Hey everyone, Arizona State football returned to the fields for their tenth practice of the preseason. That means there are 11 practices left between now and the season opener, August 29th vs. Kent State, and we’ll have you covered for each one.
Apologies for any previous confusion on the number of practices, the number is now correct. Refer to the pinned post in the Huddle for exact dates and times.
LOCATION: Kajikawa Practice Fields -- outdoors
ATTIRE: Shells
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Full two hours
GREEN NON-CONTACT JERSEYS: QB Ethan Long, LB Stanley Lambert
*For the first time this preseason, sophomore DL Shannon Forman was seen without a green jersey, following his offseason back surgery.
Personnel Notes
Alright, before we resume with your regularly-scheduled practice report, it’s only right to preface tonight’s report with the headline I’m sure everyone has seen by now: Quarterback Jayden Daniels will start Week 1 for Arizona State.
As expected, Herm Edwards announced Daniels will become the first true freshman to start under center in the history of Arizona State football. Yeah, let that sink in. In addition to that, Edwards contradicted his comments from Camp T by naming a backup quarterback, a job the Sun Devil head coach said would be an ongoing competition.
Joey Yellen, the true freshman from Mission Viejo, California, will get the backup nod, meaning redshirt junior Dillon Sterling-Cole will be the third-string option if he opts to stay in Tempe. On Monday, Sterling-Cole stayed in the bubble for nearly the entire practice, leaving all the quarterback reps Monday night to Daniels and Yellen.
Afterward, Edwards said Sterling-Cole is dealing with a shoulder injury, hence his absence from the practice field. It seems everyone else took that as a bat-signal he will be entering his name in the transfer portal. Now he may, but to Sterling-Cole’s credit, he’s had plenty of prior chances to jump ship and, instead, stayed.
We’ll keep you updated with any more information regarding transfer talk. In the meantime, before, or after, you get to the practice report, here’s our other coverage on the starting quarterback news.
ARTICLE:
PODCAST:
****
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Jayden Daniels
RB: Eno Benjamin
WR: Brandon Aiyuk, Frank Darby, Kyle Williams
TE: Tommy Hudson
OL: LT Cohl Cabral, LG Alex Losoya, C Cade Cote, RG Roy Hemsley, RT Steven Miller
SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Joey Yellen
RB: Isiah Floyd, A.J. Carter
WR: Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Kerley, Keith Davis, Angel Ruiz, Ryan Newsome, Ethan Long, Andre Johnson
TE: Nolan Matthews, Jared Bubak
OL: LT Ladarius Henderson, LG Cody Shear, C Dohnovan West, RG Jarrett Bell, RT Spencer Lovell
*******
*For reference in the following play log, anything 0-5 yards is considered a short gain, 5-15 yards is considered a medium gain, and anything longer will be considered a big gain.
7-v-7:
Jayden Daniels:
— Short completion to Tommy Hudson
— Deep pass to Aiyuk broken up by 12
— Short pass to Aiyuk dropped
— Short completion to Eno Benjamin
— Medium slant to Jordan Kerley completes
Joey Yellen:
— Short slant to Ethan Long completes
— Short pass to Andre Johnson completed
— Short curl to A. Johnson completed
— Deep fade to Darby caught for touchdown
— Short screen pass complete to Isaiah Floyd
Daniels:
— Short our route complete to AJ Carter
—Short pass complete to Kyle Williams
— Miscommunication with Aiyuk, ball sails out of bounds
— Short slant to Darby
— Medium curl complete to Ricky Pearsall
11-v-11
Ethan Long (Just with the second-team offense against scout-team defense)
— Inside run group. Faked a handoff and fired to WR Angel Ruiz for a long gain. Ruiz dropped an easy cross on next play.
