When Bruce Snyder was fired after nine seasons, Arizona State settled on 41-year-old Dirk Koetter, hoping the former Boise State head coach could transfer his high-scoring offense from the blue turf of the Northwest to the scorched grass at Sun Devil Stadium. (Of course, ASU was forced to outbid Oklahoma State for the services of Koetter, who arrived at a news conference in Tempe, Ariz., one day after telling reporters that he planned to take the job in Stillwater, Okla. But that’s college football for you: If a player can renege on his commitment, why can’t a coach?)

During three seasons at Boise State, Koetter had guided the Broncos to a pair of Humanitarian Bowl berths and twice was selected Big West Coach of the Year. Previously, he had built his reputation as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UTEP, Boston College, Missouri and Oregon -- where the Ducks set a school record with 32 touchdown passes in 1997.

The obvious link to Koetter’s success is that he is the son of a former high school football coach and subsequently quarterbacked Idaho State to a Division I-AA national championship. And even though Koetter’s first Arizona State team finished 4-7, it averaged 34 points per game -- the most since the Rose Bowl campaign of 1996, when Jake Plummer evolved into a national phenomenon. But that offensive production wasn’t nearly consistent enough to satisfy Koetter.

Arizona State opened the Koetter era with a 38-7 win over San Diego State as Jeff Krohn completed 27-of-35 passes for 271 yards. Two weeks later, ASU fell 51-28 to a Stanford team that played turnover-free ball and rang up 548 yards.

While the Sun Devils ran up gaudy totals in non-conference wins over San Jose State (53-15) and Louisiana-Lafayette (63-27), the offense endured several substandard Saturdays that resulted in losses to Southern Cal (48-17) and Washington State (28-16). The poor result against USC can be attributed to a second-quarter ankle injury that sidelined Krohn. He also went down with a sore shoulder against WSU, a game in which the Sun Devils turned over the ball four times.

Next for Arizona State was a 33-31 loss to 13th-ranked Washington, which kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired.

A 41-24 upset of Oregon State marked the offensive line’s best performance of the season as the Sun Devils piled up 314 yards rushing and controlled the clock. But the offense endured an embarrassing chapter during a 34-21 home loss to arch-rival Arizona, whose defense was among the worst in the conference. The Sun Devils converted only 3-of-13 third downs against the Wildcats and yielded seven sacks.

That loss was part of a season-ending five-game losing streak that left the Sun Devils 1-7 in league play, ahead of only winless California. The defense, porous all season, saved its worst effort for last -- allowing 536 yards in a 52-42 defeat at UCLA, which was missing quarterback Corey Paus and tailback DeShaun Foster.

While Koetter is a year further along implementing his offensive system, he must replace seven starters on that side of the football. There is more maturity on the defense, where eight starters return from a unit that allowed 32.8 points per game.

Suffice to say ASU had some work to do in spring practice. Koetter was happy with the results.

"I don’t ever look ahead and say that I want us to be at this point at the end of spring," Koetter said. "You just go as far as you can go. We had only 70 players or so, and I was very pleased how much work we got done, and how relatively few injuries we had. To work hard you have to go at it, and our guys stayed injury free. I attribute a lot of that to our off-season program."

Koetter’s quarterback race looks wide open, now that senior Jeff Krohn has departed. In 10 starts last fall, Krohn completed 54 percent of his passes for 1,942 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Three candidates are vying for the starting job -- sophomore Andrew Walter (6-5, 230), red-shirt freshman Chad Christenson (6-2, 199) and highly touted junior college signee Andy Goodenough (6-3, 215).

Is there another Plummer-style leader waiting to emerge from the trio? That looks doubtful, but under Koetter’s vertical passing system, whoever takes the snaps will find plenty of opportunities to post big numbers.

Walter was selected to The Sporting News' All-Freshman Pac-10 team virtually by default. He played in 11 games and started the final two, beginning with the Arizona fiasco. But he showed improvement the following week in a 52-42 loss at UCLA, throwing for 226 yards and a pair of scores. He finished the year 38-of-86 for 546 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Christenson, the best runner of the group, didn’t squander his red-shirt season, earning scout-team MVP honors. He is also a karate black belt, which might be his only protection against blitzing defenders, considering that ASU must replace five starters on the offensive line.

Goodenough certainly was good enough in the junior college ranks, where he led the nation with 33 touchdowns and 2,836 yards passing as a sophomore. Those sterling stats at Palomar (Calif.) Junior College led Rivals.com to rate him the 11th-best junior college prospect in America, while he was 25th on SuperPrep’s list.

The Sun Devils figure to miss Delvon Flowers (1,041 yards and 11 touchdowns) and Tom Pace (438 yards, five touchdowns), who assumed the bulk of the carries in 2001.

Flowers became the workhorse tailback at mid-season, sparked by a 226-yard, two-touchdown game against Oregon State (the school’s best yardage total in a Pac-10 game). He added three more 100-yard efforts during the final month, and Koetter will be fortunate if any runner matches that level of production this season.

The top returnee is junior Mike Williams (6-0,190), who made four early-season starts last year but had only 194 yards and three touchdowns. He showed some explosiveness, though, ripping off a 59-yard run in the season finale against UCLA. That run looked more like the Williams of the 2000 season (which Flowers missed with a torn ACL), who rushed for 510 yards, including a 143-yard performance against Colorado State.

Junior Jermaine McKinney (5-11, 219) has done little to distinguish himself the last two seasons, but in a backfield full of possibilities, he could make a splash.

Junior Mike Karney (6-0, 257) has evolved into the prototypical all-guts, no-glory fullback. He carried only six times last season for 18 yards and caught six passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.

The strength of the offense -- both from a talent and experience perspective -- is the trio of receivers led by junior Shaun McDonald (5-9, 170).

McDonald is small, but his speed helped him lead the Pac-10 with 1,104 receiving yards. A slippery playmaker who posted an ASU record 40 time of 4.38 seconds, McDonald made 47 catches for 10 touchdowns last season and figures to be a trusted target for whomever lands the quarterback job. His 100.3 yards per game ranked 10th in the nation and second in Arizona State history. McDonald also tied a conference record by scoring four touchdowns in the rout of Louisiana-Lafayette, but his best overall game came against Washington -- a nine-catch effort for 194 yards and a touchdown.

A healthy Daryl Lightfoot (5-9, 162) should provide a deep-threat alternative to McDonald. Lightfoot missed most of his freshman season with a broken jaw and finished with six receptions for 106 yards.

Senior Justin Taplin (6-0, 190) is a capable No. 3 receiver who made 10 catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Signee Aaron Austin (6-5, 255) arrives at ASU after being rated the No. 3 junior-college player in the nation by JC Football.com. In two seasons at Fresno Community College, Austin made 47 catches for 668 yards and 15 touchdowns. Austin’s junior college coach Tony Caviglia compares him to former FCC tight ends Ryan Wetnight and David Sloan, both of whom are in the NFL.

If ASU is to put up points this season, offensive line coach Reggie Grimes must develop some players in a hurry. The Sun Devils lost five seniors and four starters up front, including NFL first-round draft pick Levi Jones.

Junior Regis Crawford (6-3, 302) is the lone returning starter, and even he is learning a new position -- having shifted from guard to left tackle.

Red-shirt freshman Chad Rosson (6-5, 289) is the second-stringer.

Junior Damien Niko (6-5, 285) enters fall as the starter at right tackle. He appeared in only four games last season, while backing up the All-American Jones.

The top candidates at the guard positions are Tim Fa’aita (6-1, 315) and Drew Hodgdon (6-3, 287). Fa’aita participated in spring drills after signing out of City College of San Francisco, where he was a second-team All-American. Hodgdon played sparingly in 10 games last season. Providing depth at the guard spots are sophomores Brandon Macias (6-6, 295) and Adrian Ayala (6-4, 291) and red-shirt freshman Gino Benedetti (6-4, 246).

