Earlier this year, Sun Devil Science broke down the best of the best to wear jersey numbers 1 through 25 – a process that included more than a few grueling decisions. In part two of this series, we move on to numbers 26 through 49
26 – RB Ryan Torain (2006-07)
One of the top instant impact junior college transfers of the 21st century for Arizona State, Torain made a quick and lasting impression for the Sun Devils despite having his collegiate career end midway through his senior season due to a foot injury. A ferocious runner but also versatile enough to be a distinct threat as a receiver, Torain averaged a staggering 93.8 rushing yards per game across the 19 appearances, he made for the Sun Devils. In total, Torain rushed 333 times for 1,782 yards with 12 touchdowns while also catching 25 passes for 305 yards with another five scores. Torain’s outstanding debut season at ASU resulted in 1,229 rushing yards, at the time the highest total by a Sun Devil since Arizona entered the Pac-10 Conference in 1978 and the most overall at ASU since 1974.
27 – RB Bobby Mulgado (1954-57)
The fourth and final player to wear the number for the Sun Devils, Mulgado had his number retired by Arizona State shortly after his collegiate career came to a close following the 1957 season. A jack-of-all-trades for the Devils, at scattered points throughout his career Mulgado was the team’s annual leader in rushing, total offense, interceptions, scoring, punting and punt returns. Mulgado was inducted into ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1977.
28 – K Thomas Weber (2007-10)
A breakout redshirt freshman season in 2007 enabled Weber to quickly insert his name into Sun Devil football lore as the rookie became the first player in ASU history to claim the Lou Groza Award while he also earned Consensus First-Team All-America honors after he connected on 24-of-25 field goal attempts on the year. His 118 points at the time were the most by a kicker in Arizona State history, and when his four-year career ended, Weber at the time ranked second in school history in points by kicking (340) and made field goals (68).
29 – S Nathan LaDuke (1987-90)
One of the top playmaking defensive backs in program history, LaDuke was the team leader in interceptions his final three seasons and paced ASU with 122 total tackles as a senior in 1990. He remains the program’s all-time leader in tackles by a defensive back with 360, while he ties for the overall program record with 238 solo tackles and holds the school record for interception return yards with 324 on 14 career picks. A two-time Thorpe Award finalist (1989-90), LaDuke was a Second-Team All-American and a First-Team All-Pac-10 pick both as a junior and as a senior and was elected to ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
30 – S Jason Shivers (2001-03)
ASU’s leading tackler all three years he played for the Sun Devils, Shivers was a Freshman All-American in 2001 and was named a Second-Team All-Pac-10 pick in 2003 after earning honorable mention all-league honors in 2002. His 314 career total tackles – accumulated in just three years, as Shivers bypassed his senior season to enter the NFL Draft – stands as the second-highest career total by a player to compete for ASU this century behind Adam Archuleta’s 330.
31 – CB Windlan Hall (1969-71)
ASU’s most highly acclaimed defender of the early 1970s, Hall was a First-Team All-American as a senior after earning Second-Team All-America honors as a junior. He was also a First-Team All-WAC selection his final two seasons after he tallied a sensational seven interceptions both as a junior and as a senior. He was inducted into ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
32 – RB Ben Malone (1971-73)
Despite playing alongside ASU’s all-time leading rusher Woody Green, all three years, Malone carved out a sensational career in his own right. Malone rushed for 1,197 yards in 1973 to complement Green’s 1,323, giving ASU its first and only pair of 1,000-yard rushers in the same season. He had a team-high 15 touchdowns in 1973 and held the school’s single-game rushing record (250 yards) from 1973 until 2018. At the time he completed his career, Malone ranked fifth all-time at ASU in career rushing yards with 2,474. Malone was chosen for ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.
33 – RB Wilford “Whizzer” White (1947-50)
A program legend but also the only player listed in ASU’s record books as having ever worn the number for the Sun Devils, White had his number retired shortly after his collegiate career concluded in 1950. A Second-Team All-American as a senior and a two-time First-Team All-Conference pick, White rushed for 1,502 yards in 1950, a single-season mark that has only twice been surpassed at ASU. He remains ASU’s all-time career leader in all-purpose yardage (5,654) and stands as the program’s fifth-leading career rusher (3,173). White was a charter inductee to ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.
