Over the offseason, Arizona State football coach Todd Graham and his defensive staff studied their personnel. With the youngest secondary of Graham's five years in Tempe, they wanted to put their defensive backs in the best position possible.
Through four weeks, the result has been an ASU defense that has blitzed significantly less, a move that goes against the aggressive defensive culture Graham installed upon arrival.
According to data provided to azcentral sports by the analytics website Pro Football Focus, the Sun Devils last year blitzed on 49 percent of pass plays, the highest rate in the Pac-12 and third highest among FBS schools.