ASU Football: The Sun Devils Have Another Big Hole To Fill

Arizona State defensive tackle Lawrence Guy will forgo his senior season in Tempe to enter the 2011 NFL Draft. With Guy departing a year early and Sai'a Falahola graduating, the Sun Devils will now replace both starting defensive tackles from the second-ranked rush defense in the Pac-10. 

Standing at 6'5" and weighing 300 pounds, Guy will leave a huge vacancy on what was thought to be a strength for the Sun Devils' defense moving forward. 

Guy will have a prosperous career in the NFL, and is slated to be the fifth defensive tackle taken in April's draft according to Sout.com. However, the Sun Devils are not in terrible shape at defensive tackle heading into 2011. 

Although Guy and Falahola were routinely starting last fall, the Sun Devils rotated four and in some cases six defensive tackles during each game. The prime candidates to replace the two future NFL tackles will be Corey Adams, Will Sutton (academically ineligible in '10), Bo Moos and Toa Tuitea. 

Both Adams and Moos played virtually as starters last fall, so the drop off at the front line level will not be too severe. The issues that arise might be the depth and experience behind Adams and Moos. 

Joita Te'i, a 6'4",290-pound red-shirt freshman from Oceanside, CA, might play a bigger role than first planned by Dennis Erickson and defensive line coach Grady Stretz. 

Also, don't be surprised if true freshman Matt Ramondo gets a sniff at the defensive tackle rotation. At 6'4", 285 pounds, Ramondo has an eerily similar build as Lawrence Guy carried as a freshman. 

With Guy departing a year early, another scholarship is now available to use on high school and junior college recruiting.

More importantly, with defensive tackle being a priority, local prospect Todd Peat from Corona del Sol might be unable to pass up the opportunity to play even earlier than expected for the hometown Sun Devils. 

However, with 2011 expected to be a potential banner season for the Sun Devils, Guy opting for the NFL Draft leaves major hole to fill in the Sun Devils defense.