Caleb reporting on both sides of the ball
Offense:
First Team
RT Emmit Bohle
RG Cade Briggs
C Leif Fautanu
LG Sione Finau
LT Isaia Glass
QB Jaden Rashada
RB Cam Skattebo
TE Jalin Conyers
WR Melquan Stovall (slot)
WR Elijhah Badger
WR Xavier Guillory
RB De Carlos Brooks and Tevin White rotated Cam Skattebo during first-team reps. TEs Messiah Swinson and Bryce Pierre rotated/joined with Conyers with the first team. LT Bram Walden rotated extensively with Glass during first-team reps. WR Gio Sanders rotated with Stovall during first-team reps. RG Joey Ramos rotated in with the first team. WRs Andre Johnson and Troy Omeire rotated in with the first team.
Second Team
RT Max Iheanachor
RG Aaron Frost
C Cade Briggs
LG Joey Ramos
LT Bram Walden
QB Trenton Bourguet
RB Kyson Brown
TE Messiah Swinson
WR Andre Johnson
WR Troy Omeire
WR Gio Sanders (slot)
LG Aaron Frost occasionally flipped guard positions. LT Isaia Glass rotated extensively with the second team. LG Sione Finau rotated extensively with the second team. WR Shawn Charles rotated in with the second group (and the first group rarely). RG Kyle Scott rotated heavily with Joey Ramos, while Ben Bray also moved around the line today at right guard.
Defense:
First Team:
EDGE: Clayton Smith
DT: Dashaun Mallory
DT: Tristan Monday
EDGE: BJ Green
LB: Travion Brown
LB: Tate Romney/Will Shaffer
CB: Demetries Ford/Ed Woods
CB: Ro Torrence
Nickel: Jordan Clark
S: Shamari Simmons
S: Chris Edmonds
Demetries Ford and Ed Woods rotated in at the second corner position.
Second Team
EDGE: Michael Matus
DT: Sam Benjamin/Blazen Lono Wong
DT: Gharin Stansbury
EDGE: Prince Dorbah/Elijah O’Neal
LB: Will Shaffer/James Djonkam
LB: Caleb McCullough/K’Vion Thunderbird
CB: Ed Woods/Demetries Ford
CB: Keith Abney II
Nickel: Macen Williams
S: Damon Williamson/RJ Regan
S: Josiah Cox
A full day has passed since the news of Arizona State's self-imposed bowl ban reached the team, and Monday morning meant it was back to work as usual. The energy was higher this morning as funky music started stretching and Jalin Conyers screaming and hollering, getting everyone in the mood for a better practice than Sunday's showing.
After stretching, the field closest to the entrance was split into somewhat fourths as the main group was working on fielding onside kicks from kickers. We don’t know how many onside kicks ASU will take soon but better prepares than not. Other skill positions on one side were fielding punts, while on the other, returners were fielding short kickoffs.
On the near side endzone, the linemen were implementing a drill where they had to take a kick step before diving with the near shoulder into a bag. Seemed like something we’d see on a screen as the lineman got down before making the way for a ball carrier.
Skills then moved over to the other field to work on open-field movement and tackling. After the first couple of periods, the tempo team period came around. It was somewhat of a short and rough start on the offensive side. To begin, the first team handed the ball to DeCarlos Brooks for a short run before a false start, and a ball by Rashada was completed to Conyers. With the second team, Trenton Bourguet had two incompletions as the defensive line was setting the tone. BJ Greene and Prince Dorbah were involved as the period ended.
After the tempo period, the defensive line came in for individual drills, with assistant coach Vince Amey hyping them up. Asking for energy and to keep the momentum going throughout practice.
Looking at some of the defensive individual drills, the linebackers were replicating attacking holes against a would-be running back. It has become clear, if it was not already, that Tre Brown will be the leader of the linebacking core. Corners, Safeties, and specific nickel backs were doing a lot of ball tracing and footwork. The defensive linemen worked out of a shoot, getting aggressive out of the stance.
It is important to note that at least through the first half of practice, the defensive linemen were very aggressive and fired up. This will be interesting to watch come Thursday as there is some concern with depth in the interior. That said, Green and Clayton Smith were showcasing their leadership.
While the defense was at work, there was a short period against a scout team defense that saw a nicely thrown ball by Rashada to Xavier Guillory. This catch was made in stride over a defender for a touchdown. Shortly after that play, the offense went into their own individuals highlighted by the combination work continued between quarterbacks and tight ends/receivers. Here, route combinations are still looking very good, with Rashada delivering nice second-level balls. As Rashada is more than capable of throwing deep, the location was a tad off during this portion. A very short run period preceded the team going into a break.
The break ended, and the team got right back to special teams. As usual, Melquan Stovall and Javen Jacobs are returning punts. On a particular punt, the ball was dropped, and the blocking was poor, so assistant coach Charlie Ragle was livid, explaining that the lack of execution was unacceptable. The team would fix it up before they all headed into the Dickey Dome.
