No Adam this morning so all of your practice report notes can be found here.
Great crowd on hand this morning at the Kajikawa Practice Field. Certainly one of the larger Spring Camp turnouts I can recall seeing in recent years. Just a reminder that all practices are open to the public so be sure to take advantage of the opportunity and come down to watch the Sun Devils.
Okay, so first with the bad news. We reported on Tuesday that left tackle Evan Goodman appeared to suffer an ankle injury during team drills. On Thursday, the junior dressed out but was limited. Today, Goodman wore a green non-contact jersey and did very little work. Also, freshman Steve Miller, who suffered his own ankle injury on Thursday, was in green and was very limited. No word on how long either player will be out but Goodman was a guy many had hoped to see have a strong Spring Camp to help solidify his starting LT spot and build up that offensive line and so far that has not been the case.
Goodman's absence creates an opportunity for redshirt freshman Sam Jones to compete for playing time and honestly, Jones has been off to a good start.
Other notable players in green non-contact jerseys: Chans Cox, Laiu Moeakiola, Mo Latu, Fred Gammage, and Grant Martinez.
With Gammage, it appears to be a hamstring issue. We also mentioned that he looked very tight on Thursday and spent most of the practice trying to stretch himself out.
Demario Richard was not in a gold limited contact jersey this morning and former Sun Devil Marcus stopped by for the second time this week to watch practice.
1st team offense: Mike Bercovici (QB), Demario Richard (RB), D.J. Foster (WR), Gary Chambers (WR), Eric Lauderdale (WR), Kody Kohl (TE), Sam Jones (LT), Christian Westerman (LG), Nick Kelly (C), Stephon McCray (RG), and Billy McGehee (RT).
1st team defense: Edmond Boateng (DE), Demetrius Cherry (DT), Tashon Smallwood (DT), Alani Latu (Devilbacker), Antonio Longino (WILL), Christian Sam (SAM), Marcus Ball (SPUR), Lloyd Carrington (CB), Solomon Means (CB), Jordan Simone (S), and James Johnson (S).
2nd team offense: Brady White (QB), Kalen Ballage (RB), Ellis Jefferson (WR), Tyler Whiley (WR), Jalen Harvey (WR), Raymond Epps (TE), Jack Powers (RT), Nick Kelly (RG), Tyler McClure (C), Devin Goodman (RG), and Quinn Bailey (LT).
2nd team defense: Corey Smith (DE), Emmanuel Dayries (DT), Ami Latu (DT) Ismael Murphy-Richardson (Devilbacker), DJ Calhoun (WILL), Salamo Fiso (SAM), Carlos Mendoza (SPUR), Kweishi Brown (CB), Ronald Lewis (CB), Deandre Scott (S), and Chad Adams (S).
On offense, Brady White continues to impress. We mentioned he looked sharp on Thursday and that carried over to this morning. The freshman has a strong arm, good pocket presence and most importantly, he doesn't make many mistakes. In the battle of the back-ups, week 1 has got to go to White.
Wilkins was a mixed bag of good & bad again today. He threw the session's only interception (Marcus Ball) but also had two deep passes, one to a diving Dan Vear and the second to a leaping Ellis Jefferson.
Speaking of Jefferson, he had arguably his best day of the week hauling in a number of catches. While the sophomore continues to do most of his damage along the perimeter, Jefferson was more active this morning on crossing routes over the middle. The defense couldn't stop him and he took full advantage.
Another wide receiver who seems to be gaining momentum is Lauderdale. With Gammage out, he took most of the first team reps again today and looked very solid. With Eric, it appears the coaches prefer him at the 2 receiver position on the field side. The spacing on that side allows him to get off the line a little quicker and with less contact, which plays to his strengths.
Lauderdale appeared to take an inadvertent knee to the back late in the practice but looked fine after walking it off.
Jalen Harvey had a solid practice. He and Berco hooked up on three consecutive pass plays at one point.
Kalen Ballage was very active both on the ground and via the passing game.
On the defensive side of the ball, I found myself really impressed with the depth at linebacker. Christian Sam took most of the first team reps at SAM and made a number of plays, including a sack. Carlos Mendoza has looked solid through the first week at SPUR. Calhoun and Longino continue to rotate back and forth at WILL and then you still have Salamo Fiso, a two year starter, and Moeakiola when he gets back.
The guy though that has stood out the most at linebacker has been Ball. On top of the Wilkins INT, he also forced a fumble by Jacom Brimhall. Ball may be one of the most talented and athletic players on the team and now that he's finally getting back to full health, he's looking more and more like the guy who was poised to start as a true freshman two years ago before the injury (knock on wood).
Ami, Mendoza, and Murphy-Richardson all had sacks today.
James Johnson jarred a would-be TD loose from Kody Kohl.
Carrington had a break-up on a Berco-to-Foster pass over the middle that was a near INT.
The play of the day came when Berco spotted an open Foster in the flat inside the red zone. Simone came over the top to stop Foster but D.J. hit him with a couple of video game type stop and go moves, freezing Simone before walking in for the score. It was a play that I'm sure will be discussed around the Berco-Simone-Foster-Jefferson household later this afternoon and probably throughout the weekend.
The team practiced the W drill again this morning with the defense winning 14-9. Guys like Ami Latu, Cherry, Murphy-Richardson, Nick Ralston and Raymond Epps really stood out. The punishment for the offense was a series of up-downs.
Zane Gonzalez went 1-2 today, but made his 42 yard game-winning attempt at the end of practice.
The team is off until Monday at 7:30. Holler if you have any questions.
