I'm thinking about taking my youngest son to the game Saturday. I'm probably going to get tickets through the special if they're still available but I'd love to check out the renovated west side of the stadium. If anyone is selling tickets hit me up with a PM. Budget tix only unfortunately.. No loge for us this time around.

Been around these boards a long time (not the longest) and what is being written about TG is about the same as was for
Erickson, Koetter, and Snyder. Not sure the boards were around from Marmie.
For some of the posts it reminds me of the Vietnam war era " Love it or leave it" when some response to a criticism TG
I have my own criticism of TG but they have all been written by others. (many times over)

One last thought maybe DK was was right when he said ASU is not the program most people think it is

I took this to mean its harder to recruit here than most realize

I can hear the sirens all the way down here in So Arizona...

I picked Wazzu as my dark-horse PAC team for this season due to their QB, experience on both sides of the ball, esp the offense, and their schedule...

I didn't think they would lose to E Wash in their first game at home but thought they could beat Oregon, Stanford and UCLA before traveling to Tempe to face the Devils that they have done...

This is pretty remarkable considering I'm a Talent Is Destiny guy and the Cougs, under Mike Leach, have finished with these Rival team recruiting rankings since he arrived in 2012...

2012 - #59 nationally with average player rating of 2.69

2013 - #51 with 2.60 player rating

2014 - #69 with 2.74 rating

2015 - #47 with 2.79 rating

2016 - # 52 with 2.55 rating

As we all know, those numbers pale in comparison with what the Sun Devils have done under Todd during those years but the Cougars are favored in Sat's game...

Of course, our QB is injured which changes the fair fight equation around considerably...

That aside, I'm wondering if our hybrid defense is the equivalent of the Air Raid offense since the defense is built, I think, to stop spread offenses like the Air Raid...

Is that the case, in terms of scheme and intention, when it comes to Air Raid offenses..??

I think it is but want to hear what you all think...

I also think that our defense would be that much better if we had a walk-on equivalent of Luke Falk on our defense like say another Adam Archuleta these days...

I still think Talent Is Destiny and is one of the key reasons our defense has been substandard, as we don't have the necessary talent and/or depth at some positions, esp in our secondary...

Anyway, it looks like Leach is going to have another very good year using his "kind of guys" while we suffer again due to bad luck and some recruiting misses over recent years...

Is that right or am I missing something...??

Go Devils!!!

There's no media viewing session today, thus no practice report.

For the past one or two Thursdays, there hasn't been a media viewing session and I suspect that will be the case until the end of the season. That session was usually even more limited than the Tuesday and Wednesday ones and they doesn't practice in full pads on Thursdays so the practice is lighter in nature. So usually there wasn't much to glean from Thursday sessions.

We will still have the rest of our preview pieces coming up today and tomorrow plus today's video of Graham's post-practice comments.

Article by Adam Gorney reviewing the recruiting classes of each conference team

ATTIRE: Helmets and Pads

LOCATION: Kajikawa Practice Fields

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: About 25 minutes

GUESTS: None that I saw

EN VERDE (No contact): LB DJ Calhoun

TOWEL AND SUNSCREEN: LB Christian Sam, OL Tyson Rising, QB Manny Wilkins, WR Cam Smith (didn't stretch)

NOTE: Wilkins was playing catch when the team started out doing individual drills. Then, he watched the team session.

TACKLING DRILLS: On Monday, Todd Graham said ASU spends about half of its individual time on tackling. As per usual, the team started out with it again today.
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TEAM SESSION: ASU ran team tempo this morning, offense vs. defense, which is a rarity for Wednesday (and really any) media availability sessions. The series went quick because Dillon Sterling-Cole fumbled a snap early on the first series and threw an INT on another, but I did my best to chart the teams for you guys.

First team offense: QB Dillon Sterling-Cole, RB Demario Richard, WRs N'Keal Harry/Tim White (slot)/Jalen Harvey, TE Jay Jay Wilson (didn't see Kohl during team), LT Evan Goodman, LG Stephon McCray, C A.J. McCollum, RG Quinn Bailey, RT Zach Robertson

First team defense: Looked like the same as yesterday's that Fabian charted, but Kareem Orr was on first team.

Tashon Smallwood (TIGER), George Lea (NOSE), JoJo Wicker (END), Koron Crump (DEVIL), Salamo Fiso (SAM), DJ Calhoun (WILL), Laiu Moeakiola (SPUR), Kareem Orr (BC), Gump Hayes (FC), Marcus Ball (Bandit), Chad Adams (FS)

Second team offense: QB Jack Smith, RB Nick Ralston, WRs Ellis Jefferson/Fred Gammage/Ryan Jenkins, TE Jay Jay Wilson , LT Cohl Cabral, LG Steven Miller, C Tyler McClure, RG Alex Losoya, RT #60 (scout team)

Second team defense:
Renell Wren (END), Ami Latu (NOSE), Carlos Mendoza (WILL), did not notice the BC, but it wasn't Maurice Chandler, Bryson Echols (FC), Das Tautalatasi (Bandit), J'Marcus Rhodes (FS), James Johnson (SPUR), AJ Latu (DEVIL)
Again, did not notice any differences from yesterday.

Following this team session, the media session ended. If there are any questions or concerns, please let me know.

ATTIRE: Helmet and pads
LOCATION: Kajikawa Practice Fields
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: ~ 20 minutes
GUEST: A representative wearing an NFLPA polo was in attendance. People from the Pac-12 were shooting the ASU episode of "The Drive."

EN VERDE (no contact): LB DJ Calhoun
TOWEL AND SUNSCREEN (limited): LB Christian Sam, DB Armand Perry, DB Kareem Orr, QB Manny Wilkins

NOTES: Wilkins did not participate in stretching or drills, instead standing in the middle of the practice fields as everyone was working around him. There was an offensive lineman in green, but I could not recognize them and believe they were a reserve. Armand Perry was on Muscle Beach, and Kareem Orr participated in team sessions.

PERSONNEL NOTES: Jay Jay Wilson was out at practice wearing a maroon jersey. Coltin Gerhart continues to work on offense. Jack Smith was in a grey QB jersey for the first time. Dillon Sterling-Cole continues to wear No. 14 in practice, No. 15 in games.

TACKLING:

ASU was working on contact/pad level when going through the tackling circuit this morning.

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TEAM SESSIONS

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE: Dillon Sterling-Cole (QB), Nick Ralston (RB), Ellis Jefferson (WR), Tim White (WR-slot), Fred Gammage (WR-slot), Jalen Harvey (WR), Evan Goodman (LT), Stephon McCray (LG), AJ McCollum (C), Quinn Bailey (RG), Zach Robertson (RT)

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE: Tashon Smallwood (TIGER), George Lea (NOSE), JoJo Wicker (END), Koron Crump (DEVIL), Salamo Fiso (SAM), DJ Calhoun (WILL), Laiu Moeakiola (SPUR), Mo Chandler (BC), Gump Hayes (FC), Marcus Ball (Bandit), Chad Adams (FS)

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE: Jack Smith was at quarterback, Ryan Jenkins was one of the WRs. We only saw one play.

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE: Renell Wren (END), Ami Latu (NOSE), Carlos Mendoza (WILL), Kareem Orr (BC), Bryson Echols (FC), Das Tautalatasi (Bandit), J'Marcus Rhodes (FS), James Johnson (SPUR), AJ Latu (DEVIL)

Notes: Dillon Sterling-Cole was improved from what I saw from him last week. Jack Smith threw one pass, a seam route to Jenkins that was overthrown and intercepted by a diving James Johnson.

Another home game, another Air Raid offense visits Tempe. Here is Fabian Ardaya's analysis.

Megan Plain and I talk about ASU's 5-2 record and how it reflects the true talent level of this squad, as well as examining the matchup between the Cougars and the Sun Devils

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Solid interview here by Justin Toscano covering an array of topics

I'm sorry I wasn't able to solicit questions for this week's article, I was on a tighter schedule this week. WazzuWatch.com Publisher Scott Hood weighs in on Saturday's opponent and details why the Cougars have been one of the hottest teams in the league.

Know Your Foe: Washington State

The ASU RB describes how he imparts his knowledge of the game on the younger players

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ASU's offensive coordinator discusses the areas of improvement needed for this week's game

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The ASU QB talks about his health, rebounding from a dominating loss

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http://arizonasports.com/story/866404/wsu-mike-leach-asu-stealing-signs-via-command-center/

So is this the real reason for the renovation delay for the East Side? We're building a command center for stealing signs on the West side? Lol

Let it go Mike

With the run game struggling, yesterday was the ideal day to talk to offensive line coach Chris Thomsen and he gave some great insight into what the line's configuration may look like moving forward.

Thomsen acknowledged the fact the offensive line needs to up its level of play moving forward if the Sun Devils want to have success.

"Bottom line, up front we've gotta do better," he said. "We have to do better at getting on blocks, staying on blocks (and) giving our backs a chance to make plays. We just haven't done that consistently and at the end of the day that's on us."

Thomsen also hinted that the line could see some new faces on it and feature some new combinations of players, especially with guard Sam Jones being banged up and the rest of the line with some nicks and scrapes.

Thomsen was mum on Jones' injury, not wanting to give much away but did mention some guys including Steve Miller could get a shot at playing time.

"We looked at a combination (Tuesday) at practice because a couple of guys are banged up that we aren't sure if they're going to play or not," Thomsen said. "There could be some other guys getting opportunities this week."

Depending what combination Thomsen rolls out Saturday there could be a dearth of live game experience but Thomsen isn't concerned about that, noting the amount of time many of his linemen have been in the program.

"The young guys that we're talking about have been in our program for a year and a half," Thomsen said. "It's not like you've got a rookie true freshman going out there...fortunately we've got guys that have been in our program, that know our system, going out there (instead of) guys going out there that don't know what they're doing. If other guys do get an opportunity I'm excited to see them play."

Congrats to Asuhouseofheat on winning Week 07 with 24 points!!

You YTD leader is still theoriginalsundevil4life with 160 points!

Below is are all the results:
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If you find any brouhaha, let me know in the thread.

Wk08 up shortly.

Pac-12's Basketball Media Preseason Poll will be published on Friday the 21st. Here are my predictions for the upcoming season. As always I welcome your comments and feedback.


1. Oregon – the Ducks who won 31 games last season are coming back loaded with talent this year headed by Dillon Brooks (who could miss the first few games of the season though), and with a quartet of four-star prospects being added to the squad, the Pac-12 title seems to be Oregon’s to lose.


2. UCLA – yes, the Bruins were dreadful last year at 15-17, but with four starters returning headed by Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford, along with five-star newcomers in Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf, the Bruins will quickly make you forget about last season and will be Oregon’s toughest contender for the league crown.



3. Arizona – another year, another season where the Wildcats will be heavily dependent on its true freshmen. Granted there are very talented additions such as Rawle Alkins, but there isn’t enough overall depth to be a serious Pac-12 champion contender. A down year for the conference though should see Arizona finish in the upper echelon of the league at season’s end.


4. USC – I really like the returning group of Jordan McLaughlin, Bennie Boatwright, and Elijah Stewart. Those three along with four-star prospects and incoming freshmen Jonah Mathews and De'Anthony Melton form a Trojan squad that could very well duplicate the 21-win season from last year.


5. Oregon State – I can see this Beaver team despite the loss of Gary Payton II taking the next step in the program’s development and make the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. Returning players Tres Tinkle and Stephen Thompson Jr., along with a formidable junior college transfer in Keondre Dew and talented freshman guard JaQuori McLaughlin, could create an Oregon State team that would be a handful for any of its Pac-12 foes.



6. Colorado - the Buffaloes may not have an impressive list of returning players, although Xavier Johnson coming back from a season lost to injury could be significant. Their newcomer group, however, is certainly not in the top tier of the league. Head coach Tad Boyle, in my opinion, may be the most underrated coach in the Pac-12 and if there is any team that can be labeled as the potentially most overachieving team in the Pac-12 it’s Colorado.



7. Cal – with the losses of Jaylen Brown, Tyrone Wallace, and Jordan Mathews, Cal didn't do nearly enough to replace that level of talent. A stout tandem of Ivan Rabb Jabari Bird may keep the Golden bears from taking a total nose dive this season, but in theory, Cal should still take a major step back from last season where they earned a NCAA tournament berth.


8. Stanford – I do like the core of returning players here in Dorian Pickens, Marcus Allen, and Michael Humphrey. Incoming freshmen Kodye Pugh and Trevor Stanback are some of the better newcomers in the league. But this is still a program that has to prove itself and with a first-year head coach in Jerod Haase I think there will be some growing pains that will prevent the Cardinal from a significant improvement over a .500 campaign last year.



