The 2017 Spring Game looked and felt eerily similar to Todd Graham's first spring at the helm of the Sun Devils. Lots of Sunshine. Lots of offense. Lots of quarterbacks to choose from.
Here are some of the notes I took about the players, sights, and sounds at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday:
Quarterbacks: Manny Wilkins has been here as long as most of his serious competition combined, and it shows. He's confident, and has developed a chemistry with Jalen Harvey and John Humphrey that it's easy to imagine translating to regular season play. He doesn't look at all like someone who's feeling the pressure of being pushed by Blake Barnett, but Wilkins has always looked loose and locked in at most of the practices I've attended. Barnett is still having issues with accuracy, but as Brad Denny pointed out to me, most of his inaccurate throws are slightly overthrown rather than being off-target. This could simply be a matter of timing, which us certainly reparable. He had a great throw to Humphrey late in the practice, and the zip on his short throws can give guys that specialize in yards after the catch some extra time and space to work with. Dillon Sterling-Cole looks much more relaxed than he did at any point last season. He's still relying a little too much on his arm talent, and trying to fit balls into windows that don't exist, but at least he's not beating himself up when a ball is batted or picked off. Brady White was in attendance, and there's seemingly no noticeable progress to the untrained eye as far as his comfort coming off the foot injury. By all accounts he's ahead of schedule with his recovery, but we'll have to wait another 3.5 months to see if he'll be fully available for fall camp. Bryce Perkins looked good on throws to Jack White and Hunter Allen in 7-on-7 play, and now he's in a holding pattern as far as what his future in Maroon and Gold will be. As pointed out to me by Chilly, there's technically a scenario in which Blake Barnett beats out Manny Wilkins, and Wilkins responds by transferring, leaving Perkins as a potential #2 quarterback in 2017. There's also the consideration of whether Perkins would want to sit out another year by transferring, or if he'd possibly be better served securing a degree and attempting to make an immediate transfer with two years of eligibility left. At the end of the day, Perkins loves being a Sun Devil, but in the most crowded QB race in the country, someone has to be the odd man out. Newcomer Ryan Kelley isn't worrying himself over the dozens of potential depth chart options ASU has in 2017. He's currently rehabbing a shoulder injury that bothered him throughout his senior season, and describes himself at around 85-90% right now.
Runningbacks: Demario Richard looks like he's made the most progress physically from the start of spring until now (or maybe he's loaning the extra padding to Mark Cosgrove). Richard is healthy and motivated after rough 2016, but no one seems to be more motivated than Kalen Ballage, who according to sources has been very hard on himself this spring. Ballage had considered leaving Arizona State for the NFL, but has returned to help his team, as well as his own stock, and a lot is riding on whether he'll be able to make some improvements to his game, including being a tougher back to tackle behind the line of scrimmage. Nick Ralston is probably as ready as he's going to be to spell Richard or Ballage in the two-back formations that ASU plans to use this season (but didn't show off much today). It's possible that Tre Turner, Eno Benjamin and Jacom Brimhall will factor into ASU's at some point this season, but in an ideal world, ASU will be able to solely depend on its seniors to take a step forward and challenge for the P12 South.
Wide Receivers: This practice was the John Humphrey show. Cam Smith and N'Keal Harry weren't participating, and that left the door open for Jalen Chatman, Jalen Harvey, and Jack Smith to get lots of reps in front of the fans. Smith even joked that he almost gassed out after the 7-on-7 session because he didn't have anyone to sub out for him. This was my first look at walk-on Hunter Allen (son of Eric Allen), and I was impressed with his initiative and skill level. At the Tight End position, JayJay Wilson's blocking was a highlight, and I personally felt that Tommy Hudson separated himself from the pack as the most capable weapon outside of Wilson. Incoming freshman WR Curtis Hodges was in attendance, and he's already put some weight on his 6-7 frame. If he can continue to add good weight and bulk up, it's possible he'll fulfill his potential as a unique weapon whose body can hold up the the rigors of facing D1 defenses.
