Caleb with today's report
Week four of spring practice began today with another warm-weather session. This was obviously the first practice where new wide receivers coach Hines Ward instructed his group. Head coach Kenny Dillingham called today's practice a back-and-forth affair in which both the offense and defense had their moments, which is exactly what you want to see from your typical spring practice.
Offensive Two-Deep
First Team
LT Colby Garvin
LG Ben Coleman
C Sean Na’a
RG Makua Pule
RT Josh Atkins
QB Trenton Bourguet
RB Raleek Brown/Kyson Brown
SLOT Melquan Stovall
WR Jake Smith
WR Derek Eusebio
TE Bryce Pierre
Second Team:
LT Emmit Bohle
LG Kyle Scott
C Leif Fautanu
RG Ise Matautia
RT Jalen Klemm
QB Sam Leavitt
RB Cam Skattebo/George Hart III
SLOT Kaleb Black
WR Jordyn Tyson
WR Korbin Hendrix
TE Markeston Douglas
Defensive Two-Deep
First Team
DE Elijah O’Neal
DT CJ Fite
DT Jeffrey Clark
DE Clayton Smith
LB Keyshawn Elliott
LB Zyrus Fiaseu
Nickel Macen Williams
CB Ed Woods
CB Javan Robinson
Safety Shamari Simmons
Safety Xavion Alford
Second Team
DE Prince Dorbah
DT JP Deeter
DT Blazen Lono-Wong
DE Justin Wodtly
LB Jordan Crook
LB Martell Hughes
Nickel Cole Martin
CB Rodney Bimage
CB Latterance Welch
Safety Myles Rowser
Safety Montana Warren
During stretch lines this morning, with players in full pads, all eyes were on Ward, who calmly watched the stretches alongside football Chief of Staff Matt Butterfield, whose previous relationship with Ward helped bring ASU's new wide receivers coach into the fold. Once stretches ended, it was time to see Ward in action for the first time in individuals.
As the team broke into individual drills, the first order of business for Ward and the receivers was run blocking, the prominent calling card of Ward during his 14-year career with the Steelers. His players were squaring up on padded shields and driving the receivers.
The individual portion did not last long as the team came together for a two-minute drill variation of a team segment. The first group, led by Trenton Bourguet, was forced by the defense to dump the ball off short multiple times but kept the ball moving. The Bourguet to Douglas and Raleek Brown connections eventually ran out as the defense stalled the drive once it got close to the red zone.
It was a similar story for the second group. Leavitt found Korbin Hendrix and Kaleb Black for a first down before a couple of miscues brought up fourth and long. Leavitt scrambled for a first, then found Jordyn Tyson for another first before that drive stalled again as the defense played tough and forced incompletions.
As that period ended, the team got into a longer individual period. All position groups on both sides of the ball went into their usual groups with their position coaches.
Moving back to Ward on his first day, Ward had receivers cutting and catching tennis balls.
Ward said, “If you can catch this tennis ball, you can catch anything.” Anytime a receiver dropped a tennis ball it was ten pushups on the spot as the group moved over to run routes on air.
With the quarterbacks, overall, the group looked good, as they put balls in good spots all day. Jaden Rashada continues to work back from injury, including taking third-team reps today instead of Navi Bruzon.
Nonetheless, Ward especially kept a tally of what was going on. Balls were getting caught until there was a short period where four straight balls were dropped. Ward exclaimed, saying, “Too many balls on the ground!” On a quick note, with the receivers, Xavier Guillory and Elijhah Badger remain involved in individual portions but were not seen in 11v11.
The team came together for another short team period, during which the defense dominated this portion. The first group did not get anything going and besides a completion to Pierre in the second group, J.P. Deeter and Tate Romney had some serious pressure to close the door on the second group.
Special teams followed. During the punt portion, Race Mahlum punted while a group featuring Raleek Brown, Jake Smith, Melquan Stovall, and Tyson returned. Once the team got to the field goal, Ian Hershey was two for two from 45 yards while Carston Kieffer was one for two.
During the wide receivers versus defensive back portion, some defensive backs had some good highlights. Rodney Bimage Jr. and Keontez Bradley went back-to-back on defensive wins. Jack Bal also had a nice rep. On the other hand, Melquan Stovall continued his dominance, scoring multiple times, while other players like Hendrix and Max Ware continued to have great camps, both scoring.
When it came to seven on seven, it was again very back and forth. The defense collectively kept almost everything in front of them, forcing shorter throws. That said, Bourguet found Ware and Stovall for second-level completions that would have been first downs. The same goes for Rashada finding Guillory once for a nice gain and Leavitt having the prettiest throw of the day finding Guillory downfield for a nice gain.
This is not to say the defense did not ever respond. Latterance Welch had beautiful coverage on Hendrix taking a deep ball away. Shortly after, Xavion Alford had a PBU on a ball intended for Douglas. Kenny Dillingham said today's practice was back and forth, and so it was.
In the last team segment of the day, the offense failed to get the ball going on the ground. Prince Dorbah and Elijah O'Neal added sacks in the process. Rashada’s receiver dropped the ball, but it was intercepted by Zyrus Fiaseu, who got the defense fired up.
Leavitt responded with the play of the day. Leavitt rolled left and sailed a ball around 50 yards as Tyson jumped and came down with the ball in the endzone. Tyson's helmet was thrown to the ground in excitement, something Ward said he didn’t approve of at all, as the offense got the momentum back.
Bourguet started another drive that was taken into the red zone. It was here that Bourguet connected with Stovall for a touchdown as the tides changed again. That did not last long, as Leavitt, when he came back in, was picked by Romney, and returned for a pick-six. The whole defense celebrated, and the horn sounded, marking the end of practice. Quite the start to the week for the Sun Devils.
Dillingham said that offensive lineman Max Iheanachor would miss the rest of spring due to a shoulder injury but is expected to be ready for August’s fall camp. Running back Cam Skattebo had to leave practice due to injury; Dillingham said that he didn’t have a status update on him yet. Wide receiver Troy Omeire and running back DeCarlos Brooks were not observed at practice.
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