9. ASU – on paper, this is the most talented guard group seen in Tempe since James Harden was donning a Sun Devil jersey. However, question marks abound on its front court and the “academic redshirt” that forces Rivals Top-100 prospect Romello White to sit out this season is a bigger blow than some may realize. This is why it will be hard for ASU to have a breakthrough year this season. I predict a mark of 14-17, 7-11 Pac-12.



10. Utah – a season that will feature six transfers and five freshmen isn’t a recipe for success. True, you could do a lot worse than having two returning players of the caliber of Lorenzo Bonam and Kyle Kuzma, but this is Ute team that I can see taking a major step back from a 27-win campaign last year. Some may label them this year as the biggest disappointment; some may call it just a dose of harsh reality.



11. Washington – there is little doubt that true freshman Markelle Fultz is a ridiculously talented player, but his supporting cast this year can hardly replace the departures of Andrew Andrews, Dejounte Murray, and Marquese Chriss. So if last year’s very talented squad could only muster a 19-15 mark, a roster with much less firepower this year is going to endure a worse fate.


12. Washington State – I like their returning stars in Josh Hawkinson and Ike Iroegbu, but the rest of the Cougars’ roster is suspect at best and not one that could see them escape the basement of the league.

Get your picks in for this week!!

http://jediasu.com/limesurvey/index.php/742444/lang-en

Early Bump

I think it is interesting and informative that several programs that made coaching moves five years ago like Arizona, UCLA and ASU, all have program issues, after living off the players they inherited from Stoops at AU, Neuheisel at UCLA and Erickson at ASU...

AU under Rich Rod has really crashed hard this season, partially due to injuries and largely due to recruiting mistakes, during his first three years at the school...the Cats won the PAC South two years ago largely due to having around 9-10-11 fifth year and true seniors step up, that were recruited by Stoops, so virtually half of the starters on either side of the ball had been recruited by Stoops...

UCLA hasn't crashed as hard but Mora is not having a good season so far this year using his players and not those he inherited from Slick Rick...the Bruins have had some key injuries but Mora's players have not stepped up they way it was anticipated before the season started...

This leads us to ASU, which at 5-2, certainly hasn't crashed yet but the defense is still pathetic following last seasons woes and the defense is relying on Graham's players and not those he inherited from Erickson, when the Devils won a South PAC title and put back to back 10 win seasons on the board...

So, what in the world is going on here with these three programs in the PAC South..??

Clearly, the Cats have a talent problem that Rich Rod has acknowledged and have had some key injuries, esp at QB, that have really hindered the team this year...RR has said the program will be fixed as he has revamped both the coaching staff and recruiting emphasis by the new staff...however, the fix probably won't be seen for another year or two until the Cats get better talent on board...

UCLA has gone to a new offensive approach, getting away from the spread under Mazzone to a more conventional power approach, guided by new OC Kennedy Polamalu and they have had injury problems with their QB and have no ground attack in place these days, either...this doesn't make a lot of sense based on the way Mora's classes have been ranked by recruiting services...

Meanwhile, at ASU, it has become apparent that something is fundamentally wrong with the way the Devils play defense as they give up more yardage, big plays and points than just about any other team in the nation...however, when they had several of Erickson's defensive recruits to rely on during Todd's early tenure at ASU, the defense seemed to be pretty darn good...

Enter this coming Sat at SDS, the Wash St Cougars, under Mike Leach, you will see a team that has been developed without a lot of high profile, blue chip players and they have a great QB leading them, who was initially a walk-on at Wazzu, so what gives..??

Are recruiting rankings basically meaningless..??

Can you win just as well with "our kind of guys" as with blue blood talent..??

How much does Lady Luck have to do with all this..??

It's a real head-scratcher, if you ask me, since I'm a Talent Is Destiny advocate, but would like to know what all of you think..??

Is Mike Leach a superior coach and developer of players or is it his system or what, for crying out loud..does he have the goods on Lady Luck whereas Arizona, UCLA and ASU are on the outs with her..??

Go Devils!!!

Justin Toscano's press conference story

Justin Tryon is an assistant under Kerry Taylor coaching 8-man football at Salt River.

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