Arizona State Sun Devils Football 2011: Grading the Defense

This Sun Devils football team is going to turn heads in 2011. In fact, it's already doing so.

It’s a joke that the coaches didn’t vote Arizona State into the Top 25, further proving my point that the poll needs to be discontinued.

Regardless, the Sun Devils return 18 starters on both sides of the ball and will be one of the more experienced teams in the country.

The Sun Devils have faced the injury bug, which has kept them thin in practices.

From the defensive linemen to the secondary, each unit is important.

Here’s a look at each unit on defense.

For the offense, click here

Defensive Linemen: B

Not to spoil the rest of the slides, but the defensive line is the weakest unit on the Sun Devils defense.

When your weakest unit is a "B," you’re doing pretty good.

The line loses three solid linemen in Saia Falahola, Jamaar Robinson and Lawrence Guy, but they do get back James Brooks (25 tackles, four sacks) and Jamaar Jarrett (40 tackles, 4.5 sacks) at the two DE positions.

In the DT positions, Bo Moss and Will Sutton are two solid replacements and will wreck havoc for offensive lines.

Linebackers: B+

I think it’s pretty obvious why this unit gets so much praise.

The Sun Devils have a guy by the name of Vontaze Burfict (90 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss) who is one of the top MLBs in the entire country.

ASU also has and Collin Parker at one of the two OLB positions.

Each linebacker spot goes two-deep with Oliver Aaron and Shelly Lyons seeing a lot of playing time with a lot of rotation.

Unfortunately, star linebacker Brandon Magee (73 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss) is likely lost for the entire season with an Achilles injury.

Defensive Backs: B+

The Arizona State secondary is loaded with talent in 2011. Well, it was for a while.

It’s been an unfortunate reality for the Sun Devils this season that injuries have plagued pretty much the entire team.

It’s become apparent that 2010 All-Conference corner Omar Bolden was lost to a season-ending knee injury.

This unit will still hold its own, but it will not be nearly as good as it could have been.

Overall Defense: B

It’s disappointing to see a team with so much potential be lost to injuries. The season is by no means over, but it was this defense that was supposed to carry the team.

Seasons lost to injury (Magee and Bolden) take this unit from an “A-“ or “B+” to just a “B.” This defense will still be good, but not great.