Our spotlight series yesterday highlighted the career of Bob Kors, a Phoenix native whose Sun Devil career started the same year as Frank Kush's coaching tenure. On Day 94 until the return of Sun Devil football, we look at the career of defensive end Demetrius Cherry ('14-15).
A product of Oak Ridge Military Academy in North Carolina, Demetrius came to Tempe as a junior college transfer out of Contra Costa College in San Pablo, CA. Originally signed to Washington State, Cherry flipped his commitment over scholarship offers including California, Iowa State and Purdue to become a Sun Devil.
After redshirting for the 2013 season, Cherry joined the roster for the 2014 season. Six starts and appearing in 12 of 13 games for the Devils, Cherry really started to flex his muscles on the defensive line late in the season, contributing to an interception against Notre Dame and recording his first career touchdown in the Territorial Cup Game down in Tucson.
Cherry would return for his senior season in 2015, appearing in all 13 games with two starts. In total, he would record 37 tackles in his career in Tempe, including 16 solo tackles with 7 resulting in a loss, and 0.5 sacks.
Following graduation, Cherry saw some practice squad time, but unfortunately did not break through to the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers signed him as an undrafted free agent, where he made it almost through training camp before being part of the final roster cuts before the 2016 season. The Oakland Raiders would sign him to their practice squad where he saw a couple of stints in the 2016 season before being released around the 2017 NFL Draft.
A resident of California after his football days, Cherry continues to represent his alma mater well, supporting the Sun Devils at every opportunity.