34 – CB Mike Martinez (1974-76)
Though his running mate at cornerback Mike Haynes got the larger share of the attention, Martinez stood out on his own merits as well – a commendable fact since, one would assume, opposing teams likely threw more his direction to avoid the futile task of challenging Haynes, one of the top defensive backs to ever play the game of football. An Honorable Mention All-American and a First-Team All-Western Athletic Conference pick for ASU’s undefeated 1975 team, Martinez snared seven interceptions that season opposite Haynes at cornerback. Martinez was also an Honorable Mention All-WAC pick in 1976.
35 – FB Clay Freney (1959-61)
A two-time First-Team All-Border Conference pick, Freney starred as a rusher, receiver, and returner in the early days of Frank Kush’s tenure as head coach for the Sun Devils.
36 – LB Greg Clark (1984-87)
A tackling machine for the Sun Devils in the mid-1980s, Clark combined for 277 tackles across the 1986-87 seasons. ASU’s leading tackler during its Rose Bowl-winning season of 1986 as well as the next year, Clark was an Honorable Mention All-American and a First-Team All-Pac-10 selection in 1987 after being named an Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 pick the season before.
37 – RB Charley Taylor (1961-63)
A star at the college level, Taylor became an even greater football legend in his time after Arizona State. While at ASU, the all-purpose threat was a First-Team All-WAC pick as a senior and a second-team selection as a junior. At various points through his college career, he was the team leader in receiving yards, interceptions, touchdowns, and both punt and kick returns. Taylor remains the highest drafted player in program history as he was chosen third overall in the 1964 NFL Draft. A shift to wide receiver at the pro level proved to be a stroke of genius as at the time of his retirement from the NFL; he was the league’s all-time leader in career receptions. Taylor was a charter inductee to ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1975 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984.
38 – S Jordan Simone (2014-15)
The only player in school history to earn all-conference honors while wearing the number, Simone was an Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 pick both seasons he played for the Sun Devils. Initially a walk-on after transferring from Washington State prior to the 2013 season, Simone not only worked his way to the top of the depth chart but also earned a scholarship just before the start of his junior year. A team co-captain as a senior in 2015, after collecting 191 tackles, 5.0 sacks and four interceptions in two seasons at ASU, he went on to spend time in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks.
39 – S Damien Richardson (1994-97)
The starting strong safety on ASU’s 1996 Pac-10 champion squad, Richardson went on to earn Second-Team All-Pac-10 honors as a senior in 1997. The quintessential student-athlete, Richardson earned numerous academic awards during his time at Arizona State and after an NFL career that lasted from 1998 to 2004, Richardson moved on to his current career as a physician and has earned medical degrees from both California – San Francisco and Harvard.
40 – CB Mike Haynes (1972-75)
Undoubtedly the top defensive back in Arizona State history and one of the very best cornerbacks ever to compete at any level of play, Haynes was inducted into the ASU Sports Hall of Fame in 1977 and joins Randall McDaniel as the only two players in Sun Devil history to also be enshrined in both the College Football Hall of Fame (2000) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1997). His is one of only five jersey numbers officially retired by Arizona State.
His 11 interceptions as a junior in 1974 remain the second-best single-season output in school history and the most by a Sun Devil since 1950. The next year, Haynes was a Consensus All-American for ASU’s undefeated squad that finished the year ranked second nationally. He was also a three-time First-Team All-Western Athletic Conference pick before going on to become what remains the highest-drafted defensive player in ASU history (fifth overall in 1976) and ultimately a nine-time Pro Bowler in the NFL.
41 – K Robert Nycz (1995-97)
A Second-Team All-Pac-10 selection as a senior in 1997 and an honorable mention pick each of the two years before that, at the time his college career ended he ranked second all-time at ASU in career field goals made and points by kicking. His game-winning field goal in the 1996 season opener against Washington helped kickstart ASU to one of the most memorable years in program history.
42 – LB Pat Tillman (1994-97)
Little explanation is needed to justify this selection, but even if the pick were made entirely based on athletic merit and nothing more the outcome still would be the same.
Of course, Tillman’s overall legacy is much, much more than what he displayed on the football field, but during his four years in the Sun Devil program he was the Pac-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year – and award that now carries his name – and a First-Team All-American as a senior in 1997. He was also a First-Team All-Pac-10 pick that year and a second-team selection following both his sophomore and junior seasons.
A definitive student-athlete, Tillman was also a Second-Team Academic All-American (1996-97) and on three occasions earned All-Academic recognition from the Pac-10 Conference.
