Our countdown of the Pac-12’s top 25 preseason players in 2013 continues.
A lot of good players, as it happens every year, won’t make the preseason list. It is in their hands to make the postseason list.
You can review our 2012 postseason top 25 here.
2. Will Sutton, DT, Arizona State
2012 numbers: Sutton had 63 tackles, 13 sacks and 23.5 tackles for a loss in 12 games (he missed a game due to injury). He also broke up five passes and forced three fumbles.
2012 postseason ranking: No. 3
Making the case for Sutton: You'd probably have to go all the way back to Washington State's Rien Long (2002) to find a Pac-12/10 interior defensive lineman who put up numbers as good as Sutton did in 2012. The consensus All-American, Pac-12 Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year and Morris Trophy winner was perhaps the most disruptive defensive tackle in the nation. His 1.92 tackles for loss ranked second nationally, and he was third nationally with 1.08 sacks per game -- tied with a guy named Jadeveon Clowney, who plays defensive end/outside linebacker for South Carolina. His sacks and tackles for a loss accounted for 232 total lost yards. Twelve of his sacks were solo jobs -- matched only by UCLA's Anthony Barr. Twenty-two of his tackles for a loss were solo -- matched by no one. He concluded the season by being named defensive MVP of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl with 3.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks. And then he shocked many by opting to return for his senior season. The word most used to describe Sutton in 2012 was "unblockable." It will be interesting to see if he can be even more so this fall.
3. Marqise Lee, WR, USC
4. Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA
5. Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
6. Ka'Deem Carey, RB, Arizona
7. Trent Murphy, OLB, Stanford
8. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
9. David Yankey, OG, Stanford
10. Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon State
11. Ed Reynolds, S, Stanford
12. Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State
13. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington
14. De'Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon
15. Bishop Sankey, RB, Washington
16. Shayne Skov, LB, Stanford
17. Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford
18. Xavier Su'a-Filo, OL, UCLA
19. Morgan Breslin, OLB, USC
20. Colt Lyerla, TE, Oregon
21. Carl Bradford, LB, Arizona State
22. Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State
23. Hroniss Grasu, C, Oregon
24. Marion Grice, RB, Arizona State
25. Ben Gardner, DE, Stanford