24 days until football, Chase Lucas was leadership personified

With 25 days until the season opener, it was only fitting that yesterday's spotlight went to the latest Sun Devil to be enshrined in Canton, Eric Allen. Today, we turn our eyes to a true leader on and off the field in Chase Lucas.

A native of Chandler, Chase was highly recruited coming out of Chandler High School. Listed as the 4th best high school player in Arizona by 24/7 Sports (just behind fellow teammate and ASU signee N'Keal Harry), Lucas committed to Arizona State over offers from five other schools, including Notre Dame and Nebraska. Chase redshirted his freshman season, appearing in just one game in 2016.

The 2017 season saw Chase put into the defensive back position despite never playing regularly in high school, and he absolutely rose to the challenge. Playing in 12 games after not dressing for the season opener against New Mexico State, Chase recorded 59 tackles, good for 5th on the team, with 46 solo tackles. He emerged as a true lockdown defensive back, allowing just 40 catches against 78 targets throughout the season.

His target rate of once every 4.6 passing plays ranked as the highest target rate among Pac-12 cornerbacks that played at least 60% of snaps. His high level of play resulted in a 51.2% completion percentage, while leading the Sun Devils secondary with 2 interceptions and 8 pass breakups. He ended the season being named First-Team Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, earning Second-Team honors for freshmen from USA Today.

He was also named Second-Team All-Pac-12, the only freshman to be named to either the First or Second Team on the season, and the first freshman to accomplish that on defense since Brandon Browner (2003).

As a sophomore, the stakes were raised as Chase started the season on the preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Chase's play only improved from his outstanding freshman season, recording 62 tackles (49 solo), 4th most among Sun Devil defenders, adding 3 interceptions, good for 2nd on the team.

He added pass rushing to his game as well, recording the only two sacks of his Sun Devil career in 2018. He continued his shutdown play in the secondary, allowing just a 77.1 QB rating to opposing quarterbacks (13th lowest in Pac-12), and a 49.2% success percentage when targeted (12th lowest in Pac-12). He was credited with the 6th most defensive stops in the conference, and his 2 touchdowns allowed were 8th-fewest in the conference.

A new season camer about in 2019, but the same Chase we grew accustomed to seeing over his first two years. He started all 13 games, recording at least one tackle in 12 of the 13 games. He finished the season with 54 tackles (50 solo), and 4.5 tackles for loss. The most impressive part of his game continued to be his coverage. Individually, he allowed just one touchdown in coverage, second-fewest in the Pac-12 and 19th-fewest nationally.

As a defensive unit, he contributed to a Sun Devils defense that ranked 10th nationally with 72 pass breakups. Between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, the Sun Devil defense led by Lucas allowed just 13 passing plays of 40 yards or more, a vast improvement over 2015 and 2016 when the defense ranked at the bottom of FBS with 24 and 22 plays of 40+ yards respectively. As if his defensive play didn't make him stand out enough, he recorded the first blocked field goal for the Sun Devils since 2014 in the Sun Bowl against Florida State.

Before the end of the 2019 season, Chase announced that he would be returning to Tempe for his senior season, looking to complete the legacy that he started in 2016.

But then, Covid-19 struck, throwing the world of sports into turmoil. Chase stayed the course, showing incredible versatility in all defensive aspects. In the shortened four game season, Chase finished with 15 tackles (14 solo), forced one fumble, and forced 5 interceptions. He enjoyed a nearly perfect season on defense, allowing just 5 first downs (4th in Pac-12), 109 yards in coverage (7th in Pac-12), and gave up just 7.8 yards per catch (3rd in Pac-12).

He ended the season as the one of the highest graded defensive players of any position in the conference, earning a score of 81.4 from Pro Football Focus. He earned Second-Team All-Pac-12 honors for the second time in his career in recognition of his outstanding season, and was also named first team All-Pac-12 defense by the Associated Press.

With the disruption brought to sports by the Covid-19 pandemic, student athletes were extended an additional season of eligibility due to the varying lengths of seasons across the college landscape. On January 3rd, 2021, Chase dropped the news that Sun Devil fans loved hearing, he would return to Tempe for his 5th season as a graduate student.

With Chase's return, Athlon Sports named him to their preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 list. He started the final season of his incredible career in the maroon and gold by being named one of the team captains, and wrapped up the season with 34 tackles (30 solo), earning him Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 honors. He was one of four cornerbacks in the nation to not allow a touchdown in the 2021 season, and following a 38-15 win over Arizona (officially vacated but never forgotten), he became the first Sun Devil to go 5-0 against the Wildcats in his career.

Chase's football career wasn't done after college, as the Detroit Lions selected him in the 7th round (237th overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft. In two seasons so far in the NFL, Chase has appeared in 18 games with no starts, recording 3 tackles for the Lions. Most recently, he was a member of the San Francisco 49ers practice squad in the 2024 season, signing a reserve/future contract on January 6th, 2025.

A true hometown hero, Chase Lucas exemplified leadership and a high level of performance every single game he suited up for the Sun Devils. He is without a doubt a worthy honoree in our countdown series with 24 days until kickoff.