Tillman had his number retired at ASU in 2004, was inducted into ASU’s Sports Hall of fame in 2008 and was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
43 – FB Brent McClanahan (1970-72)
A First-Team All-WAC pick in 1972 in a loaded Sun Devil backfield that also included rushers Woody Green and Ben Malone, McClanahan had 988 rushing yards with 13 total touchdowns in 11 regular-season games. During his three seasons in Tempe, ASU finished with a combined 32-3 record. McClanahan played from 1973-79 with the Minnesota Vikings during a time that the franchise appeared in three Super Bowls.
44 – Tie: LB Brett Wallerstedt (1989-92) and FB Mike Karney (2000-03)
One was a tackling machine that recently earned ASU’s highest honor while the other is one of the most significant unsung stars of the 21st century for the Sun Devils who went on to a lengthy pro career.
While both are undoubtedly deserving of this recognition, boy, would it have been fun to these two go head-to-head on the gridiron in their prime on a fourth-and-one to see who gets sole ownership of the distinction.
A Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-Pac-10 pick as a senior in 1992, Wallerstedt totaled more than 100 tackles each of his final three seasons as a Sun Devil. After ranking second on the team with 109 tackles in 1990, Wallerstedt posted team-highs of 122 tackles in 1991 and 119 in 1992, including a team-best 22.0 tackles-for-loss in ’92. Wallerstedt remains fourth all-time on ASU’s career tackles list (362), is tied for the program’s career record for total solo tackles (238) and in 2019 was inducted into ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame.
A blue-collar bruiser who didn’t need to beef up the box scores to become a fan favorite at ASU, Karney was a brutish lead blocker for the Sun Devils in the early years of the 2000s. A two-time Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 selection – quite a distinction for a fullback that didn’t often have plays called his way to be an offensive weapon – Karney is widely considered to be one of the absolute best-blocking fullbacks in program history. Karney cleared the way for a 1,000-yard rushing season by Delvon Flowers in 2001 and then also helped pave the path for a runner who in 2003 achieved what at the time was ASU’s single-season rushing record by a freshman.
Beyond the collegiate level, Karney enjoyed the longest and most successful NFL career of any player to have worn the number as he played from 2004-10 with the New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams and earned selections as a Pro Bowl alternate in 2006 and ’07.
45 – LB Jimmy Williams (1981-84)
An absolute tackling factory, Williams nearly combined for 300 total stops between the 1982 and ’83 seasons as he posted 153 tackles in 1982 and then 145 the next season. He remains third all-time at ASU in total tackles (375). Williams earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 recognition in 1983.
46 – TE Bob Brasher (1989-92)
A Second-Team All-Pac-10 pick and a team co-captain as a senior, Brasher is the only player in school history to earn first or second-team all-conference honors in a season while wearing the number. As a senior, he had 22 receptions for 320 yards for two touchdowns and notched 47 catches for 635 yards with five scores for his career.
47 – P Josh Hubner (2011-12)
A two-year star for the Devils after making the short trip to ASU from Scottsdale Community College, Hubner set what remains a school single-season record with his 47.1-yard punting average as a senior – good enough for second nationally and tops in the Pac-12 that year. A Third-Team All-American as a senior, at the time of his graduation he had the second-best career punting average (minimum 50 total punts) in program history with a 44.0-yard average on 114 career punts. His 73-yard punt against UCLA in 2012 at the time was the second-longest punt by a Sun Devil since 1976.
48 – DE Terrell Suggs (2000-02)
Firmly in the argument for the most gifted overall player in program history, Suggs set every major school and national career and single-season sack record thanks to his immortal junior season that featured 24 quarterback sacks that landed him not only in the record books but scored him a litany of conference and national awards.
Far from merely a one-year wonder, Suggs was the Pac-10 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2000, a Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-Pac-10 pick in 2001 and registered 10.0 sacks both as a freshman and as a sophomore before compiling his unprecedented junior year total.
Once eligible for induction, Suggs will undoubtedly be added to ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame and also figures to eventually join Mike Haynes and Randall McDaniel as the only Sun Devils to be selected to both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
49 – DE Ishmael Thrower (2003-04)
A relatively seldom issued number, according to ASU’s media guide since 1990 only four times has an ASU letter winner worn the number for more than one season. After coming to ASU from the JUCO ranks in 2002, Thrower redshirted his first year before starting 22 games in 2003-04 with 68 total tackles including 19.0 for loss with 10.0 sacks. He was the team leader in sacks in 2003 and a team co-captain as a senior in 2004.