Offensive Line: A healthy Sam Jones is a game changer for Arizona State. I was impressed with the progress that Alex Losoya, Marshal Nathe and Cohl Cabral have all made physically. All three are pushing for playing time, but in an ideal world, the Sun Devils are able to play the guys that were getting the most reps at the end of last season, including Quinn Bailey, Steven Miller, and AJ McCollum, and the players pushing them can provide depth. I'm not sure if Zach Robertson has regressed, or if he's just slowly recovering from an ailment, but he seems to be the most in danger of playing a diminished role as compared to the 9 games he appeared in as a redshirt freshman.
Defensive Line: I polled the offensive line throughout the day, and they all seem to think that this will be the year that George Lea breaks out. Doug Subtyl and JoJo Wicker look like they'll be on the outside while Lea and Tashon Smallwood handle the interior in heavier fronts, but I expect Renell Wren to have an equally large impact rotating in, if not supplanting one of the previously listed players. The one player that might surprise people by getting meaningful reps is UC Davis transfer Jordan Hoyt.
Linebackers: Lots of buzz surrounding Malik Lawal, although Phil Bennett seems to have taken a liking to the dynamic duo of DJ Calhoun, and Christian Sam (but I did hear that he forgot what Sam's name was on the Pac-12 broadcast). Fabian Ardaya commented to me about Sam's health, physicality and progress- and I agree that someone with as much potential as Sam to play at the next level should be someone ASU counts on to be a playmaker in 2017. Koron Crump hasn't lost his speed, but he's definitely added some size.
Defensive Back: Right off the bat, let's mention that Ty Thomas likes to tackle. With depth being an issue, and Thomas having the advantage of a full spring, you might see this true freshman get on the field. KJ Jarrell was in attendance, and he's looking forward to seeing if he can make a case for himself as well. Chase Lucas is definitely bigger than he was as a freshman, but if you're going by how they played on Saturday, Maurice Chandler seems to have the upper hand when it comes to the starting CB spot opposite Kareem Orr. As far as steps forward, the attitude is that Dasmond Tautalatasi and Chad Adams are making the biggest case, in their 4th year at ASU together, for additional responsibilities.
Special Teams: Michael Sleep-Dalton was interesting to watch, and a tad inconsistent. John O'Brien had Brandon Ruiz in attendance, watching his every move. You have to think that even if O'Brien beats out Ruiz in fall for the FG kicking duties, there's nothing keeping Ruiz off the field for kickoffs.
Here are some of the notes I took about the players, sights, and sounds at Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday:
Quarterbacks: Manny Wilkins has been here as long as most of his serious competition combined, and it shows. He's confident, and has developed a chemistry with Jalen Harvey and John Humphrey that it's easy to imagine translating to regular season play. He doesn't look at all like someone who's feeling the pressure of being pushed by Blake Barnett, but Wilkins has always looked loose and locked in at most of the practices I've attended. Barnett is still having issues with accuracy, but as Brad Denny pointed out to me, most of his inaccurate throws are slightly overthrown rather than being off-target. This could simply be a matter of timing, which us certainly reparable. He had a great throw to Humphrey late in the practice, and the zip on his short throws can give guys that specialize in yards after the catch some extra time and space to work with. Dillon Sterling-Cole looks much more relaxed than he did at any point last season. He's still relying a little too much on his arm talent, and trying to fit balls into windows that don't exist, but at least he's not beating himself up when a ball is batted or picked off. Brady White was in attendance, and there's seemingly no noticeable progress to the untrained eye as far as his comfort coming off the foot injury. By all accounts he's ahead of schedule with his recovery, but we'll have to wait another 3.5 months to see if he'll be fully available for fall camp. Bryce Perkins looked good on throws to Jack White and Hunter Allen in 7-on-7 play, and now he's in a holding pattern as far as what his future in Maroon and Gold will be. As pointed out to me by Chilly, there's technically a scenario in which Blake Barnett beats out Manny Wilkins, and Wilkins responds by transferring, leaving Perkins as a potential #2 quarterback in 2017. There's also the consideration of whether Perkins would want to sit out another year by transferring, or if he'd possibly be better served securing a degree and attempting to make an immediate transfer with two years of eligibility left. At the end of the day, Perkins loves being a Sun Devil, but in the most crowded QB race in the country, someone has to be the odd man out. Newcomer Ryan Kelley isn't worrying himself over the dozens of potential depth chart options ASU has in 2017. He's currently rehabbing a shoulder injury that bothered him throughout his senior season, and describes himself at around 85-90% right now.
Runningbacks: Demario Richard looks like he's made the most progress physically from the start of spring until now (or maybe he's loaning the extra padding to Mark Cosgrove). Richard is healthy and motivated after rough 2016, but no one seems to be more motivated than Kalen Ballage, who according to sources has been very hard on himself this spring. Ballage had considered leaving Arizona State for the NFL, but has returned to help his team, as well as his own stock, and a lot is riding on whether he'll be able to make some improvements to his game, including being a tougher back to tackle behind the line of scrimmage. Nick Ralston is probably as ready as he's going to be to spell Richard or Ballage in the two-back formations that ASU plans to use this season (but didn't show off much today). It's possible that Tre Turner, Eno Benjamin and Jacom Brimhall will factor into ASU's at some point this season, but in an ideal world, ASU will be able to solely depend on its seniors to take a step forward and challenge for the P12 South.
Wide Receivers: This practice was the John Humphrey show. Cam Smith and N'Keal Harry weren't participating, and that left the door open for Jalen Chatman, Jalen Harvey, and Jack Smith to get lots of reps in front of the fans. Smith even joked that he almost gassed out after the 7-on-7 session because he didn't have anyone to sub out for him. This was my first look at walk-on Hunter Allen (son of Eric Allen), and I was impressed with his initiative and skill level. At the Tight End position, JayJay Wilson's blocking was a highlight, and I personally felt that Tommy Hudson separated himself from the pack as the most capable weapon outside of Wilson. Incoming freshman WR Curtis Hodges was in attendance, and he's already put some weight on his 6-7 frame. If he can continue to add good weight and bulk up, it's possible he'll fulfill his potential as a unique weapon whose body can hold up the the rigors of facing D1 defenses.
Offensive Line: A healthy Sam Jones is a game changer for Arizona State. I was impressed with the progress that Alex Losoya, Marshal Nathe and Cohl Cabral have all made physically. All three are pushing for playing time, but in an ideal world, the Sun Devils are able to play the guys that were getting the most reps at the end of last season, including Quinn Bailey, Steven Miller, and AJ McCollum, and the players pushing them can provide depth. I'm not sure if Zach Robertson has regressed, or if he's just slowly recovering from an ailment, but he seems to be the most in danger of playing a diminished role as compared to the 9 games he appeared in as a redshirt freshman.
Defensive Line: I polled the offensive line throughout the day, and they all seem to think that this will be the year that George Lea breaks out. Doug Subtyl and JoJo Wicker look like they'll be on the outside while Lea and Tashon Smallwood handle the interior in heavier fronts, but I expect Renell Wren to have an equally large impact rotating in, if not supplanting one of the previously listed players. The one player that might surprise people by getting meaningful reps is UC Davis transfer Jordan Hoyt.
Linebackers: Lots of buzz surrounding Malik Lawal, although Phil Bennett seems to have taken a liking to the dynamic duo of DJ Calhoun, and Christian Sam (but I did hear that he forgot what Sam's name was on the Pac-12 broadcast). Fabian Ardaya commented to me about Sam's health, physicality and progress- and I agree that someone with as much potential as Sam to play at the next level should be someone ASU counts on to be a playmaker in 2017. Koron Crump hasn't lost his speed, but he's definitely added some size.
Defensive Back: Right off the bat, let's mention that Ty Thomas likes to tackle. With depth being an issue, and Thomas having the advantage of a full spring, you might see this true freshman get on the field. KJ Jarrell was in attendance, and he's looking forward to seeing if he can make a case for himself as well. Chase Lucas is definitely bigger than he was as a freshman, but if you're going by how they played on Saturday, Maurice Chandler seems to have the upper hand when it comes to the starting CB spot opposite Kareem Orr. As far as steps forward, the attitude is that Dasmond Tautalatasi and Chad Adams are making the biggest case, in their 4th year at ASU together, for additional responsibilities.
Special Teams: Michael Sleep-Dalton was interesting to watch, and a tad inconsistent. John O'Brien had Brandon Ruiz in attendance, watching his every move. You have to think that even if O'Brien beats out Ruiz in fall for the FG kicking duties, there's nothing keeping Ruiz off the field for kickoffs.
