How Arizona State’s Defensive Transfers Grade Out
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Pretty soon, it will be transfer season for college football. Before this exciting time starts, it is important to reflect on how ASU did this past transfer season.
Adrian "Boogie" Wilson,
Before being a Sun Devil, Wilson was playing at Washington State, where he was pretty solid. However, Wilson made a huge impact on Brian Ward's defense. Adrian "Boogie" Wilson was, in a way, ASU's defense boogeyman as he was a hard-hitting safety and a very physical player overall for the defense. With Xavion Alford missing time, the fact that Wilson had a very nice season was huge for ASU and their defense.
Wilson made his impact early in the season, as in Week 3 against the Baylor Bears, Wilson had a total of 8 tackles and forced a fumble. That is another thing about Wilson, he was always going the extra mile when he played, trying to make the right tackle or force a deflection. He is truly someone who left it all out on the field, and ASU's defense was better because of Wilson's impact and dedication. Overall, this transfer gets a Grade of an A+ as Wilson was outstanding for ASUl.
Kyndrich Breedlove
There was a good amount of hype for Breedlove coming into the season, as before wearing maroon and gold, Breedlove was making pretty impactful plays as a Purdue Boilermaker. Breedlove's versatility seemed like it would be a perfect fit for Brian Ward's defense, and in a way it was, but also wasn't.
Starting with the bad, or lackluster, Breedlove was at times inconsistent this season. Breedlove had a pretty great start to the season, as he had two pass deflections against the Texas State Bobcats in Week 3; however, his next deflection did not come until the Houston Cougars in Week 8.
However, on the bright side, when Breedlove played great, he played very well. He showed that versatility from Purdue. One of Breedlove's best games against the Texas Tech Red Raiders where he had a tackle for loss as well as four total tackles. It was great to see Breedlove have an impactful game in such a big matchup. Overall, this is a B. Breedlove had his great moments, but maybe not as often as expected.
Nyland Green
Discussing Nyland Green is interesting, as it seemed like throughout the season Green was pretty involved in the secondary. It seemed like a lot of plays where a player like Keith Abney II made a tackle, Green was there to help wrap it up, or if Javan Robinson was great in coverage, Green was there to help with covering. However, Green only had 3 total tackles on the season, which comes to this bottom point: stats are not the tell-all in sports.
Especially playing the cornerback position, which is what Green did, stats are not the only way to tell; another way is the eye test, which Green did pretty well at. Also, Green was in a competitive cornerback room, so the lack of stats can also be attributed to that. Overall, this is a B-. Green did make a good amount of plays, but at times, he just got buried on the depth chart, which is not really his fault.
Maurice Williams
Every player is their own, but Williams's story mirrors that of Green's and Breedlove's. Like Green, Williams was buried on the depth chart due to the great amount of safety depth ASU had. Like Breedlove, though, Williams' best game was against Texas Tech. So, it was great to see him play well in a big game. Overall, C+, Williams is a Sophomore, so hopefully he gets involved more next year.
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Tanner Cappellini holds a mass communications degree from Arizona State University and is pursuing his dream of being the person at the games, practices, and events who takes others inside the team they love.