NFL Tickets
It was a big day for Arizona State football and its fans. For years, fans of the maroon and gold have sat glued to their television screens in hopes of hearing one of their player’s names get read by Commissioner Roger Goodell on the opening day of the NFL Draft.
Finally, on Thursday, that very name was called: Damarious Randall, safety from Arizona State University.
The Green Bay Packers selected Randall as the 30th-overall pick and Sun Devils around the globe rejoiced.
It’s been a long time coming. Since 2003 in fact, when the Baltimore Ravens selected defensive powerhouse Terrell Suggs.
Preseason, Randall was definitely an NFL hopeful, but he was widely-regarded as a late-round selection. Few, if any, saw him creeping into the first-round of what is overall a very strong draft class.
There is no doubt that he’s a ball hawk with a great nose for the football. He also emerged as the best cover safety in the draft; however, his tackling was suspect. It continues to be suspect, but not enough to steer NFL scouts away after Randall performed at a ridiculously-high level during the combine and pro days.
Randall began to prove everyone wrong and emerged as the premier safety in the Senior Bowl. His stock continued to rise.
After two seasons, Randall ended his career at ASU with six interceptions, two of which became TDs. He posted 87 solo tackles in 2014, which tied Randall fourth all-time for tackles in a single season. He averaged 8.6 tackles a game.
After the embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks in the last season’s NFC Championship game, the Packers obviously felt they needed a boost in their secondary. Someone who can sniff out the football and make the championship play, something it clearly lacked at the end of the Seattle debacle.
In a pass-first league, teams are eager to find that safety able to fly around the field. Cover safeties are a coveted commodity and Randall brings pass-stopping power in his play, especially in a division where Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler are more likely to sling a deep ball to Calvin Johnson or Alshon Jeffery well before calling a run play.
If you would have told me that between Randall and Jaelen Strong it would be Randall’s name called in the first-round, I would have laughed in your face. As of the end of the first-round, Strong’s name has yet to be called, but it soon will be. Instead it’s Randall who made Sun Devil Nation proud, and I’m sure he’s even more pumped to make Packer Nation proud as well.
Share 
