When Tashon Smallwood arrived at Arizona State, he already had his jersey number waiting for him: No. 90. Will Sutton's old number. That wasn't an accident.
"I put him in that because I was hoping that he would play like the No. 90 before him," coach Todd Graham said, referring to Sutton, a two-time Pat Tillman Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year with the Sun Devils.
A year and a half later, Smallwood is starting to show Sutton-like flashes from his three-technique position on ASU's defensive line. Through five games, the sophomore has four tackles for loss, including an outstanding effort to sniff out a screen in last week's win at UCLA.