Spring Practice Positional Previews: Cornerbacks
Leading up to Arizona State football’s 2018 spring practices, DevilsDigest.com takes an in-depth look at each of the Sun Devils positions heading into spring ball. Today, we look at ASU’s crop of cornerbacks.
PROJECTED SPRING DEPTH CHART (Starter -- backup)
Cornerback: Chase Lucas (R-So) – Joey Bryant (R-Sr)
Cornerback: Kobe Williams (Jr) – Darien Cornay (Jr)/Terin Adams (R-So)
WHAT’S NEW
Though ASU’s new defensive coaching staff, led by coordinator Danny Gonzales and cornerbacks coach/defensive passing game coordinator Tony White, brings the new 3-3-5 defense to Tempe this spring, the roles on the perimeter of the secondary aren’t slated for too much change.
“In terms of corners, it’s no different,” White told DevilsDigest.com. “We never have to sub, we are never going to have a guy in there doing one thing and then sub in a guy to do something else. The best guy is going to play and they are going to practice that throughout the entire week.”
Coming into spring practice, ASU’s new defensive staff is trusting returning starters Chase Lucas and Kobe Williams will continue to fill those first-team roles.
“Chase and Kobe, those guys can cover,” Gonzales said. “They’ve proven they can cover the best guys in the Pac-12, which we’re excited to have both those guys back because they have a lot of game experience.”
Williams was a week-one starter for the Sun Devils last year as junior college-transfer, recording a pick-six and breaking up six passes during his first season at ASU.
Joey Bryant started the season opposite of Williams last fall before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in September. The injury opened the door for Lucas, the redshirt freshman, to break into the starting lineup; by season’s end, he had two interceptions, 59 tackles, a USA Today Freshmen All-American honor and All-Pac 12 second team selection.
White insisted their coverage responsibilities won’t change much this year.
“In every defense in the country, a corner is essentially doing three things only. He’s either playing cover 2, playing cover 3 or he’s in man-to-man,” he said. “I don’t think we do anything outrageous or put them out on an island more so. I just think it’s more a nature of if you want to be aggressive or not.”
However, White – an outside linebacker for UCLA during his playing days – wants his corners to be able to do more than just defend receivers this year.
“One thing I pride myself and my position group in is being physical and being active in the run game,” White said. “That’s one thing that I think separates good defenses from great defenses is that the defensive backs are active in the run game. We’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to be physical and we’re going to be much more active.”
Another difference for ASU defensive backfield this year: frequent visits from head coach Herm Edwards to position meetings and workouts.
“He is looking at the defensive backs real close,” White said of Edwards, who was a DB in the NFL before moving up the coaching ranks as a secondary coach. “Everything, he’s looking. He was sitting in everybody’s meeting room, but he was analyzing the defensive backs right away.”
PERSONNEL CHANGES
Alex Perry’s surprise departure from the program last month was about the only significant personnel change from ASU’s cornerback group last year.
Williams will hold down one starting CB spot. Lucas will man the other and is a young player White thinks can make huge improvements this offseason after switching to the position just a couple years ago.
“He’s new to the position, so the little nuances of the game, cleaning up technique issues, little things like that can really help him,” White said. “But again, you are talking about a guy who transitions over and just because he was the best athlete on the field he was able to go out there and do what he did being a youngster. That’s pretty impressive.”
Bryant is still working back from his knee injury while junior Darien Cornay might also be limited during spring ball, but both represent experienced depth within the group.
The Sun Devils’ two big additions on the edge were junior college transfers Terin Adams and Dominique Harrison.
While Gonzales said Harrison will be tested at safety this spring, Adams will compete for a spot in the ASU two-deep this spring.
“He (Adams) is a guy who, number one has really good size for a corner,” White said, who had been recruiting Adams at San Diego State, his previous coaching destination, before being hired at ASU. “You are talking about legit 5-11, 6-0, can be a 190 – 195 (pound) guy. Quick twitch athlete. Used to being put in situations where he is by himself on an island. The mentality is right.”
THINGS TO WATCH FOR THIS SPRING
1) HOW THE CORNERS ARE USED IN THE 3-3-5: Though White indicated that the cornerbacks positioning won’t look too different this season ASU’s new defense, it will be interesting to see how he best utilizes the athleticism at the position.
Lucas made nearly 60 tackles last year and could be an option for corner-blitz packages and provide support in edge run defense. Also, Williams, Lucas, and Bryant combined for just four interceptions last season. White will want his corners to produce more turnovers and may have them play more aggressively to do so.
