TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State coach Todd Graham on Monday confirmed reports that he's discussing a contract extension as his second season is about to begin, though he did not provide any further detail, instead reiterating his commitment to being at ASU long term.
"Things are going well, and that's about all I can say right now," Graham said. "I'm committed to be here. I think the people here know how I feel about this place. This is the place I want to put my name on, put my stamp on. I plan on being here for a long time."
Graham's current contract takes him through the 2016 season and includes an annual $50,000 raise along with performance bonuses. Graham, who went 8-5 in his first season at ASU after leaving Pitt, is set to make $2.05 million this season.
Graham has garnered a reputation as a job-hopping coach due to leaving two different jobs (Rice and Pitt) after a single season. His apparent commitment to staying at ASU showed again when he was asked about star defensive players Will Sutton and Carl Bradford saying they want to break former Sun Devil Terrell Suggs' single-season NCAA sacks record.
"That's a tall order," Graham said. "It's kind of like how I'm after (former ASU coach) Frank Kush's wins record. It's going to be a while."
The first weekend of college football came with a handful of ejections under the NCAA's new targeting rules, including two in the Pac-12. ASU, off with a bye week, took notice. Graham said he has spent a great deal of time teaching players how to hit in ways that won't get them ejected and has had officials visit with the team to discuss that and other rules.
"If we have somebody (ejected), it's going to be for a lack of discipline," Graham said. "The targeting deal, I couldn't go over it any more than I've gone over it."
Still, Graham admits it's a tricky rule to navigate, particularly given the speed of play. ASU tries to teach defensive players to hit in a "strike zone" between the shoulders and knees.
The new focus stems from the NCAA Football Rules Committee's decision to stiffen the penalties for targeting fouls to include automatic ejection. Targeting fouls include "targeting and initiating contact with the crown of the helmet, and targeting and initiating contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, elbow or shoulder." If a player gets flagged in the first half, he must sit out the whole game. If he gets flagged in the second half, he must sit out the rest of that game and the first half of the next game.
Oregon defensive back Terrance Mitchell and Cal defensive end Chris McCain were both ejected for targeting fouls Saturday. ASU safety Alden Darby saw the latter, and the rule change has him a little worried.
"It's going to kind of probably slow us down, honestly," Darby said. "When it's time for contact, we'll do a lot more thinking about the hit before we actually hit them. I think it's going to kind of mess up the game, personally."
Darby admits to still having some confusion over exactly what constitutes targeting and said incidental hits make the rule even tougher to abide by, particularly if a player lowers his strike zone.
"There's only so low players can get," Darby said. "So if a running back gets so low and we come and try to get low as well and accidentally hit him in the head, is that targeting? Like, he dipped his shoulder to hit me."
Though he may not like the rule, Darby says he has no choice but to try to play within it. Graham expressed similar sentiment, though he said he has no feeling about the rule.
"Here's my deal on that stuff: It's a rule, so I support it and I go by it," Graham said. "We don't get to say what we think or like or not like a rule -- it's the rules. You don't do that when you're playing a card game. It's just the rules. Sometimes you argue what the rules are, but you play by the rules.
"The spirit of the rule, I think, is a very good thing. We should be doing everything we can to take care of our players."
Graham made improving the defense's run-stopping ability a primary goal at the start of fall camp, and it appears he hammered home the point so much he's now concerned it was too much.
"I was sitting there this morning going, 'Man, we worked a lot on (run defense)' and I'm thinking, 'Well, have we worked enough on our pass defense?'" Graham said.
ASU's pass defense, tops in the Pac-12 and third in the nation last season, is probably just fine. It's the run defense, which ranked 81st in the nation last year, that Graham really believes will be the difference-maker this season.
With ASU's season opener a few days away, Graham believes the defense has accomplished its goal of getting better at stopping the run, though early-season opponents like Wisconsin and Stanford will reveal that for certain.
"I do think we've made great strides there," Graham said. "I do think we're a much better football team against the rush because of two things: I think we're better fundamentally, and then I think we have more depth.
"That's going to the be the key for us, and we talk to our players all the time that the key to our success on defense is going to be defensive linemen Nos. 5, 6 and 7."
-- Graham said ASU will have one change to its game-day coaching setup this year. Safeties coach and defensive passing-game coordinator Chris Ball, who was also named co-defensive coordinator in the offseason, will now work from an upstairs booth during games. Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Paul Randolph, defensive line coach Jackie Shipp and cornerbacks coach Joe Lorig, who handles special teams, will remain on the field.
-- On the offensive side, running backs coach Bo Graham and tight ends coach Chip Long will be upstairs while offensive coordinator Mike Norvell and receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander will work from the field.
-- At least two freshmen are expected to play Thursday: wide receiver Ellis Jefferson and placekicker Zane Gonzalez. Receiver Cameron Smith could play, Graham said, depending on his hamstring issue, and punter Matt Haack could still get the nod over walk-on junior Dom Vizzare. With safety Marcus Ball out another few weeks, it's less likely any freshmen will see the field on defense.
-- Graham said receiver Joe Morris, who is catching up after missing camp with a foot injury, could play a bit Thursday. Safety Damarious Randall, who has just begun practicing full speed after battling a groin strain, is more likely to not play.
