Tempe native and former McClintock High School and UCLA star Grady Stretz begins his fifth season at Arizona State and fourth under head coach Dennis Erickson. Stretz will handle the defensive line.
Last season, Stretz coached defensive tackle Lawrence Guy to Freshman All-American honors. Stretz has helped guide Dexter Davis to become one of the top defensive ends in school history. Davis will enter the 2009 season as fourth in Sun Devils history with 27.5 career sack for minus 179 yards. Davis has finished in the top three in sacks in the Pacific-10 Conference for the past two seasons. Davis and Guy were both named Pac-10 Honorable Mention in 2008. Additionally, Stretz has coached St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Michael Marquardt during his time at ASU.
Stretz came to ASU after having spent eight years at the University of New Mexico, coaching the defensive line and safeties. After five years tutoring the defensive line from 1998-2002, Stretz mentored the Lobo safeties his final three years in Albuquerque in addition to coaching the Lobo special teams units. Stretz helped New Mexico become one of only three schools to finish in the top-30 in the nation in total defense six of the past seven seasons.
Under Stretz in 2004 senior co-captain Josh Bazinet, a safety and former walk-on, was named second-team All-Mountain West Conference. He tied for the league lead in fumble recoveries with four, including a 70-yard score on a return against Oregon State. Following the 2003 campaign, senior safety Brandon Ratcliff was named first-team All-Mountain West Conference for the second year in a row. Additionally, senior Sidney Wiley earned honorable mention honors from his strong safety position, while fellow senior Terrell Golden started 38 games from 2000-03. Lobo defensive linemen also flourished under Stretz's guidance. Daniel Kegler and D.J. Renteria were both second-team all-league in 2002 while Hebrews Josue was selected team captain and honorable mention all-conference. Defensive end Brian Johnson was a two-time All-Mountain West Conference selection in 2000-01, the first UNM defensive lineman to be so recognized in consecutive years since John Bell in 1989-90. Due to an improved defensive front, the Lobos led the Mountain West Conference in rushing defense in 2000 and 2001 and finished second in 2002. The 2001 unit allowed a paltry 87.4 yards a game, the second-lowest total in school history.
In 2000, the Lobos finished 17th in the nation in total defense (309.4 ypg), their best ranking since 1964. UNM recorded 52 sacks which was a school record, 23.5 of which came from the defensive line. Johnson was named all-league and he led the conference with 9.5 sacks. The UNM run defense held foes to an MWC-low 115.3 yards a game, including just 93.7 yards per game in league contests. In Stretz's second season (1999), Jason Purvis led the squad with five tackles for loss. Thanks to several forced fumbles by the defensive line, the Lobos went from an -0.83 turnover margin in 1998 to +0.18 in 1999, the third-best figure in the Mountain West.
Stretz was a four-year letterwinner at UCLA and a member of the 1993 Rose Bowl team that finished the season ranked 17th nationally. During his senior year (1995), Stretz earned honorable mention All-Pacific-10 Conference accolades at defensive tackle. He also had the distinction of being named CBS Player of the Game versus Washington State, earning the Chevrolet Scholarship Award. Stretz culminated his final campaign at Westwood by winning the N.N. Sugarman Trophy for Best Leadership on the squad.
Stretz graduated from McClintock High in 1991, where he was a member of the 1989 football team that won a state championship. He received both of his degrees from UCLA - a bachelor's in History in 1995 and master's in Arts and Education in 1997. Following his UCLA playing career, Stretz spent some time in camp with the New York Giants where he signed on as a rookie free agent in 1996.