in the conference, they told me that two aspects defined the Big 12: From an offensive standpoint, it's a lot if a ‘Keep away ball.’ even if you have the tools of an explosive offense, you're going to be very methodical, and make sure you have longer drives. The second aspect that ties into the first is that no matter who you're playing in the league, it's always going to be a close game. I'm just curious: after ASU's first year in the Big 12, did you see these two aspects play out as the season progressed?

Brian Ward: “You just look at the Big 12 before we came, and you take Texas and Oklahoma out of the Big 12, and even with them in the Big 12 the previous year, it was the most competitive conference in terms of score differential among the Power Five conferences. The rosters are very similar, and it really is a complementary football conference.

“It really comes down to offensive and defensive coordinators being able to embody the head coach's philosophy. The more important situations were, and we said it from the jump, that the difference between the Pac-12 and the Big 12 is that the Pac-12 was an offensive conference, full of elite quarterbacks and elite skill players whose whole goal was to put up 40 points a game and score as quickly and as many points as possible with less thought going into defense. If you go through the Pac-12 and the teams that were successful in the Pac-12, you’ll see that they're full of elite skill players. The teams that separated themselves were the ones who had those elite skill players.

“In the Big 12, and it's a players’ and coaches’ league, where the best cultures, the best situational coaches are the ones that are going to win, and it proved itself this past year.”

DevilsDigest: With that in mind, it would seem extra challenging for any Big 12 defensive coordinator, knowing that it’s unavoidable to have all of these close games take place week after week after week…

Brian Ward: “Every offense and every team is going to present different challenges, and it really is about making sure that we've prepared the right way and getting our guys prepared each week to go out and be able to execute. We tell our guys all the time that the game for us is Sunday through Saturday afternoon, and then the game is for them (the players). It's up to us as coaches to be able to prepare our guys and do everything we can to put our guys in the best position to be successful. That's why we stay up here all night, and put the hours in, is to be able to prepare those guys for each and every practice, and to prepare them for every game.

“So, the game is for the players, and if we take a step back from that, then we're cheating not only ourselves but, more importantly, the players.”

DevilsDigest: Being proficient in turnovers was naturally a notable element that has helped improve defensive production. Is that simply the ‘A year older, a year wiser’ effect in conjunction with a lot of returning players, the catalyst for increasing turnovers (from 9 turnovers in 2023 to 23 last season)?

Brian Ward: “I think there's a bunch of things that go into creating turnovers. One, your guys are half a step faster; they're executing with more confidence. Then, I really believe that the offense has just as much of an impact. If teams feel like they have to score to keep up with our offense rather than just move the ball, that means the quarterback's going to drop back to pass more. If he's dropping back to pass more, that means that the ball is going to be in the air more. Our improvement on offense, how well they played this year, and the fact that they rarely turned the ball over helped the defense. You don't see a lot of games at the D-I level where both teams are turning the ball over a lot. It's usually one, and then the other one's holding onto the ball. Our offense was a huge factor, and it put the pressure on opposing offenses to try to push the ball down the field, which gave us more opportunities to go after the football.”

DevilsDigest: Was there a certain game during the season that you felt as if this defense was really going to be special the rest of the year?

Brian Ward: “Looking back on it, we really hit our stride in that week nine, week 10 area (UCF and Kansas State wins), and part of it is a get-to-know process, too. I know that seems late in the season, but everybody says, ‘You remember November,’ Our team had shown it, our defense had shown it throughout the year that we really didn't get rattled, we didn't lose our composure. They’ve shown us that the attitude of these guys was just different. If they got hit on the chin, the other team had a scoring drive, or we gave up three scoring drives in a row, which happened in the BYU game, we were going to find a way to get a stop; I think that once our guys realized it's really up to us executing the game plan and communicating and just playing hard that we're eventually going to start playing well. And that's what's so unique about that group is that they just never got rattled, and they always found a way to come up to win the game. That's what made that group so special.

“I've been a part of teams, and we were like that the year before, where the sideline had come unraveled, and guys would confront each other, losing their cool, and emotions would get the best of us. This last year's team just wanted to know how to get it fixed, what they did right, what went wrong, and how can we move forward.”

DevilsDigest: When it comes to players being so even keel and how important that was to the overall success, do you think it was more organic on behalf of the players, or is it a process that has to start from the top by the head coach and all of the coaches?