Junior Tony Aguilar (6-3, 283) gets his shot at center after spending two years behind All-Pac-10 selection Scott Peters. The reserves are red-shirt freshman Grayling Love (6-3, 285) and sophomore Geoff Van Loo (6-5, 270).

Place-kicker Mike Barth (6-0, 210) has made 66 percent of his career field-goal attempts (26-of-39). He led Arizona State in scoring with 70 points last season and became a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award. He converted 9-of-14 field-goal tries, but was especially accurate from inside 40 yards, going 6-of-7. His season long was a 47-yarder at Stanford. He also made 43-of-44 extra-point kicks.

Fellow senior Greg Pieratt (6-1, 180) is competing with Barth for kickoff duties.

The Sun Devils are banking on defensive improvement after several unacceptable performances in 2001. ASU surrendered 548 yards to Stanford and 536 yards to UCLA, along with 474 yards to Oregon and 440 to Washington.

Particularly troubling was the fact that opponents scored 30 touchdowns in 40 red-zone trips.

This unit is highlighted by junior Terrell Suggs (6-3, 242), a speed-rush defensive end who last season finished second in the Pac-10 with 10 sacks. He finished with 42 tackles, including 18 behind the line of scrimmage, and forced four fumbles.

The only other returning starter on the defensive front, junior end Brian Montesanto (6-5, 259), needs to increase his production as offenses focus on Suggs. Montesanto had 25 tackles last season, but zero sacks.

Shane Jones , a 6-3, 285 All-American at Sacramento Community College, should man one of the interior spots, but Koetter’s junior college recruiting spree didn’t end there. He also signed Matt Mason (6-4, 265) out of Glendale Community College in nearby Phoenix. Mason made 11.5 sacks despite rotating frequently.

ASU’s linebacking was so inadequate last season that the incumbents -- Mason Unck (6-3, 228) and Solomon Bates (6-2, 261) -- may not be starters this fall. Unck made 61 tackles, but has been slowed by a chronic shoulder injury. Bates’ undoing has been poor conditioning, and the coaching staff is insisting that he be more aggressive with his off-season workouts.

Their top competition comes from Ishmael Thrower (6-2, 215), a teammate of fellow recruit Jones at Sacramento Community College. The ASU coaches initially intended to bulk up Thrower and use him at defensive end, but his speed is impressive enough for them to keep him at linebacker.

Speaking of impressing coaches, senior Josh Amobi (6-2, 219) has thrilled the staff with his winter conditioning. After making 46 tackles last fall, he appears ready to become a full-time starter in his final season.

When defensive coordinator Brent Guy arrived in the Valley of the Sun with Koetter, he installed a 4-2-5 scheme that puts an emphasis on speed in the secondary. The ASU defense should reap the benefits of playing four freshman defensive backs last season, the most talented of which could be cornerback R.J. Oliver (5-9, 270). In nine starts, Oliver led the Sun Devils with seven pass breakups and tied for the lead with two interceptions. With 4.4 speed, he looks the part of a cover corner, but he also isn’t afraid to be physical. He made 50 stops, while forcing one fumble and recovering another -- all of which made him an easy selection for Pac-10 All-Freshman team.

On the opposite side, Lamar Baker (5-10, 196) enjoyed a promising freshman season in his own right, making two interceptions and 40 tackles in seven starts.

Another sophomore cornerback bound to see ample playing time is Emmanuel Franklin (5-11, 185), who made quite a debut last season, returning an interception 100 yards against San Diego State. He made 34 tackles.

When Guy uses the dime package, senior O.J. Hackett (5-10, 165) should get on the field.

The fourth and most highly decorated freshman last season was free safety Jason Shivers (6-1, 190). He played in all 11 games, starting nine, and registered a team-best 89 tackles -- the first freshman in ASU history to accomplish that feat.