2) ARE TERIN ADAMS AND DOM HARRISON D-I READY: ASU has had success with its junior college-transfer cornerbacks in recent years. Williams, Bryant, and Cornay were all ex-junior college recruits before arriving in Tempe.
When the Sun Devils signed Adams and Harrison (who could be used across all five DB positions) during last December’s early signing period, Edwards said he thought they would provide an immediate boost to a pass defense that ranked 120th in the country last year.
3) HOW MUCH CAN CHASE LUCAS IMPROVE: Lucas was predominately a running back at Chandler High School before arriving at ASU, but has grown into one of the better all-around DBs in the Pac-12. White thinks there are still technique issues Lucas can improve upon. If he does, the redshirt sophomore could be a legitimate first-team all-conference cornerback.
SPRING BALL ROSTER AND PROJECTED ROLES
STARTERS
Chase Lucas (6-0, 178, Redshirt-Sophomore): Both and White and Gonzales spoke highly of Lucas after his all-conference selection last season. Lucas provides both the tackling ability and ball-hawking traits the new secondary coaches are looking for. He should be ASU’s No. 1 corner throughout spring practice.
Kobe Williams (5-10, 162, Junior): Williams helped stabilize the ASU secondary last season. However, Edwards has left no doubt that he wants to still improve the back end as a whole, meaning spots like Williams’ might be up for grabs. Williams had some terrific games last season – Washington, New Mexico State – but also struggled at times in his first season at the D-I level. It’s his job to lose entering spring ball, but there will be plenty of quality depth behind him.
BACKUPS (In order of class)
Joey Bryant (6-1, 180, Redshirt-Senior): Bryant burst onto the scene during fall camp last year and had gotten off to a decent start to the season before tearing his ACL in a September practice. It will be tough for him to overtake Williams or Lucas to get back with the first-team, especially without getting to participate in spring ball.
Jalen Russell (5-11, 176, Redshirt-Junior): A walk-on this year who will likely won’t see much time on the field.
Darien Cornay (5-11, 184, Junior): Cornay spent all of last season on the second team, seeing little playing time (2 games played, 1 tackle) after coming to Tempe as a junior college transfer. Cornay’s health is a question mark coming into spring; he could try and push for the No. 2 starter spot in the fall but could also slip further down the depth chart if sidelined this spring with the new arrivals Gonzales and Co. have brought in.
Dominique Harrison (6-0, 185, Junior): The 3-star junior college transfer can fill in at any of the five defensive back spots. Gonzales said he will likely be tried as a safety first, but could always slide out to the perimeter if need-be. Had four interceptions at Blinn College last year, something White said he immediately noticed when watching Harrison’s film.
Brandon Aiyuk (6-1, 195, Junior): Aiyuk comes to ASU as a 2-star junior college receiver, but could play a number of positions for ASU, including cornerback. “He’s an athlete. We are going to figure out after spring ball how that goes depending on depth and all that stuff,” White said. “Again, first thing you do when you watch the film, he is the best athlete on the field.” Aiyuk told DevilsDigest.com he’d be open to playing CB, something he did in high school. He still seems likely to fit in somewhere in the receiving corps though.
Terin Adams (6-0, 185, R-Sophomore): Much like Bryant and Lucas, Adams offers notable size at cornerback. Another junior college transfer, White had been trying to recruit Adams to SDSU before being hired at ASU. With an impressive spring campaign, Adams could be in the mix for a starters job going into the summer, especially if the returning CBs struggle to adapt to Gonzales’s and White’s defense.
Jacobi Taylor (5-11, 175, R-Sophomore): Another former junior college player, Taylor was near the bottom of ASU’s cornerback depth chart last season and will likely find himself there again coming into the spring.
Langston Frederick (5-10, 180, Sophomore): Frederick has been predominantly a safety, but is listed as a cornerback on ASU’s roster. Could be a candidate to slide to the outside if the need arises.
Kordell Caldwell (5-11, 189, R-Freshman): A walk-on last season, Caldwell was redshirted and will be a depth option coming into spring.
Note: This list does not include incoming freshman from the 2018 class who will not arrive until the fall.
INJURIES
Joey Bryant: Questionable for participating in spring ball with ACL; might be limited to non-contact drills, per Gonzales.
Darien Cornay: Questionable; Gonzales won’t know about his status until the start of spring practice.
*Other positional previews:
