Spring Practice Positional Previews: Safeties
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. We first take a look at the safety position, a role that is poised to go through a major change under a new 3-3-5 scheme.
PROJECTED SPRING DEPTH CHART (Starter -- backup)
Boundary ranger (cornerback/strong safety): Dasmond Tautalatasi* (R-Sr)/Jalen Harvey (R-Sr) -- Langston Frederick (So)
Field ranger (cornerback/strong safety): Demonte King (Sr) -- Dom Harrison (Jr)
Tillman (hybrid linebacker/safety): Evan Fields (So) -- Tyler Whiley (R-Sr)
*- injured for spring ball
WHAT’S NEW
Everything, basically.
With a new coaching staff comes a brand new defensive scheme for the Sun Devils in 2018, and no position will change quite as much as the safeties.
Defensive coordinator and safeties coach Danny Gonzalez will bring the 3-3-5 defense to Tempe this year after learning the system during a 12-year stint working for San Diego State coach Rocky Long -- one of the innovators of the defensive-back-focused setup.
“It gives us the ability to use athletes and put them in the best position they can to be successful,” Gonzalez told DevilsDigest.com of the 3-3-5 defense’s advantages. “(It) gives us a lot of mobility and the ability to adjust against all the spread teams we play because we’ve got a bunch of athletes out there.”
With the new defense comes new position names as well.
The two traditional safeties will now be known as “Rangers” within ASU’s program, each lining up in the boundary and the field as the last lines of defense. There will also be another hybrid position named “Tillman” this year.
“The way we’ve broken it down with the five DB’s, you have the ‘Tillman’ who is going to be a hybrid linebacker-safety, two ranger safeties that are going to be hybrid corner-strong safety-outside linebacker types,” Gonzalez said. “They all have to be able to cover.”
Another key to the 3-3-5: adaptability.
Gonzalez thinks the system allows for easy adjustments to different offensive styles.
“We can get into every traditional defense on any given down by where we put those guys,” he said. “We are going to line up sometimes with 3 down-linemen, sometimes we’ll have 4, sometimes we’ll have 5.”
On the back end, the biggest change of responsibility for ASU’s safeties will be their role in coverage. The way Gonzalez describes the position, the Sun Devil safeties will sit deep less often, instead of being asked to make more plays up the field in coverage.
Since arriving at SDSU in 2011, the Aztecs intercepted 100 passes with Gonzalez coaching the secondary and defense. He will want ASU’s defensive backfield to make a similar impact.
Gonzalez’s goal for spring ball: “Identify who we are. What we are schematically, who we have and what they can do.”
PERSONNEL CHANGES
The most notable news with personnel is that senior slot receiver Jalen Harvey will see some action at safety this spring, potentially as a first-teamer.
“The young man wants to try and play defense, which anybody who wants to do it we are going to give them an opportunity,” Gonzalez said of Harvey, who had 33 catches for 558 yards and 1 touchdown last year. “It was a fight between me and coach Likens and coach Likens was awesome because he was valuable on offense last year… It will be an interesting first two weeks to see how that works.”
Likens told azcentral the same, comparing Harvey’s test run on the defensive side of the ball this spring to Frank Darby’s and John Humphrey’s defensive back trials last year. Harvey stands to have more success than his two teammates as he played this position in high school and dabbed with it early in his ASU’s career as well.
Besides the addition of Harvey, little else has changed at safety.
The Sun Devils only graduated one true safety from last year’s team in Chad Adams, though Spur linebacker J’Marcus Rhodes is also gone, a versatile defender who might have been a fit at the Tillman role.
ASU’s current crop of safeties has mixed experience and – as Gonzalez noted – plenty of his desired athleticism. It’s the fundamentals the new defensive coordinator wants to sure up during spring ball.
“We have a lot of really good athletes. We’ve got some speed on the outside,” Gonzalez said. “Our thing, I’ve said from day one when I took the job, is we are going to coach effort harder than anything to get those guys to play hard. What coach (Phil) Bennett did last year, in his one season, the progress that they made, outstanding. We’ve got a great foundation to build on and we’re going to start on March 13, day one, to teach those guys to play to our expectation.”
Demonte King (7 games played, 37 tackles, 3 passes defended in 2017) and Dasmond Tautalatasi (11 GP, 22 tackles, 3 PD) -- who will likely miss spring practice as he recovers from a broken shoulder he suffered in ASU’s Sun Bowl loss in December -- are seniors who saw significant playing time last fall. Tyler Whiley is fifth-year senior who could factor in at Tillman after serving as the backup Spur in 2017.
A crop of sophomores will have a chance to battle for playing time as well during spring ball. Evan Fields (10 games played, 16 tackles) has already made a strong impression on Gonzalez and is the early leader for first-string Tillman.
“I have high expectations for Evan Fields,” Gonzalez said. “He is really athletic and can do a lot of things. He’s a big body that can tackle well.”
Fields did impress throughout his sporadic appearances last season and one of the most impressive members of the 2017 recruiting class could really make his presence known in this upcoming season.
Another name to watch for the Tillman role: Deion Guignard. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound senior linebacker is listed as a defensive back on ASU’s roster entering spring camp and could profile as the versatile physical presence at the hybrid position, especially for situations where ASU wants to play with more size.
Elsewhere, Langston Frederick is another sophomore who could find a role in the new-look defense. Gonzalez said Frederick has “moved around” on his board between different positions as he during his evaluations of the roster and has been impressed with Frederick’s off-season workouts.
Junior college transfer Dominique Harrison was a cornerback at Blinn College, but Gonzalez said the 6-foot junior “can play both field (cornerback) and Ranger.”