On a quick note, on special teams, Elijhah Badger will not be playing the first half versus Southern Utah after a personal foul was issued in last season’s finale against Arizona. Therefore, do not be surprised to see Dee Ford or Melquan Stovall back to return a kickoff at some point on Thursday.
In a team portion, Rashada started while crowd noise was being pumped in. It was safe to say the offense had the upper hand (although a lot against the scout team) today, as after an incompletion, Rashada found Guillory again for another touchdown on another deep ball. This may be the practice where the Rashada-Guillory connection really started to bloom. Hefty line movement, especially between Bram Walden and Isaia Glass, welcomed Bourguet, who had his time highlighted by a beautiful stutter-go by Badger for another touchdown.
Red Zone ball placement had Rashada in the zone, posting three straight touchdowns to Cam Skattebo, Jalin Conyers, and Andre Johnson. There would be an arguable 4-4 if, in a live setting, Cam Skattebo breaks one tackle before reaching the end zone.
A period shortly after, the offense took a step back. A lot of incompletions between both quarterbacks. The lone highlight being a third-level ball over Keith Abney II completed again to Guillory. Two pass interference calls gave the offense more chances in a game scenario.
Summarizing the 7v7 portion (first-team offense vs. first-team defense), Rashada had an immediate touchdown to Stovall downfield over the middle. Two other completions and an incompletion followed. Bourguet was also 3-4, making another nice throw to Badger, while the last ball was broken up by Will Shaffer (who is also missing the first half of Thursday's game – personal foul).
In another red zone period right before going against the scout team, Rashada had another touchdown to Messiah Swinson, with the ball being placed in the back of the endzone. Rashada was again very efficient in this portion that almost wrapped up practice, and Kenny Dillingham mentioned that this was one of his best practices. That said, Rashada did throw an interception on what looked like an underthrown ball.
Bourguet had a better period than before, delivering a ball to Max Ware for a touchdown down the right sideline.
Before the final horn blew, there was a two-minute drill with Rashada’s name on it. Two incompletions set up a third down. A timeout was called in what looked like it could be a good stop by the defense. As the crowd noise pumped, Rashada rolled left and delivered a 50-yard across the body throw, catching Shawn Charles in stride for a touchdown.
Overall, both sides of the ball had a lot of highlights to show for and displayed the resiliency you wanted them to showcase after the postseason ban news.
Offense:
First Team
RT Emmit Bohle
RG Cade Briggs
C Leif Fautanu
LG Sione Finau
LT Isaia Glass
QB Jaden Rashada
RB Cam Skattebo
TE Jalin Conyers
WR Melquan Stovall (slot)
WR Elijhah Badger
WR Xavier Guillory
RB De Carlos Brooks and Tevin White rotated Cam Skattebo during first-team reps. TEs Messiah Swinson and Bryce Pierre rotated/joined with Conyers with the first team. LT Bram Walden rotated extensively with Glass during first-team reps. WR Gio Sanders rotated with Stovall during first-team reps. RG Joey Ramos rotated in with the first team. WRs Andre Johnson and Troy Omeire rotated in with the first team.
Second Team
RT Max Iheanachor
RG Aaron Frost
C Cade Briggs
LG Joey Ramos
LT Bram Walden
QB Trenton Bourguet
RB Kyson Brown
TE Messiah Swinson
WR Andre Johnson
WR Troy Omeire
WR Gio Sanders (slot)
LG Aaron Frost occasionally flipped guard positions. LT Isaia Glass rotated extensively with the second team. LG Sione Finau rotated extensively with the second team. WR Shawn Charles rotated in with the second group (and the first group rarely). RG Kyle Scott rotated heavily with Joey Ramos, while Ben Bray also moved around the line today at right guard.
Defense:
First Team:
EDGE: Clayton Smith
DT: Dashaun Mallory
DT: Tristan Monday
EDGE: BJ Green
LB: Travion Brown
LB: Tate Romney/Will Shaffer
CB: Demetries Ford/Ed Woods
CB: Ro Torrence
Nickel: Jordan Clark
S: Shamari Simmons
S: Chris Edmonds
Demetries Ford and Ed Woods rotated in at the second corner position.
Second Team
EDGE: Michael Matus
DT: Sam Benjamin/Blazen Lono Wong
DT: Gharin Stansbury
EDGE: Prince Dorbah/Elijah O’Neal
LB: Will Shaffer/James Djonkam
LB: Caleb McCullough/K’Vion Thunderbird
CB: Ed Woods/Demetries Ford
CB: Keith Abney II
Nickel: Macen Williams
S: Damon Williamson/RJ Regan
S: Josiah Cox
A full day has passed since the news of Arizona State's self-imposed bowl ban reached the team, and Monday morning meant it was back to work as usual. The energy was higher this morning as funky music started stretching and Jalin Conyers screaming and hollering, getting everyone in the mood for a better practice than Sunday's showing.
