Safety Eddie Elder, a junior-college transfer, had a solid first season for the Sun Devils. In nine starts, he earned a reputation as a playmaker. He finished with 64 tackles (tied for third-most on the team) and had 5.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions.
Elder missed spring drills because of a left-shoulder injury that required off-season surgery.
I recently caught up with Elder to discuss his recovery, defensive coordinator Craig Bray and his expectations for 2011.
Question: How frustrating was it sitting out during spring practice?
Answer: Real ballplayers don't like to miss anything, so missing all of spring ball is crucial. It's a learning process, and you can build chemistry with the team. It was frustrating, but I had to get over it.
Q: How'd you hurt your shoulder?
A: I hurt it during the Wisconsin game. A slight tear of the labrum and I had little chips floating around. I played with it all season and then had surgery Jan. 7. I should be cleared in August.
Q: How painful was that?
A: It wasn't really painful. It was irritating, if anything. It was painful when I'd try to arm-tackle someone and they'd run through it. My shoulder would go numb, so I'd have to go out and wait a while.
Q: What were the challenges of going from junior college to Arizona State?
A: The speed took some time to get used to. And everybody's big. Also, learning the system and getting to know everyone, getting the chemistry down.
Q: You're known as a playmaker. What all goes into that?
A: It's a combination of a lot of things. You can be around the ball, but are you going to go the distance to make the play? Most of it is instincts. Just trusting yourself.
Q: Your position coach, Craig Bray, who's also the defensive coordinator, rotated the safeties a lot last season. Why?
A: He just wanted to see which safeties worked best together. Me and Max (Tabach) really bonded toward the end of the year. Max was really the heart of the safeties, but now that he's gone somebody has to take his place. That's what I plan to do.
Q: What's it like playing for Bray?
A: It's an experience. He doesn't sugarcoat anything. He tells you exactly how he feels. You can't be soft. You have to be thick-skinned to play for him.
Q: How is he during film sessions?
A: That's where you really have to be thick-skinned. ... If you've been in the system for a while, he's probably harsher on you because you should know it, but for the most part, he treats everybody the same.
Q: Did it take you a while to get used to that approach?
A: Yeah, I wasn't used to it at first. You know he's doing it to better you, but sometimes you're line, "Man, bro, calm down."
Q: What was your reaction after Omar Bolden's injury?
A: When he went down, you could see everybody's heart drop. I didn't see the play, but I saw him sitting down and I saw the ice on his knee. I saw the look on his face. It was like he was in shock. People started saying it was an ACL, and I couldn't believe it. That's adversity. There's no replacing Omar. We're just going to need some of our young guys to step up.
Q: The defense was solid last season, but you guys probably could've played better. What held you back?
A: Consistency. We know what we could've been, it just didn't show up all the time. We thought too highly of ourselves at times. We thought we could just show up and do well, but you have to really work at it.
Q: Everyone says linebacker Vontaze Burfict is more dedicated this season. Have you noticed?
A: I have. Even when we got back (from break), he called a meeting with the linebackers and defensive backs. We usually don't meet as a group. We normally meet with our positions, but he set it up, just so we could all watch film together. Actually, it was him and Omar.
Q: What about his penalties last year?
A: Some of them might have cost us, but he's a target out there. Not all of them were his fault. I see it. Everybody watches his every move. Everybody tries to talk to him, tries to get him frustrated to see if he'll respond.
Q: How do you prepare for a game?
A: My high school defensive coach calls before every game. He says some things that get me fired up. I listen to some music, but mostly I just keep to myself. I'm not really a rah-rah type of guy before the game.
Q: Do you get nervous?
A: Always. Up until that first hit. I even have trouble sleeping the night before a game. I have to watch a movie or something to help me fall asleep.
Q: There's a lot of talk about ASU's push to become an elite Pac-12 team. Is this possible?
A: I think we already are. We just have to go out and show everybody that we're an elite team. It's all on us, really. It's all on us.
