Arizona State grad student defensive back Chase Lucas is the captain of the Sun Devils football team this season. His efforts as a leader and a competitor helped Arizona State come in third in the Pac-12 with an 8-4 overall record and a 6-3 league record.
“I wouldn’t have changed my experience for the world,” Lucas said. “I have a great set of teammates, I have a great quarterback.”
During the 2021 season, Lucas racked up 30 solo tackles and six pass deflections. He made a season-high of seven tackles against the Arizona Wildcats. Lucas has been with the Sun Devils for six seasons. He could have declared for the NFL draft last year, but he believed that Arizona State could make a strong run. During the offseason, he and his teammates grew a close bond.
“We don’t look at somebody as a cancer to the team,” Lucas said. “They play a vital role in our success.”
Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels praised Lucas for his vocal, energetic, and genuine leadership style.
“As a leader, if he gets on you and yells at you and scream at you, want to fight you, but at the end of the day, it’s all love,” Daniels said. “He wants to see everybody do great and that’s just that genuine dude that he is.”
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Lucas was able to reflect and strengthen his love for football. He noted that “if you disrespect football, football will disrespect you back.”
“I felt like I was disrespecting football up until [the quarantine],” Lucas said. “I wasn’t training the way I was supposed to train, I wasn’t focused on things I was supposed to focus on.”
The months on lockdown helped him ponder on the things he really wanted.
Lucas recently earned his bachelor’s degree in communications, his favorite class at Arizona State was a cinema class.
“I had to watch a lot of movies and then write papers,” Lucas said. “I didn’t like to write papers, I liked the watch the movies part.”
When it comes to the new name, image, and likeness policy for college athletes, Lucas preferred to avoid signing any deals.
“I feel like all that’s gonna come, so I’m not really focused on it at this point,” he said. “I’m all for it, but it got to be the right fit.”
During his career at Arizona State, Lucas made 223 tackles, two sacks, and 28 pass breakups.
“I didn’t play [defensive back] until I got into college,” Lucas said. “At the corner position, it’s all really about confidence.”