After stretching, the field closest to the entrance was split into somewhat fourths as the main group was working on fielding onside kicks from kickers. We don’t know how many onside kicks ASU will take soon but better prepares than not. Other skill positions on one side were fielding punts, while on the other, returners were fielding short kickoffs.
On the near side endzone, the linemen were implementing a drill where they had to take a kick step before diving with the near shoulder into a bag. Seemed like something we’d see on a screen as the lineman got down before making the way for a ball carrier.
Skills then moved over to the other field to work on open-field movement and tackling. After the first couple of periods, the tempo team period came around. It was somewhat of a short and rough start on the offensive side. To begin, the first team handed the ball to DeCarlos Brooks for a short run before a false start, and a ball by Rashada was completed to Conyers. With the second team, Trenton Bourguet had two incompletions as the defensive line was setting the tone. BJ Greene and Prince Dorbah were involved as the period ended.
After the tempo period, the defensive line came in for individual drills, with assistant coach Vince Amey hyping them up. Asking for energy and to keep the momentum going throughout practice.
Looking at some of the defensive individual drills, the linebackers were replicating attacking holes against a would-be running back. It has become clear, if it was not already, that Tre Brown will be the leader of the linebacking core. Corners, Safeties, and specific nickel backs were doing a lot of ball tracing and footwork. The defensive linemen worked out of a shoot, getting aggressive out of the stance.
It is important to note that at least through the first half of practice, the defensive linemen were very aggressive and fired up. This will be interesting to watch come Thursday as there is some concern with depth in the interior. That said, Green and Clayton Smith were showcasing their leadership.
While the defense was at work, there was a short period against a scout team defense that saw a nicely thrown ball by Rashada to Xavier Guillory. This catch was made in stride over a defender for a touchdown. Shortly after that play, the offense went into their own individuals highlighted by the combination work continued between quarterbacks and tight ends/receivers. Here, route combinations are still looking very good, with Rashada delivering nice second-level balls. As Rashada is more than capable of throwing deep, the location was a tad off during this portion. A very short run period preceded the team going into a break.
The break ended, and the team got right back to special teams. As usual, Melquan Stovall and Javen Jacobs are returning punts. On a particular punt, the ball was dropped, and the blocking was poor, so assistant coach Charlie Ragle was livid, explaining that the lack of execution was unacceptable. The team would fix it up before they all headed into the Dickey Dome.
On a quick note, on special teams, Elijhah Badger will not be playing the first half versus Southern Utah after a personal foul was issued in last season’s finale against Arizona. Therefore, do not be surprised to see Dee Ford or Melquan Stovall back to return a kickoff at some point on Thursday.
In a team portion, Rashada started while crowd noise was being pumped in. It was safe to say the offense had the upper hand (although a lot against the scout team) today, as after an incompletion, Rashada found Guillory again for another touchdown on another deep ball. This may be the practice where the Rashada-Guillory connection really started to bloom. Hefty line movement, especially between Bram Walden and Isaia Glass, welcomed Bourguet, who had his time highlighted by a beautiful stutter-go by Badger for another touchdown.
Red Zone ball placement had Rashada in the zone, posting three straight touchdowns to Cam Skattebo, Jalin Conyers, and Andre Johnson. There would be an arguable 4-4 if, in a live setting, Cam Skattebo breaks one tackle before reaching the end zone.
A period shortly after, the offense took a step back. A lot of incompletions between both quarterbacks. The lone highlight being a third-level ball over Keith Abney II completed again to Guillory. Two pass interference calls gave the offense more chances in a game scenario.
Summarizing the 7v7 portion (first-team offense vs. first-team defense), Rashada had an immediate touchdown to Stovall downfield over the middle. Two other completions and an incompletion followed. Bourguet was also 3-4, making another nice throw to Badger, while the last ball was broken up by Will Shaffer (who is also missing the first half of Thursday's game – personal foul).
In another red zone period right before going against the scout team, Rashada had another touchdown to Messiah Swinson, with the ball being placed in the back of the endzone. Rashada was again very efficient in this portion that almost wrapped up practice, and Kenny Dillingham mentioned that this was one of his best practices. That said, Rashada did throw an interception on what looked like an underthrown ball.
Bourguet had a better period than before, delivering a ball to Max Ware for a touchdown down the right sideline.
Before the final horn blew, there was a two-minute drill with Rashada’s name on it. Two incompletions set up a third down. A timeout was called in what looked like it could be a good stop by the defense. As the crowd noise pumped, Rashada rolled left and delivered a 50-yard across the body throw, catching Shawn Charles in stride for a touchdown.
Overall, both sides of the ball had a lot of highlights to show for and displayed the resiliency you wanted them to showcase after the postseason ban news.
