TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State's starting defense gets even younger this week against New Mexico as two more freshmen move into the starting lineup.
ASU coach Todd Graham said Thursday redshirt freshman James Johnson will start at boundary safety and true freshman Armand Perry will start at boundary cornerback.
Perry becomes the third true freshman in ASU's starting lineup, joining linebacker D.J. Calhoun and defensive tackle Tashon Smallwood.
"It's truly a blessing," Perry said. "I've worked very hard throughout my life for this, and I can't get complacent. All I'm going to do is go out there and work hard and try to make plays for my team."
Perry, a product of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School, has impressed Graham from early in preseason practice. In the last two weeks, he has come on strong enough to pass fourth-year junior Solomon Means, who started in ASU's opener last week.
Perry has practiced all over ASU's secondary and feels confident he can play any position within it. He credits his preparedness to start so early in his college career to a strong pedigree from Bishop Gorman, one of the country's top high school football programs.
"I came in bright eyed, ready to get to work," Perry said. "My program back home focused on discipline, and that's pretty much the same thing here -- coaches straining you and seeing how you respond to adversity. Honestly, as a freshman, I think I've handled it pretty well, but I've still got work to do."
Johnson moves ahead of junior Jordan Simone at safety. Graham says they will rotate series this week, but the fact Johnson is getting the start speaks to his progress.
"I prepare like I'm going to start every week, so it's not really anything new," Johnson said. "I'm just trying to kick it into gear. Once I get out there I've just got to stay calm and stay focused. It's nothing I haven't seen."
Graham often spoke highly of Johnson late last season and during spring practice, so expectations were high. He took a little while to come on in camp, but by last week he was one of ASU's most impressive defensive performers, registering a tackle and two defended passes.
"Redshirting last year, not being out there, I was itching and hungry to get out there, so it felt good to let it loose," Johnson said. "I could have been a little cleaner with my key reads and catching the ball. I missed a pick, but I felt good overall."
Graham said junior Kweishi Brown and freshman Chad Adams will also see playing time at boundary cornerback, particularly in nickel defense. There could be further changes in the secondary as players continue battling for position, which Graham says keeps players focused and motivated.
"We've still got a lot of competition," Graham said. "I like that because ain't nobody messing around when you've got competition. It's when you don't have that competition that it's frustrating at times."
Redshirt freshman Marcus Ball has seemed close at times to taking the starting bandit safety job, but this week moved to spur linebacker, where he's currently backing up third-year sophomore Viliami Moeakiola.
Ball, who missed most of the preseason with an undisclosed medical issue, moved to spur Tuesday.
"I think it will be a really good position for him, and it's good to train him there," Graham said. "So he'll play some there."
Moeakiola was one of ASU's top performers last week and could prove one of the defense's most important players this week against New Mexico's triple option offense, but it sounds as if Ball will get some snaps.
Place kicker Zane Gonzalez hasn't had the chance to prove himself much yet this season, with only one attempt from 33 yards last week, but he's shown consistency in practice, with maybe one miss since the start of preseason during the portion open to the media.
It's hard to know how Gonzalez does when practice is closed, but Graham speaks with unflinching confidence about his sophomore kicker.
"Zane's the man," Graham said. "He's something else. I really like him. He's just so calm, cool and collected. I like his demeanor. Ain't nobody taking his confidence. He's very confident. Sometimes he'll misalign, but if he lines up right he's going to make most of his field goals. And I've got a lot of confidence in him. I think he's the best kicker that I've ever had."
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