Daniels:
— Eno short run to the left
— Eno short run up middle
— Eno medium run up middle
— Aiyuk medium reception
— Short screen pass to Aiyuk
Yellen:
— Floyd medium run up middle
— Floyd medium run up middle
— Medium slant to Nolan Matthews
— Isaiah Floyd short run to left
— Floyd short run to left
Daniels:
— Carter short run up middle
— Short dump pass to Carter
— Short screen to Carter
— Carter short run up middle
Yellen:
— Short pass to Ethan Long on sideline
— Flowers short run up middle
— (Missed play)
— Short pass to Flowers
— Flowers run to right
— Short screen pass to Matthews
Offensive Notes:
-- Freshman Jordan Kerley again had a great night catching the ball. Was really impressed by how clean his routes were. He’s been in the Sun Devil program for a few weeks now and already seems to have developed a nice route tree for himself. Yesterday, Hod listed him among eight other freshmen he believes will not redshirt.
-- With Dillon Sterling-Cole in the bubble for practice and the knowledge he will be the backup heading into Week 1, Joey Yellen was extremely sharp Monday night. He completed all eight of his passes we recorded -- 4-for-4 in 7-on-7 and 4-for-4 in 11-on-11. The highlight of the night came in 7-v-7 when Yellen threw about a 15-yard fade up the seam to Frank Darby, who ran untouched into the end zone. In 1-on-1s, Darby ran a similar route in which Likens yelled, “Use your body.” Darby nudged his body into CB Kobe Williams and released to the sideline to make the catch.
-- Still fully recovering from an injury, TE Curtis Hodges only competed in positional drills and a few 1-on-1 reps. Nonetheless, the tight ends’ stamp on the office was still incredibly clear. Tommy Hudson and freshman Nolan Matthews caught three combined balls in team drills, adding a handful of nice receptions in 1-on-1’s. I am still amazed by the way Matthews operates with a guy hanging off him. Sure, he’s 6-5, 240, so it should be easy. But he runs solid routes, locates the ball and reels it in with a much smaller defender practically having to commit pass interference to try and break up the pass.
DL VS OL 1-ON-1
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL: (end) George Lea, (nose) D.J. Davidson, (end) *Roe Wilkins
*Jermayne Lole was limited today
LB: Khaylan Kearse-Thomas (OLB), Merlin Robertson (MIKE), Darien Butler (OLB)
CB: Chase Lucas, Kobe Williams
TILLMAN: Evan Fields
S: Aashari Crosswell, Cam Phillips
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL: (end) Michael Matus/Parker Jacobs, (nose) T.J. Pasefea, (end) Anthonie Cooper/Corey Stephens
LB: Kyle Soelle (OLB), Case Hatch/Ely Doyle (MIKE), Fritzny Niclasse/Elijah Juarez (OLB)
CB: Timarcus Davis, Jordan Clark
TILLMAN: Tyler Whiley
S: Willie Harts, Kejuan Markham
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Apologies for any previous confusion on the number of practices, the number is now correct. Refer to the pinned post in the Huddle for exact dates and times.
LOCATION: Kajikawa Practice Fields -- outdoors
ATTIRE: Shells
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Full two hours
GREEN NON-CONTACT JERSEYS: QB Ethan Long, LB Stanley Lambert
*For the first time this preseason, sophomore DL Shannon Forman was seen without a green jersey, following his offseason back surgery.
Personnel Notes
- Muscle Beach: QB Dillon Sterling-Cole, DL Stephon Wright, LB Amiri Johnson, DB Nick Johnson, WR Geordon Porter, DL Jose Lugo
- DB Keon Markham was on the field but doing individual work on the side through the duration of practice- not to be mixed up with his twin brother, Kejuan, who has held his own at second-team safety
- LB Khaylan Kearse-Thomas and DL Jermayne Lole returned to practice today after both being limited for practically the duration of Camp T. Thomas was a full participant, while Lole only did positional drills
- OL Jarrett Bell returned to practice in limited capacity after being injured on the first day of Camp T, participating in positional drills but not scrimmaging.
