ARIZONA STATE Suggs has Pac-10 sacked

The Arizona State junor set an NCAA record this year with 20 sacks.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Arizona State was not Terrell Suggs' first choice, or even his second. He was ready to sign with Florida State, or maybe Tennessee.
"I didn't really think I was going to come here, but then my mom talked me into it," he said. "I don't regret any minute of it."
The same cannot be said of Pac-10 quarterbacks who have had to deal with Suggs' ferocious pass rush for three seasons.
This year, the junior defensive end set an NCAA record with 20 sacks, and he still has Friday's game at Arizona and a bowl game to add to the total. In three years, he has 40 sacks, one shy of the school record set by Shante Carver in four seasons, from 1990 through 1993.
Finalist for top awards
Suggs is a finalist for every major national award a player at his position can earn -- the Bronco Nagurski Trophy for outstanding defensive player, the Lombardi Award for the top linebacker or lineman, and the Ted Hendricks Award for outstanding defensive end.
"Terrell deserves everything he's getting," coach Dirk Koetter said. "He's one of the best players in college football. He should be recognized as such."
Barely 20, with a broad smile and an outgoing personality, Suggs is humble about the attention.
"I saw at the beginning of the season that I was a candidate for these awards," he said. "But then you look down the list and you've got Jerome McDougle, Cory Redding, E.J. Henderson and Tommie Harris. I'm like, 'I can't look forward to these awards."'
If he's named the best defensive player in college football, he will deflect the credit.
"It would just mean that a lot of things can happen when you humble yourself and put your team first," Suggs said. "That's what I did this year. I really didn't play for myself anymore. I played for my team as a unit, and all that stuff kind of happened."
Unlike other Nagurski finalists, Suggs is not part of a powerhouse defense. The Sun Devils are ninth in the Pac-10 in scoring defense and sixth in total defense, yet Suggs has excelled. He has eight more sacks than any other player in the Pac-10, leads the conference in tackles for loss with 261/2 and is tied for the Pac-10 lead with five forced fumbles.
Seven NFL scouts were on hand Oct. 26 when Suggs had 41/2 sacks in the Sun Devils' 27-16 victory over Washington. In that game, he tied the NCAA record of 171/2 sacks in a season set by Dwight Freeney of Syracuse.
Freeney's record is misleading because the NCAA didn't make sacks an official statistic until 2000.
Since the Washington game, Suggs has broken the Pac-10 record of 19 sacks shared by Tedy Bruschi of Arizona and Tim Ryan of USC. The 'unofficial" national record is 241/2 by Zeke Gadson of Pittsburgh in 1987.
Hasn't decided on NFL
Suggs has yet to decide whether to leave school a year early for the NFL, where he is certain to be a high draft pick. At 6-foot-3 and 252 pounds, he is an ideal size for a pro linebacker.
The issue wears on his patience.
"I'm getting kind of sick of it. I ask everybody to just hold off and wait until after the bowl game," he said, "because to be totally honest with you, I don't know. My mom says the plans are still the same, to come back for the senior year. If it changes, I'll let everybody know."
Koetter knows that the NFL and its money are alluring.
"Terrell and his family have a big decision coming up here at the end of the month," the coach said. "We've met with the family and feel like they have all the information they need to make the decision that's best for Terrell and best for the family."
An early departure to the NFL can be the price for having a big-time talent on the team -- in this case, talent that Koetter inherited.
"The coaching staff and the university, we're behind Terrell no matter what he decides," Koetter said. "It's a hard one. We'd love to have Terrell come back, but we also understand that he's in a difficult spot."
Suggs is one five children of Donald and Lavern Suggs. Mrs. Suggs, it is clear, carries the most weight in her son's decisions.
"Me and my mom are very close," he said. "We have the same birthday. She's like my best friend. The best thing in my life is my mother."
Cat-quick, smart and agile, Suggs has started all but two games in his college career.
He and his family moved from Chicago to Arizona his freshman year in high school. They settled in suburban Phoenix, where he enrolled at Chandler High and played football as a blocking back and linebacker.
Suggs transferred to Hamilton High and tore things up as a running back, becoming the state's leading rusher with 2,274 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior.
After his mother convinced him to stay and play close to home, Suggs faced another decision.
Then-coach Bruce Snyder gave him the choice of playing running back or defensive end. The team already had a slew of running backs, so Suggs chose defense.
He believes his ability to sack quarterbacks came from a desire for playing time.
"I guess it was the hunger to come in and play right away," he said. "I didn't want to redshirt my freshman year, so I guess I just played really fast and I got good at it. And everything just kind of happened."
Suggs started nine games his freshman year, with 10 sacks and 16 tackles for loss.
At the end of the season, Snyder was fired and the offensive-minded Koetter took over. Suggs never missed a beat, with 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss on a team that sputtered to a 4-7 record.
This year, with the Sun Devils 7-5 and bowl-eligible, Suggs is a team leader, delivering a motivational speech at each Friday night dinner.
"He's real good at it," Koetter said. "Very few individuals can stand up in front of a group of 60-plus and speak from the heart and have it come off like you've been practicing it for two weeks, and he's been able to do that all year."
Suggs shrugs it off.
The sacks, the honors, the ability to lead, and very soon a big paycheck all developed naturally.
"I thought I was a basketball player to be totally honest with you," he said. "But I just stayed with football, and here I am."