Great crowd on hand this morning at the Kajikawa Practice Field. Certainly one of the larger Spring Camp turnouts I can recall seeing in recent years. Just a reminder that all practices are open to the public so be sure to take advantage of the opportunity and come down to watch the Sun Devils.
Okay, so first with the bad news. We reported on Tuesday that left tackle Evan Goodman appeared to suffer an ankle injury during team drills. On Thursday, the junior dressed out but was limited. Today, Goodman wore a green non-contact jersey and did very little work. Also, freshman Steve Miller, who suffered his own ankle injury on Thursday, was in green and was very limited. No word on how long either player will be out but Goodman was a guy many had hoped to see have a strong Spring Camp to help solidify his starting LT spot and build up that offensive line and so far that has not been the case.
Goodman's absence creates an opportunity for redshirt freshman Sam Jones to compete for playing time and honestly, Jones has been off to a good start.
Other notable players in green non-contact jerseys: Chans Cox, Laiu Moeakiola, Mo Latu, Fred Gammage, and Grant Martinez.
With Gammage, it appears to be a hamstring issue. We also mentioned that he looked very tight on Thursday and spent most of the practice trying to stretch himself out.
Demario Richard was not in a gold limited contact jersey this morning and former Sun Devil Marcus stopped by for the second time this week to watch practice.
1st team offense: Mike Bercovici (QB), Demario Richard (RB), D.J. Foster (WR), Gary Chambers (WR), Eric Lauderdale (WR), Kody Kohl (TE), Sam Jones (LT), Christian Westerman (LG), Nick Kelly (C), Stephon McCray (RG), and Billy McGehee (RT).
1st team defense: Edmond Boateng (DE), Demetrius Cherry (DT), Tashon Smallwood (DT), Alani Latu (Devilbacker), Antonio Longino (WILL), Christian Sam (SAM), Marcus Ball (SPUR), Lloyd Carrington (CB), Solomon Means (CB), Jordan Simone (S), and James Johnson (S).
2nd team offense: Brady White (QB), Kalen Ballage (RB), Ellis Jefferson (WR), Tyler Whiley (WR), Jalen Harvey (WR), Raymond Epps (TE), Jack Powers (RT), Nick Kelly (RG), Tyler McClure (C), Devin Goodman (RG), and Quinn Bailey (LT).
2nd team defense: Corey Smith (DE), Emmanuel Dayries (DT), Ami Latu (DT) Ismael Murphy-Richardson (Devilbacker), DJ Calhoun (WILL), Salamo Fiso (SAM), Carlos Mendoza (SPUR), Kweishi Brown (CB), Ronald Lewis (CB), Deandre Scott (S), and Chad Adams (S).
On offense, Brady White continues to impress. We mentioned he looked sharp on Thursday and that carried over to this morning. The freshman has a strong arm, good pocket presence and most importantly, he doesn't make many mistakes. In the battle of the back-ups, week 1 has got to go to White.
Wilkins was a mixed bag of good & bad again today. He threw the session's only interception (Marcus Ball) but also had two deep passes, one to a diving Dan Vear and the second to a leaping Ellis Jefferson.
Speaking of Jefferson, he had arguably his best day of the week hauling in a number of catches. While the sophomore continues to do most of his damage along the perimeter, Jefferson was more active this morning on crossing routes over the middle. The defense couldn't stop him and he took full advantage.
Another wide receiver who seems to be gaining momentum is Lauderdale. With Gammage out, he took most of the first team reps again today and looked very solid. With Eric, it appears the coaches prefer him at the 2 receiver position on the field side. The spacing on that side allows him to get off the line a little quicker and with less contact, which plays to his strengths.
Lauderdale appeared to take an inadvertent knee to the back late in the practice but looked fine after walking it off.
Jalen Harvey had a solid practice. He and Berco hooked up on three consecutive pass plays at one point.
Kalen Ballage was very active both on the ground and via the passing game.
On the defensive side of the ball, I found myself really impressed with the depth at linebacker. Christian Sam took most of the first team reps at SAM and made a number of plays, including a sack. Carlos Mendoza has looked solid through the first week at SPUR. Calhoun and Longino continue to rotate back and forth at WILL and then you still have Salamo Fiso, a two year starter, and Moeakiola when he gets back.
The guy though that has stood out the most at linebacker has been Ball. On top of the Wilkins INT, he also forced a fumble by Jacom Brimhall. Ball may be one of the most talented and athletic players on the team and now that he's finally getting back to full health, he's looking more and more like the guy who was poised to start as a true freshman two years ago before the injury (knock on wood).
Ami, Mendoza, and Murphy-Richardson all had sacks today.
James Johnson jarred a would-be TD loose from Kody Kohl.
Carrington had a break-up on a Berco-to-Foster pass over the middle that was a near INT.
The play of the day came when Berco spotted an open Foster in the flat inside the red zone. Simone came over the top to stop Foster but D.J. hit him with a couple of video game type stop and go moves, freezing Simone before walking in for the score. It was a play that I'm sure will be discussed around the Berco-Simone-Foster-Jefferson household later this afternoon and probably throughout the weekend.
The team practiced the W drill again this morning with the defense winning 14-9. Guys like Ami Latu, Cherry, Murphy-Richardson, Nick Ralston and Raymond Epps really stood out. The punishment for the offense was a series of up-downs.
Zane Gonzalez went 1-2 today, but made his 42 yard game-winning attempt at the end of practice.
The team is off until Monday at 7:30. Holler if you have any questions.
