Here are my observations on the offense at Monday's practice.
Perhaps Arizona State did something in practice on Sunday that warranted an award. If that were the case, the fruits of their labor came in the form of an indoor practice on Monday morning, inside the Dickey Dome at the Kajikawa practice facility for the first time this season. The team enjoyed the cool climate controlled environment while running through normal drills in what turned out to be a high energy and high intensity session.
Offensive Attendance
The offensive perfect attendance streak has been ended at one day. Guard Joey Ramos was absent on Monday with an undisclosed issue. Ramos has been steadily gaining traction in the O-line room, competing with right guard Chris Martinez for first team reps. Martinez has had the uper hand, but Ramos’s presence speaks to the valuable depth on the interior. Emmit Bohle was again a spectator, sporting his #70 jersey while on the sidelines for most of the day. His availability for the September 1 opener is officially in question. Armon Bethea was a full participant along with former absentees Messiah Swinson and Bryan Thompson.
Position Drills
The running backs group has been one of the most entertaining to watch put in work during fall camp. They’re usually stationed on the far side of the field near the quarterbacks when ASU practices outside, making up close viewing nearly impossible. The Dickey Dome set up on Monday, however, allowed media to see the group’s unique style up close. Daniyel Ngata and Xazavian Valladay started things off by taking tosses to the right, and avoiding a rolling yoga ball before cutting up field. The yoga ball doesn’t provide much defensive versatility, but it does force the backs to make a directional decision that somewhat simulates a game environment. When the quarterbacks came over, the running backs took reps catching passes out of the backfield on swing routes and dump-offs. This portion was crisp and clean, without a single football hitting the carpet.
The tight ends and fullbacks spent some quality time together during positional drills on Monday. The group worked on getting outside of their man, sealing him off and opening up running lanes on the outside. Messiah Swinson and Case Hatch put together strong reps in this portion. Each hungrily blocking a poor manager with only a bag to defend himself. Jalin Conyers was, as usual, vocal throughout the viewing period.
Quarterback work was limited, with each QB working on taking shotgun snaps and rolling out right. Emory Jones took snaps with first team center Ben Scott. Jones and Tyson got the lion’s share of work in the brief 11 on 11 period, which was a forgettable one for the offense. Each QB had a couple passes broken up and also completed one.
11 on 11
QB: Emory Jones
RB: Daniyel Ngata/Xazavian Valladay
WR: Andre Johnson
WR: Chad Johnson Jr
WR: Elijhah Badger
TE: Messiah Swinson/Jalin Conyers
O-line from left to right: Isaia Glass, Ladarius Henderson, Ben Scott, Chris Martinez, Des Holmes
Media was only allowed to view a single period of 11 on 11. It featured eight snaps, all with the deafening fake crowd noise pumping from the Dickey Dome speakers. Emory Jones rolled right and fired incomplete. He was frustrated with some miscommunication on the route.
Perhaps Arizona State did something in practice on Sunday that warranted an award. If that were the case, the fruits of their labor came in the form of an indoor practice on Monday morning, inside the Dickey Dome at the Kajikawa practice facility for the first time this season. The team enjoyed the cool climate controlled environment while running through normal drills in what turned out to be a high energy and high intensity session.
Offensive Attendance
The offensive perfect attendance streak has been ended at one day. Guard Joey Ramos was absent on Monday with an undisclosed issue. Ramos has been steadily gaining traction in the O-line room, competing with right guard Chris Martinez for first team reps. Martinez has had the uper hand, but Ramos’s presence speaks to the valuable depth on the interior. Emmit Bohle was again a spectator, sporting his #70 jersey while on the sidelines for most of the day. His availability for the September 1 opener is officially in question. Armon Bethea was a full participant along with former absentees Messiah Swinson and Bryan Thompson.
Position Drills
The running backs group has been one of the most entertaining to watch put in work during fall camp. They’re usually stationed on the far side of the field near the quarterbacks when ASU practices outside, making up close viewing nearly impossible. The Dickey Dome set up on Monday, however, allowed media to see the group’s unique style up close. Daniyel Ngata and Xazavian Valladay started things off by taking tosses to the right, and avoiding a rolling yoga ball before cutting up field. The yoga ball doesn’t provide much defensive versatility, but it does force the backs to make a directional decision that somewhat simulates a game environment. When the quarterbacks came over, the running backs took reps catching passes out of the backfield on swing routes and dump-offs. This portion was crisp and clean, without a single football hitting the carpet.
The tight ends and fullbacks spent some quality time together during positional drills on Monday. The group worked on getting outside of their man, sealing him off and opening up running lanes on the outside. Messiah Swinson and Case Hatch put together strong reps in this portion. Each hungrily blocking a poor manager with only a bag to defend himself. Jalin Conyers was, as usual, vocal throughout the viewing period.
Quarterback work was limited, with each QB working on taking shotgun snaps and rolling out right. Emory Jones took snaps with first team center Ben Scott. Jones and Tyson got the lion’s share of work in the brief 11 on 11 period, which was a forgettable one for the offense. Each QB had a couple passes broken up and also completed one.
11 on 11
QB: Emory Jones
RB: Daniyel Ngata/Xazavian Valladay
WR: Andre Johnson
WR: Chad Johnson Jr
WR: Elijhah Badger
TE: Messiah Swinson/Jalin Conyers
O-line from left to right: Isaia Glass, Ladarius Henderson, Ben Scott, Chris Martinez, Des Holmes
Media was only allowed to view a single period of 11 on 11. It featured eight snaps, all with the deafening fake crowd noise pumping from the Dickey Dome speakers. Emory Jones rolled right and fired incomplete. He was frustrated with some miscommunication on the route.