The most experienced player in the secondary is senior strong safety Alfred Williams (6-1, 200). A three-year starter who is viewed as an enforcer, he finished with 52 tackles -- including three sacks -- and a pair of interceptions.

ASU must replace Nick Murphy, whose 41.1-yard average ranked third in the conference. Senior Brian Biang (6-0, 205), who previously handled kickoffs, and junior-college transfer Tim Parker (6-0, 182) closed the spring in a dead heat. They will be challenged to match last season’s 37.5-yard net, which was second best in the league.

Flowers and Pace were the primary kick returners in 2001, but Williams got his hands on 14 kick returns and averaged 23.4 yards, good for seventh in the Pac-10. Williams had a season-long 49-yard return against San Jose State.

Special teams coach Tom Osborne also plans to test Hill, Canidate and Miller. Buoyed by Pace’s 100-yard return against UCLA, Arizona State averaged 25 yards per kick return, second in the Pac-10 and ninth in the country.

Lightfoot handled eight punt returns for 66 yards and is a break-away threat, while Taplin did a solid job returning 18 punts in 2001. If either falters, Osborne may be tempted to utilize McDonald and his blazing speed.

The Sun Devils were fifth in the conference, averaging 8.5 yards per return.

The long snapper is senior Jay Breckenridge (6-2, 225).

Upon arriving at ASU in December 2000, Koetter faced a drastically compressed recruiting period, yet he managed to put together a respectable group of signees. The Sun Devils’ most recent class reflects what Koetter can do given more time.

Among his 30 most recent signees are seven junior-college players, all of whom are expected to contribute next season. But Koetter managed to land a few prep stars as well, led by tailback Hill. Blessed with a 6-2, 200-pound frame, Hill also was a high school track standout, qualifying for the state final in the 200 meters and the 4x100 relay. Timed at 4.45 in the 40, Hill rushed for 2,330 yards as a senior and led the state of Arizona with 36 touchdowns.

Receiver Richardson of Corona, Calif., was rated the No. 3 skill athlete in the nation by SuperPrep after making 55 catches for 973 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior. Richardson also ran for five touchdowns.

De’Andre Johnson (6-2, 225) of Phoenix made 13 sacks as a senior while playing six defensive positions and became a PrepStar All-American.

Jamaal Lewis (6-4, 225) of Colorado Springs, Colo., was rated the 27th-best tight end in the nation by Rivals.com. He possesses 4.65 speed and made 91 catches for 19 touchdowns during his final two seasons.

Mike Talbot (6-2, 230) was a standout high school linebacker who is moving to fullback, where his toughness should make him a hard-nosed understudy to Karney.

Freshman cornerback Mike Davis Jr. (6-3, 180) is the son of the former Oakland Raiders defensive back.

An Aug. 24 trip to Nebraska for the Black Coaches Association Classic should provide ASU with immediate feedback on the progress of Koetter’s second squad. Don’t look for the Sun Devils to do much against the Big Red Machine, but the exposure to such a physical opponent could do some good in the long term.

The schedule gets easier with five of the next six games at home. ASU plays a 13-game schedule that includes Eastern Washington and Central Florida, but the swing game could be an Oct. 5 home date against North Carolina.

Koetter has a few weapons on offense, with McDonald and Lightfoot capable of riddling defensive backfields and keeping defenses honest. But it’s difficult to imagine this team lighting up the scoreboard with a new quarterback and an unproven offensive line. Expect a lot of early season shuffling on the offensive front as the staff tries to find a combination it can live with -- and if such a combination surfaces by the onset of conference play, perhaps Koetter’s quarterback will live to lead ASU into a lower-tier bowl game.

The Sun Devils’ defense should be vastly improved, with the talented secondary maturing and Suggs keeping the heat on opposing quarterbacks. And considering the influx of junior college talent, it isn’t a stretch to predict that ASU could be bowl-eligible by early November -- as long as ASU manages to develop some chemistry. How the Sun Devils perform during the final two weeks, when they visit Southern Cal and Arizona, will determine the difference in a mediocre season and one that is truly memorable.