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ASU: Looks to return to 2000 form this season...spent 2001 campaign out of shape...one of the candidates to start at linebacker...is a second-team All-Pac-10 preseason selection by the Sporting News. 2001: Played in 11 games, starting 10...recorded 49 tackles, 19 were solo...six tackles for loss for 13 yards...recorded one sack for a loss of nine yards against Arizona...had six pass deflections on the year...recovered one fumble for nine yards against Louisiana-Lafayette...recorded a season-high eight tackles against Oregon State. 2000: Honorable-mention All-Pac-10 selection...started all 12 games at middle linebacker...second on team in total and unassisted tackles with 99 and 70, respectively...turned in 12 tackles for loss...had three sacks for a total of 11 yards...also snagged two interceptions and had eight pass deflections...tied for second in the Pac-10 with four forced fumbles on the year...led Sun Devils with nine tackles and one forced fumble vs. San Diego State...had a team-leading 11 tackles, including a sack vs. Colorado State...snatched an 11-yard interception vs. Utah State...registered seven unassisted tackles, two for a loss of 10 yards vs. UCLA...led Sun Devils with 10 tackles vs. California, also deflecting a pass...ASU-leading nine tackles, four of which were for a loss, plus one forced fumble vs. Washington...10 tackles vs. Oregon...against WSU, grabbed a 34-yard interception to go along with 11 tackles, including three for a loss...nine tackles, seven solo, including a five-yard sack of Ortege Jenkins vs. Arizona...six tackles and two pass break-ups in the Aloha Bowl...seventh in the Pac-10 in tackles, going into the Aloha Bowl...tied for second in the conference in forced fumbles. 1999: Named to the Sporting News' First Team All-Freshman squad ... earned Bill Kajikawa Sun Devil Award as ASU's most outstanding freshman ... also named to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Pac-10 All-Freshman team and one of "Top 10 Freshmen" by Sports Illustrated ... eighth on the team with 42 tackles despite not starting until third game of the season and suffering a season-ending right knee injury (MCL sprain) at Oregon (10/30) ... five of those tackles were for a loss ... dominating performance in upset win at Washington with team-leading 11 tackles (three TFL) and a forced fumble ... nine-tackle effort against New Mexico State ... recovered a key fourth quarter fumble against UCLA that set up a touchdown to bring ASU within three ... was one of only three 17-year-old freshmen to start in Division I football in 1999.
HIGH SCHOOL: A 1999 graduate of Canyon Springs High School...1998 preseason All-American by SuperPrep Magazine...also listed as the No. 13 linebacker in the nation by SuperPrep...1998 preseason All-American by PrepStar Magazine...listed by PrepStar as the No. 4 linebacker in the Western Region...a member of the "Western 100" by the Tacoma News-Tribune...1999 honorable-mention All-American by USA Today...listed as one of the nation's top seven linebackers by Street & Smith's Magazine...Area Defensive Player of the Year...named all-league...collected 120 tackles as a junior and added five quarterback sacks...collected 20 tackles against Norco High School during his junior campaign.
PERSONAL: Majoring in sociology...parents are Russell (minister) and Shirleyne (educator) Bates of Moreno Valley, Calif....has four siblings (Russell, 27, Gabriel, 23, Akosua, 22, and India, 12)...has a son, Alijah (born January 31, 2001)...born April 18, 1982, in Carver City, Calif....hobbies include playing basketball, golf, tennis and chess...full name is Solomon Augustus Bates. CAREER HIGHS: Unassisted Tackles: 9, at Washington State (10/21/00). Assisted Tackles: 9, vs. New Mexico State (9/18/99). Total Tackles: 11, three times, last at Washington State (10/21/00). Tackles for Loss: 4, vs. Washington (10/14/00)
Bates' Career Statistics
| Year | G/GS | UT/AT | TT | TFL/Yds | Sacks/Yds | PD | FF | FR | Int |
| 1999 | 8/6 | 15/27 | 42 | 5/13 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 12/12 | 70/29 | 99 | 12/33 | 3/11 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| 2001 | 11/10 | 19/30 | 49 | 6/13 | 1/9 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 31/28 | 104/86 | 190 | 23/59 | 4/20 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
Bates' Game-by-Game Statistics
2001
| Opp. | AT | UT | TT | TFL/Yds |
| San Diego State | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0/0 |
| at Stanford | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1/1 |
| San Jose State | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2/2 |
| La-Lafayette | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0/0 |
| at USC | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1/1 |
| Oregon State | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0/0 |
| Washington | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0/0 |
| at Oregon | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1/1 |
| Washington State | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0/0 |
| Arizona | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1/9 |
| at UCLA | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0/0 |
2000
| Opp. | AT | UT | TT | TFL/Yds |
| at San Diego State | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0/0 |
| Colorado State | 5 | 6 | 11 | 1/4 |
| Utah State | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0/0 |
| at UCLA | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2/10 |
| California | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0/0 |
| Washington | 8 | 1 | 9 | 4/6 |
| at Washington State | 9 | 2 | 11 | 3/5 |
| Oregon | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0/0 |
| USC | 6 | 2 | 8 | 0/0 |
| at Stanford | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0/0 |
| at Arizona | 7 | 2 | 9 | 1/5 |
| vs. Boston College | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1/3 |
1999
| Opp. | AT | UT | TT | TFL/Yds |
| Texas Tech | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1/2 |
| New Mexico St. | 9 | 0 | 9 | 1/1 |
| @California | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| UCLA | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| @Notre Dame | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| @Washington | 6 | 5 | 11 | 3/10 |
| Washington St. | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| @Oregon | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| @USC | -DNP- | |||
| Stanford | -DNP- | |||
| Arizona | -DNP- | |||
| Wake Forest | -DNP- |