“We are going to try him inside at safety first,” ASU defensive coordinator and safeties coach added.
THINGS TO WATCH FOR
1) FIELD RANGER BATTLE: According to Gonzalez, ASU will enter spring practice with this position “up for grabs”.
“The field ranger is, of all the 11 spots, the one we really don’t know who it’s going to be,” he said. “It should be a fun competition.”
2) HOW IS THE TILLMAN USED: In recent years, ASU employed the hybrid Spur linebacker position, so maybe the transition to the Tillman role will be somewhat seamless. Now with the “Tillman” as the fifth defensive back, Gonzalez wants a fast-moving, hard-hitting, strong-tackling player to create havoc.
How the position is used, where the Tillman lines up, and what coverage responsibilities it will have will be a clear indicator as to how the Sun Devils’ new defense will look in the fall.
3) WHICH YOUNG FACES IMPRESS: Evan Fields, Langston Frederick and Ty Thomas all enter their second season in Tempe with chances to win playing time in the fall. With a new coaching staff and new defensive alignment, they will all have chances to show off their athleticism this spring and make strong first impressions on a new coaching staff.
4) WILL HARVEY STICK AS A DEFENSIVE BACK: For as good as Jalen Harvey was as a dependable, first-down-catching receiver last season, his 6-1, 200-pound frame might better suit him at safety as he tries to improve his NFL STOCK. Of course, when ASU has tried moving receivers to defense in the past, it hasn’t lasted for long. Spring ball will serve as a formidable gauge of whether or not Harvey will actually be capable of making the difficult transition. It will be important though to end the experimentation early in sprog practice, if the coaches chose that route, and just as important to make sure that the wide receiver unit isn’t being adversely impacted with Harvey’s new role.
SPRING BALL ROSTER AND PROJECTED ROLES
STARTERS:
Boundary ranger -- Dasmond Tautalatasi (6-0, 203, Redshirt-Senior): A week-one-starter last season, Tautalatasi – who was described by some teammates last year as ASU’s hardest hitter – missed a few too many tackles during an up and down 2017 campaign. There is a good chance he doesn’t see any time this spring thanks to a broken shoulder and will likely be forced to compete for a starter’s spot during fall camp.
OR
Boundary ranger -- Jalen Harvey (6-1, 203, Redshirt-Senior): The news that the fifth-year receiver wants to try his hand in the defensive backfield is surprising. But Harvey appears to have the football smarts and physical build to slot in as a safety. Plus, he would know how to make plays on the ball – a skill that wouldn’t go unnoticed in ASU’s new defensive scheme. Will be interesting to see if he can cement himself as a starter in the spring and get make it harder on Tautalatasi to close the gap in fall camp.
Field Ranger -- Demonte King (6-1, 193, Senior): The former junior college transfer saw his playing time increase as the season went on last season and could be in line to start at one of the ranger positions with a strong spring and having an experience advantage on his side.
Tillman -- Evan Fields (6-1, 190, Sophomore): A big reason ASU recruited Fields two years ago was because he was known as a hard-hitting safety with a good nose for the ball. No surprise then that Gonzalez is already envisioning the sophomore – who received legitimate playing time last season – as the early favorite to be starting Tillman safety. Fields could really flourish here and maximize his potential.
BACKUPS (In order of class)
Tyler Whiley (6-0, 210, R-Senior): Though listed as a linebacker, Whiley served as the backup to J’Marcus Rhodes at Spur-linebacker last year and might find a spot in the defensive backfield at Tillman-safety. As long as Gonzalez is experimenting with his new roster, the versatile fifth-year senior could find himself playing a number of positions.
Deion Guignard (6-2, 214, Senior): A linebacker during his first two seasons in Tempe, Guignard is listed as a defensive back on ASU’s roster and could be an asset that allows ASU to employ bigger safeties when needed.
Cody French (5-11, 199, R-Junior): The former college baseball player walked on to the Sun Devils roster last season, but didn’t see the field during a redshirt campaign. The ex-high school running back practiced as a Spur-linebacker last season and could fill a depth role at Tillman-safety.
Dominique Harrison (6-0, 185, Junior): The junior college transfer arrives as a do-everything defensive back. He could very well wind up at cornerback, but Gonzalez said he will test out the Houston, Texas native inside at safety this spring.
Langston Frederick (5-10, 180, Sophomore): Frederick spent 2017 on the fringes of the starting lineup and appeared in 11 games for the Sun Devils. Gonzalez already sees the League City, Texas product as a defensive back that can be plugged into any of the safety positions. He is also listed as a cornerback on ASU’s roster at the moment.
Ty Thomas (5-11, 190, Sophomore): The former all-state Texas high school safety played sparingly last season, but can both safety roles and without a slew of veterans to battle will have a chance to stake a claim in ASU’s two-deep in the defensive backfield.
Caleb McShanag (6-0, 180, R-Sophomore): The 2016 walk-on hasn’t played much of a factor in his first two years at ASU after averaging 9 tackles per game in his senior year of high school at Phoenix Northwest Christian.
K.J. Jarrell (6-2, 176, R-Freshman): Part of ASU’s deep 2017 class of defensive backs, Jarrell redshirted last year and enters spring practice with an injury that might keep him limited, per Gonzalez.
Note: This list does not include incoming freshman from the 2018 class who will not arrive until the summer.
INJURIES
Dasmond Tautalatasi: Questionable for participating in spring ball with shoulder injury
K.J. Jarrell: Gonzalez said he is expecting the sophomore to go through practice but to what extent is still unclear