Brian Ward: “Honestly, it starts with the message that they're being given every day, and the more consistent us coaches, and our head coach, and everybody in the building are, and the better the communication lines are with the players, and the more consistent that message is, then that players know what to expect. If the message is constantly changing, then they don't know what to expect, and if they don't know what to expect, they don't know how to respond.

“I really do believe that it's a combination of two things. One, we have great character in our program by our players, and we have guys who truly feel they have something to prove. And then I also believe it's also because we do work really hard to give a consistent message to these players. When you change things, that's when uncertainty creeps in, but when they know what to expect and they can trust the message that's being given to them, that to me was a reflection, not only of who they are but of the message and the coaching that they were getting as well.

DevilsDigest: Fair to say that it’s easier said than done being consistent with a message and a communication method when things are going well and you experience that early success that keeps on building, versus trying to be consistent when a season goes south?

Brian Ward: “That's where you get back to just us being process-oriented. Our head coach talks about it all the time. The coaching staff echoes it to the players all the time. The players talk about the process. The wins and losses are going to take care of themselves, and even if you do everything right, there's still a chance things are going to go wrong. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you're able to hone in more on making the process cleaner. And that's what we talk to our guys about all the time. We're going to look at different ways, and that's what we're spending all this spring doing. How can we tweak it? Are we doing it the best way possible? But ultimately, when you get into fall, that's when everything has to be in concrete, and all the work has to be done in the preparation before the message is sent to those players.

“You're right, it is organic. It really is. I think one thing affects the other, and I think the players trust when we say something to them because they're getting the right message, and they go out and do their best to execute it. If something goes wrong, they want to hear why did it go wrong? Let's get it fixed, and that's why we had such composure this year.”

DevilsDigest: Composure by the players and coaches is certainly an attribute this defense has shown all year. There were games where the defense would take its lumps in the first and second drives of the game, but the next three quarters, at times, seemed like night and day performance compared to that first quarter. Not only did halftime adjustments prove effective, but also the in-game adjustments that you and your staff were able to implement helped win so many of those close score games we talked about that are part of the Big 12’s DNA...

Brian Ward: “There are some games we did a better job than others, and that's on me, and that's why I stay in here, and we work so hard at the process. And there were other games where we started really fast. That's what makes this game so unique, is that there's no set in stone concrete way, and that's why it just continues to evolve. And if you get comfortable, it's going to catch up to you. You can have every starter coming back, you can have every expectation in the world, but it really doesn't matter unless, as a unit, as a program, as a team, you're able to go out and execute and then move on to the next play. If you dwell in good times and bad times on what just happened, it's going to catch up to you.”

DevilsDigest: Lots of special moments for this defense last year, but maybe no one period of a game would put a bigger smile on your face than watching that third quarter against Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game, getting three straight takeaways on three drives?

“I'll watch the second quarter. I really do. I watch after those first two drives, even though it took them 23 plays to get 10 points, watching us getting into that adjustment at the end of that early second quarter. We got a three-and-out, and then us getting a two-minute stop and then going into the third quarter and getting three straight takeaways. That was all a byproduct of our guys executing the adjustment, and they did it to a T, and it was easy. Once we figured out what they were trying to do, our kids just went out and played, and we put them in a position that we've been preparing for since fall camp, and they just executed it, and it was awesome.

“There are a lot of proud moments from last year. Opening the season against Wyoming the way we did and how we played those first six quarters. Finding a way to get a stop at the end of the Mississippi State game and at the end of the Central Florida game after playing our worst game…how we played the middle of the game against Kansas after the way we started it. Against BYU in the first half of that game, and how prepared and came out was amazing…the Kansas State game coming out the way we did, holding them to 14 points on the road…going to Oklahoma State after they just dropped consecutive 30-point games against two of the top teams in the conference and blowing their doors off…going down to U of A and executing the way we did. After that first drive against Texas, for the way we played for four quarters and the way those guys responded, they were having a lot of fun out there.

"So, there are a lot of moments that we really enjoyed, and I think we showed flashes of being a really good defense, and hopefully now we want to take that step into being a great defense and a defense that people can say that's something we remember about this team.”

DevilsDigest: When you examine the continuity of the talent from last year, do you see fewer question marks on the front six versus the back five?

Brian Ward: “We lose Shamari (Simmons) and Caleb McCullough. And we lose a defensive lineman who played quality snaps for us in Jeffrey Clark. But we got a lot of experience coming back. Again, the only question mark is will this group still play with the same chip on their shoulder, the same composure, and the same belief? Are we going to continue to move forward and understand the what, how, and why we're doing things even better and even more thoroughly? We got to continue to move forward.

“We have two experienced corners, two all-conference safeties, an all-conference linebacker, along with maybe two to three other guys that could have gotten all-conference attention along with your starting two defensive tackles and two starting defensive ends and all of their backups. It's exceptional.

“We got to develop the depth of depth in the back end, but you bring in guys too, like Boogie Wilson (Washington State safety transfer Adrian Wilson), who started 12 games in our system at another program. You got Montana Warren, who started at nickel against Texas and played well in the first half, and he has game experience for us. Then you bring in (Purdue transfer) Kyndrich Breedlove, who's going to push him at nickel. And then you got a guy who backed up all year at nickel in Kyan McDonald. We got to find depth at free safety for Xavion Alford. But coming into the season, I'd say we have way more depth than we had last year, really than any other position. So, we got to keep healthy. We got to keep pushing forward.”

DevilsDigest: A lot of fans ask me how do you replace Shamari Simmons at nickel, and people forget that he was the team’s back-to-back MVP. Is this one of the most quote-unquote burning questions of the spring as to who will start at nickel and what the dept chart looks like there?

Brian Ward: “Maybe. Even Shamari knew that he was going to have to fight for a spot last year because of some of the guys that we brought in. We still have that competition when you have the kind of depth I feel we have. People better bring it every single day because if you get comfortable, you're going to get passed up. We're going to miss Shamari a ton, and that's one of those positions we’ve shown what we've done over these last two years because a good program prepares. You're always one game away or one play away from having to play another guy. And as long as our guys keep that mentality, we should be able to move forward.”

DevilsDigest: You have two established starting safeties in Xavion Alford and Myler Rowser. Who do you feel are the main backups to those players?

Brian Ward: “We brought in Boogie Wilson for a reason, and we didn't bring in Boogie to be a backup. We're always going to play our best three guys in the backend. Boogie's mentality is, ‘I'm coming in here to start.’ Chris Johnson has had a great, great off season and we moved him to free safety. And that's another thing: if we got three really good players in our depth at nickel, we're going to move guys around. I know it's great to put in the media, ‘Here's the backup.’ But really, in my mind, I go, ‘Who's the next best player?’ And so those guys are all going to get a chance to play every position in the secondary. So, at free, nickel and strong, we're going to play the best guys, and if they're good enough to play, and we got five of them, they're all going to play.”

DevilsDigest: The intrinsic motivation that established the team culture and helped that crucial team chemistry is probably a facet that was evident to some extent this time last year. As the team looks to recapture that fire, are you seeing signs right now that make you feel that not only can the team keep that same mentality and use that basis to take its performance to a higher level in 2025?

Brian Ward: “I will tell you, at this time last year, there was a lot of uncertainty. Was there the belief that we could actually do it? I think guys knew we had the talent, had the ability, and we're working hard towards it. I think after having the experiences and how well we played towards the end of the year last year (2024) and how dominant we were at times in playing some of the best teams in the country, I feel like our guys know if we take a step back, it means now we're taking a step back into where we were at (prior to 2024). And I hope our guys don't want to go back and will continue to take those steps forward. And that's what we're working for every day.”

DevilsDigest: Suffice it to say that it's harder to take that next step after having such a successful season versus building up from a 3-9 to an 11-3 season?

Brian Ward: “I guess it just depends on the mentality of how people are wired. I think certain guys are looking for comfort, and if you're looking for comfort, then you're going to take a step back, and you're not going to be able to handle the success. If you're looking for a challenge and you're looking for growth, you're just never ever going to think about what happened last season. I think all of us have a bitter taste in our mouth because we all lost in a game (Peach Bowl) that we felt we could have won, and I hope that's the driving factor with our guys.”

DevilsDigest: Going into spring practice, what do you see as your top goals that you want to accomplish for the defense?

Brian Ward: “The goals are to continue to stop the run, eliminate explosives, and then get better in terms of penalties. From a defensive standpoint, we had more penalties this year than any other year of me being a D-I coordinator. This is just something we got to make a huge emphasis on.”

DevilsDigest: In any sport, there’s always that fine line between taking the approach of, ‘If it's not broken, don't fix it’ when you have a successful team versus the want to be creative in order not to be stale and predictable to your opponents. What is your opinion on how to handle this balance?

Brian Ward: “Never move away from your principles. I've learned that the hard way and, in my experience, you determine, ‘Here's who we are on defense’ and find different ways to be multiple without moving away from who you are and as long as it fits with what we do on defense we're open to doing anything.”

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