ASU Safety, Senior Osahon Irabor

Tempe, AZ – Dependable. Veteran. Mature. Leader.

These are some of the words you hear to describe senior Sun Devil cornerback Osahon Irabor.

Heading into his final three games as a Sun Devil, Irabor has been a steady and calming force for ASU football not only on the field, but also in the locker room.

He has two big interceptions in 2013, one against USC and the other a pick six against Notre Dame. He also has 44 tackles and one sack.

When he speaks, his words are carefully chosen and his maturity and experience shine through.

As a senior, Irabor is one of the players on the team that had a chance to experience two vastly different Sun Devil coaching staffs and program cultures, one under Dennis Erickson and the other under Todd Graham.

The Sun Devil cornerback shared his thoughts with us on everything from Graham and Erickson, to the Territorial Cup and his senior season.

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Osahon Irabor, Penni Graham & Alden Darby

DHD: Heading into the final game of the regular season and a chance to finish with 10 wins, tell us about this wild ride in your senior year.

OI: “It’s been a long journey. I can remember back to Camp T and grinding every day. To be where we are at this point in the season at 9-2, we are definitely blessed to stay healthy and stay together as a unit. We believe in our system and the way that we do things, and it’s definitely paid off.”

DHD: During your time as a Sun Devil, you were able to experience two different coaching staffs under Coach Erickson and now Coach Graham. What did you learn going through that process?

OI: “Facing the adversity of the 2011 season under Coach Erickson made all of us seniors better players and better people. Going through that tough time, coming out on the other side and seeing how our program changed for the better and just embracing it. All these guys out here have embraced Coach Graham and his system. You see it on and off the field, and Sun Devil fans are proud of the team we are putting forward. It’s just a great feeling.”

DHD: Coming off such an intense victory over UCLA and winning the Pac-12 south, how does the team stay focused heading into the Territorial Cup?

OI: “For us as a unit, it’s definitely not hard for us to get ready to play those guys coming from down there from Tucson, especially us seniors who want to go out on top and beat UofA. Coach always says that you can win every game, but if you lose to Arizona, it’s still a bad season. We’ve been practicing well all week and guys are focused. We’re not going to over think it or get too high or too low, just stay even-keeled and keep doing what we’ve been doing all season. We’re ready for the challenge.”

DHD: If you had one message to Sun Devil fans heading into the big rivalry game on Saturday, what would you tell them?

OI: “Be ready to be loud and cheer us on. We’re going to put on a great performance for the fans. We look forward to this game all year and we can’t wait for our Sun Devil fans to support us and push us on to victory.”

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