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ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 16, 2015

Todd Graham

Tempe, Arizona

TODD GRAHAM: Jordan is out for the remainder of the season, so with that, we'll take questions.

Q. I think you saw this coming, but what kind of loss is that for the defense of the team?
TODD GRAHAM: More my heart goes out to him. I mean, just a tremendous young man, tremendous story, walking on here, earning a scholarship, the level of play that he played at last year, and what's so tough is that he probably -- I know he had played his best three games going into this game, this last game, and obviously is just a -- I mean, epitomizes what our program -- got a heart of a champion. Just a great giver of respect, and you just hate it for him.

He got injured last year and wasn't able to play in the Territorial Cup, so he never got to play in one, so that's tough. But obviously his leadership is still very vital to us, and he'll still play a very key role as we move forward. But my heart goes out to him. That's a tough deal.

Q. Outside Jordan, what's your injury status like, especially with Laiu Moeakiola?
TODD GRAHAM: I think Laiu is -- I expect him to play. We'll see. Obviously those guys, we're just like anybody else in week 11. I think they've already played 11 games and haven't had a bye. We've got guys obviously with bumps and bruises and beat up, but I don't -- I expect everybody else to play.

Q. Can you talk about guys like James Johnson, Chad Adams and Marcus Ball and how they were able to fill in and get the job done last week and what it took for them to be able to do that?
TODD GRAHAM: Yeah, I was really proud of those guys.

Marcus Ball came in and great with a great passion and had very limited reps. Just really proud of being able to come in, too. We had to make a lot of adjustments from what they were doing game-plan wise, and Chad and James both really did a great job of adjusting on the fly. All those guys I was really, really proud of.

I mean, you look at I think two weeks ago James was repping at spur, and he wound up playing free safety during the game.

You know, Chad actually started at free safety and then finished the game at bandit safety, so that was an interesting deal.

Really proud of those guys, and just proud of the heart and determination that all of our guys displayed. Like I pointed out the other day, Tony Longino was extremely impressive in how he -- he was a very, very inspirational performance by him, and I think it really activated our guys. And I mean, a lot of it, too, our guys made great adjustments. They were able to get some things adjusted on the fly and really proud of them.

I could go through every guy, Salamo is a guy that's played with incredible discomfort and just been a warrior.

Q. I know every senior class is special, but this one in particular that came in when you came in --
TODD GRAHAM: Uh-huh.

Q. And now you get to say goodbye to them.
TODD GRAHAM: Well, one of the things -- there's two parts to it. There's guys like Mike Bercovici and Mo, Vi, Gary Chambers, it's the last of the guys that were here when I got here, and really, really proud. Those guys are every bit as much my guys as the guys I've recruited, I can tell you that, because I can remember sitting here and talking to them about what we were going to do and how we were going to change the culture and what kind of culture we were going to bring here. You look at those guys, they conformed and were transformed, and obviously that didn't happen overnight, but just really proud of them.

That's a group that's really special to me, and then obviously guys like D.J. Foster that really D.J. trusted us when we didn't really have anything, any body of work for him to trust, and obviously it's a really special group there, as well. And how they've blended and just how close those guys are, you know, we've really sown really close relationships. No one knows that really but us, really just how strong those bonds are.

So this is -- every year it's special, but this is one -- this is my fourth season, and so it's been a long time since that I've had a group that I feel as close to as this one. It's a special group, so big, big day for us for senior day.

Q. Now that you've had a few of these Territorial Cups under your belt, what have you taken from the experience as far as how you prepare a team and what you say and all those kind of things?
TODD GRAHAM: Well, one, it doesn't matter what the records are. It doesn't matter what you've done up to this point. The bottom line, this is going to be a -- this is a rival game and one that is very passionate on both sides. This game has been a game where it comes down to turnovers. You've got to win that battle. The years we've won that battle, we've won, and the years we haven't, we haven't.

You know, this is one that's the most important game on our schedule, and obviously to our fans and to our coaches and to our players.

Q. From what you've seen on film, what are the differences between Arizona's quarterbacks, Solomon and Randall?
TODD GRAHAM: Both very, very athletic. Obviously Solomon is a very seasoned veteran, has a tremendous athleticism. Both of them have tremendous ability to extend plays, can operate their system, understand their system very, very well.

Randall is a phenomenal athlete, really scary. I think he's their second or third leading rusher in the limited amount of plays that he's played. I mean, he throws the ball well. I think obviously Solomon is the more seasoned, more veteran, has more of a command of the offense, obviously, and Randall is just a tremendous athlete and very, very explosive, had a big, big game -- threw the game-winning touchdown and came in and did a great job for them.

Both very athletic, both very hard to contain, both you have to account for, and, you know, Randall would be just a really, really explosive runner. I mean, a guy that's every bit as explosive as any tailback, so he's a challenge. Both of them are very good players.

Q. Where do you think Kalen has shown the most progress from where he started this year to where he is now, Kalen Ballage?
TODD GRAHAM: Finishing runs. Obviously we work hard on his blocking ability, and I think he's improved as a pass receiver. He had one drop, I think, last week, but we really wanted him to improve his protection, pass protection, blocking on run plays, and so I think where he's improved the most, he's improved in those areas, but where he's improved the most to me is just finishing runs, and then I think in his pass receiving. He's been pretty dependable there.

Q. Obviously the rivalry is huge, but how big is the game being that you're still trying to secure a bowl berth, as well?
TODD GRAHAM: You know, I really haven't even -- I mean, your first statement is the true statement, the most important statement, is that it's the Territorial Cup. That's it. Enough said. That's how important it is.

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