- WR John Humphrey remains limited to individual drills, but was seen running with the receivers in a brief post-practice sprint drill. He was much slower than everyone else, indicating he’s still a little ways out from returning, but it’s encouraging to see him start doing things with the receivers.
Alright, before we resume with your regularly-scheduled practice report, it’s only right to preface tonight’s report with the headline I’m sure everyone has seen by now: Quarterback Jayden Daniels will start Week 1 for Arizona State.
As expected, Herm Edwards announced Daniels will become the first true freshman to start under center in the history of Arizona State football. Yeah, let that sink in. In addition to that, Edwards contradicted his comments from Camp T by naming a backup quarterback, a job the Sun Devil head coach said would be an ongoing competition.
Joey Yellen, the true freshman from Mission Viejo, California, will get the backup nod, meaning redshirt junior Dillon Sterling-Cole will be the third-string option if he opts to stay in Tempe. On Monday, Sterling-Cole stayed in the bubble for nearly the entire practice, leaving all the quarterback reps Monday night to Daniels and Yellen.
Afterward, Edwards said Sterling-Cole is dealing with a shoulder injury, hence his absence from the practice field. It seems everyone else took that as a bat-signal he will be entering his name in the transfer portal. Now he may, but to Sterling-Cole’s credit, he’s had plenty of prior chances to jump ship and, instead, stayed.
We’ll keep you updated with any more information regarding transfer talk. In the meantime, before, or after, you get to the practice report, here’s our other coverage on the starting quarterback news.
ARTICLE:
PODCAST:
****
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Jayden Daniels
RB: Eno Benjamin
WR: Brandon Aiyuk, Frank Darby, Kyle Williams
TE: Tommy Hudson
OL: LT Cohl Cabral, LG Alex Losoya, C Cade Cote, RG Roy Hemsley, RT Steven Miller
SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Joey Yellen
RB: Isiah Floyd, A.J. Carter
WR: Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Kerley, Keith Davis, Angel Ruiz, Ryan Newsome, Ethan Long, Andre Johnson
TE: Nolan Matthews, Jared Bubak
OL: LT Ladarius Henderson, LG Cody Shear, C Dohnovan West, RG Jarrett Bell, RT Spencer Lovell
*******
*For reference in the following play log, anything 0-5 yards is considered a short gain, 5-15 yards is considered a medium gain, and anything longer will be considered a big gain.
7-v-7:
Jayden Daniels:
— Short completion to Tommy Hudson
— Deep pass to Aiyuk broken up by 12
— Short pass to Aiyuk dropped
— Short completion to Eno Benjamin
— Medium slant to Jordan Kerley completes
Joey Yellen:
— Short slant to Ethan Long completes
— Short pass to Andre Johnson completed
— Short curl to A. Johnson completed
— Deep fade to Darby caught for touchdown
— Short screen pass complete to Isaiah Floyd
Daniels:
— Short our route complete to AJ Carter
—Short pass complete to Kyle Williams
— Miscommunication with Aiyuk, ball sails out of bounds
— Short slant to Darby
— Medium curl complete to Ricky Pearsall
11-v-11
Ethan Long (Just with the second-team offense against scout-team defense)
— Inside run group. Faked a handoff and fired to WR Angel Ruiz for a long gain. Ruiz dropped an easy cross on next play.
Daniels:
— Eno short run to the left
— Eno short run up middle
— Eno medium run up middle
— Aiyuk medium reception
— Short screen pass to Aiyuk
Yellen:
— Floyd medium run up middle
— Floyd medium run up middle
— Medium slant to Nolan Matthews
— Isaiah Floyd short run to left
— Floyd short run to left
Daniels:
— Carter short run up middle
— Short dump pass to Carter
— Short screen to Carter
— Carter short run up middle
Yellen:
— Short pass to Ethan Long on sideline
— Flowers short run up middle
— (Missed play)
— Short pass to Flowers
— Flowers run to right
— Short screen pass to Matthews
Offensive Notes:
-- Freshman Jordan Kerley again had a great night catching the ball. Was really impressed by how clean his routes were. He’s been in the Sun Devil program for a few weeks now and already seems to have developed a nice route tree for himself. Yesterday, Hod listed him among eight other freshmen he believes will not redshirt.
