Brian Ward Breaks Down Arizona State's Secondary Group

One of the most consequential hires made by Kenny Dillingham since taking over as head coach of the Arizona state football is none other than that of Brian Ward.

The third-year Arizona State defensive coordinator moved from Washington State to Tempe to lead a major rebuilding effort - and has been instrumental in the rapid turnaround from 'bottom-feeder' to legitimate national force.

Ward's increasing profile has landed him a lucrative contract extension to remain with the program and a guest appearance on Brad Denny's 'Speak of the Devils' podcast last week.

The focus of one segment was a breakdown of all of the position groups within the defense - secondary is the focal point here.

On the cornerback group at the present moment:

"Yeah, I mean, and Nyland Green, you know, getting the addition of him just a guy who's played four years of college football. He has starts under his belt in the SEC and in the Big 10. Bringing him here, you know, you really feel like not only do you have two starters in Keith (Abney) and Javan (Robinson) coming with a lot of experience and a lot of experience in our system. So knowing the little details and playing fast, you bring a guy like Nyland... he's going to give us some quality snaps."

On the safety group heading into 2025:

"Having guys like Myles (Rowser) and Xavion (Alford) back, it just really makes things where you're able to develop the underbelly of the program... a guy that really came on during the spring was Jack Ball..."

The ultimate takeaway from the secondary group is that the starting group (Alford, Rowser, Robinson, Abney) is as strong as any other across the Big 12, but the depth could be where the unit truly reaches the next gear through.

Ward will undoubtedly have a supremely talented group in the back third of the defense - which should absolutely bode well with his aggressive, risk taking approach to the game.

The 2025 Sun Devil season is set to kick off on August 30.

Read more on projecting the 10 best players on Arizona State's roster going into the new season here, and on Sam Leavitt being selected as the Big-12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year here.

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