-- With Dillon Sterling-Cole in the bubble for practice and the knowledge he will be the backup heading into Week 1, Joey Yellen was extremely sharp Monday night. He completed all eight of his passes we recorded -- 4-for-4 in 7-on-7 and 4-for-4 in 11-on-11. The highlight of the night came in 7-v-7 when Yellen threw about a 15-yard fade up the seam to Frank Darby, who ran untouched into the end zone. In 1-on-1s, Darby ran a similar route in which Likens yelled, “Use your body.” Darby nudged his body into CB Kobe Williams and released to the sideline to make the catch.
-- Still fully recovering from an injury, TE Curtis Hodges only competed in positional drills and a few 1-on-1 reps. Nonetheless, the tight ends’ stamp on the office was still incredibly clear. Tommy Hudson and freshman Nolan Matthews caught three combined balls in team drills, adding a handful of nice receptions in 1-on-1’s. I am still amazed by the way Matthews operates with a guy hanging off him. Sure, he’s 6-5, 240, so it should be easy. But he runs solid routes, locates the ball and reels it in with a much smaller defender practically having to commit pass interference to try and break up the pass.
DL VS OL 1-ON-1
- D.J. Davidson threw down an offensive lineman on multiple occasions to get past him, showcasing his raw power. Cade Cote was the only lineman to neutralize him.
- Roe Wilkins looked strong on this drill, getting past tackles Cohl Cabral and Ralph Frias in his two reps. “Yeah I missed it,” Cabral could be heard conceding after dropping the rep.
- Steve Miller was the most consistent offensive lineman, winning his reps against George Lea and Shannon Forman, respectively. Forman looked a bit rusty in his first day without the green jersey, which comes as little surprise after being limited for the whole preseason before this
- Backup center Dohnovan West held Corey Stephens on both reps he had against him
- D-lineman T.J. Pesefea blew past Alex Losoya in the latter’s only rep of the drill. Pesefea could be seen after practice working on technique- from his knees- against the practice dummies.
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL: (end) George Lea, (nose) D.J. Davidson, (end) *Roe Wilkins
*Jermayne Lole was limited today
LB: Khaylan Kearse-Thomas (OLB), Merlin Robertson (MIKE), Darien Butler (OLB)
CB: Chase Lucas, Kobe Williams
TILLMAN: Evan Fields
S: Aashari Crosswell, Cam Phillips
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL: (end) Michael Matus/Parker Jacobs, (nose) T.J. Pasefea, (end) Anthonie Cooper/Corey Stephens
LB: Kyle Soelle (OLB), Case Hatch/Ely Doyle (MIKE), Fritzny Niclasse/Elijah Juarez (OLB)
CB: Timarcus Davis, Jordan Clark
TILLMAN: Tyler Whiley
S: Willie Harts, Kejuan Markham
DEFENSIVE NOTES
- Roe Wilkins and D.J. Davidson did a nice job disrupting a few run plays. While they gave up their fair share as well, Wilkins has at least earned consideration to be in the rotation, even upon the return of Lole and Forman, once the season rolls around if he keeps his level of performance
- DB Jordan Clark forced TE Nolan Matthews out-of-bounds for a short gain on a flat route, and seemed to lock down his receivers during second-team scrimmages
- DB Chase Lucas and WR Brandon Aiyuk went back-and-forth during one-on-one WR vs. DB drills. Evan Fields also held his own against WR Ryan Newsome in a couple of reps.
- Coach Herm Edwards was seen giving extensive feedback to CB Kobe Williams after he got beat by Frank Darby on a deep ball. It was a two-way dialogue, as Williams was initially the one to ask for specification on his technique.
