Hey guys, Arizona State was on the practice field for the fifth of 15 times this spring. Here are some of the things Jeff Griffith and I saw today:
STRETCHING MUSIC: "If I'm Lyin, I'm Flyin," by Kodak Black // "Freaks Come Out at Night," by Whodini
ATTIRE: Full pads
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Full two hours, but we could only video tape the first 30 minutes
Muscle Beach: DL D.J. Davidson, WR Ryan Newsome, WR John Humphrey, LB Tyler Johnson, LB Stanley Lambert, DL Mark Walton, CB Dom Harrison, OL Zach Robertson, LB Merlin Robertson, *TE Curtis Hodges and *WR Brandon Aiyuk
*First time on muscle beach this spring
Personnel Notes:
Wide receiver Kyle Williams was at practice after missing the previous two practices due to classes
Center Jarrett Bell was off to the side for the entirety of the practice. he didn't participate in individual or team drills but also wasn't on muscle beach.
Other than that, there was really nothing new to make note of, which is good for ASU.
First-Team Offense
QB: Dillon Sterling-Cole, Joey Yellen
RB: Eno Benjamin, Isaiah Floyd
WR: Frank Darby, Kyle Williams, Geordon Porter
TE: Tommy Hudson
OL: Roy Hemsley, Alex Losoya, Cohl Cabral, Cade Cote Steven Miller
Second-Team Offense
QB: Dillon Sterling-Cole, Joey Yellen
RB: A.J. Carter, Demetrious Flowers, Tavian Gould
WR: Paul Lucas, Keith Davis, C.J. Jarmon, Angel Ruiz, Tannor Park, Tyerell Baldonado-Kaeiopu
TE: Jared Bubak
OL: Ralph Frias, Dohnovan West, Jonathon Sanchez, Marco Salas, Spencer Lovell
First-Team Defense
DL: Jermayne Lole, Michael Matus, Shannon Forman
LB: Khalyan Thomas, Darien Butler, Case Hatch
CB: Kobe Williams, Timarcus Davis
S: Evan Fields, Aashari Crosswell, Cam Phillips
Second-Team Defense
DL: Jermayne Lole, Corey Stephens, Michael Matus
LB: Ely Doyle, Case Hatch, Kyle Soelle
CB: Chase Lucas, Terin Adams
S: Langston Frederick, Aashari Crosswell, K.J. Jarrell
NOTES:
-- DB Aashari Crosswell made a really nice hustle play to run over and stop Eno Benjamin in the flat on a pass play, great aggressive tackle in space. Crosswell also made a nice wrap up tackle on an outside handoff at the line.
-- Corey Stephens and Michael Matus both got pressure off the edges on one play to keep Sterling-Cole from scrambling, forced him to throw it away.
-- OL coach Dave Christensen was working a lot with second-team right tackle Spencer Lovell today. During individual pass-blocking drills, Christensen had to keep telling Lovell to stop backing up.
-- I know people have asked a lot about the hands of receiver Frank Darby after he dropped a significant amount of balls during last season. Up until tonight, Darby had been rock-solid, looking like a sure-fire No. 1 receiver. On Friday, though, he had two drops -- one that came on a short curl and another on a longer post route where he tried to use his body.
1-ON- 1 DB vs. WR
DANIELS—Kyle Williams gets a step on Langston Frederick, drops an out route.
DANIELS—Geordon Porter out route to the left, gets separation from Timarcus Davis and makes the catch.
DANIELS—overthrows Darby deep sideline, good coverage by Kobe Williams.
LONG—Lucas gets a step on Crosswell but it’s underthrown, incomplete.
LONG—chase locks down C.J. Jarmon down the sideline, incomplete.
LONG—Terin Adams knocks down Tyrell Baldonade-Kaieopu, incomplete.
STERLING-COLE—quick route to Angel Ruiz, gets inside K.J. Jarrell, complete.
STERLING-COLE—Darby beats Preston Liger, makes an incredible one-hand leaping catch, comes up limping but celebrates with Chase Lucas.
STERLING-COLE—Tannor Park gets a step inside Darien Cornay, complete.
YELLEN—Kyle Willaims gets open but Alijah Gammage catches up and breaks up a post to the sideline.
YELLEN—Crosswell sticks with Porter down the sideline, incomplete.
DANIELS–Paul Lucas makes a nice studder step to get away from Crosswell and make a catch.
DANIELS—overthrows Ruiz downfield, good coverage by Preston Liger.
QUARTERBACK COMPETITION:
Today's two quarterbacks in control of the offense during team periods were Dillon Sterling-Cole and Joey Yellen. But for the first time this spring, the other two quarterbacks -- Jayden Daniels and Ethan Long -- took some 11-on-11 reps. Since the latter two quarterbacks didn't throw a single pass, we decided to just talk about DSC and Yellen.
Dillon Sterling Cole- DSC only had one series with the first-team offense for 11-on-11 play. Now, practice was cut short by a little bit, but the fact that the coaches decided to have all three of the freshman quarterbacks throw in the second 11-on-11 period but not DSC kind of says to me that he is the clear frontrunner right now. Right now, Sterling-Cole looks sharp and poised, improving with his short and intermediate and really reigning in the accuracy issues that have plagued him in Tempe.
DSC had a few passes in 7-on-7, connecting on a deep seam-route and an out-route pass that were really well thrown. I still think the biggest thing that could plague him is that he just loves to throw 10-yard passes at 100 mph, which can lead to drops. Now, I say that DSC is in the lead but that comes with the caveat that we still haven't seen what Daniels can do when given the option to run and what a tailored offense looks like when that happens. I think it's fair to say that Daniels has DSC beat in the running department.
Yellen- I think this was Yellen's best night because 1.) He didn't seem as timid in the pocket, 2.) It didn't last that long. Yellen didn't have to throw that much in his time under center Friday but did a much better job at throwing the deep seam pass and showing better accuracy at intermediate routes. Right now, I would have to think that Yellen is the third-best quarterback in the competition, well behind DSC and Daniels. The problem I see with Yellen's chances in this competition is that he came into it being touted as the best passer and the guy that could really pick apart a defense. Fast forward to the spring and DSC and Daniels both seem to have a leg-up on him in those categories.
LOG OF EVERY PLAY:
Sterling-Cole:
- Eno Benjamin run up the middle
- Eno run up the middle
- On a play-action pass, DSC hits Eno on an out-route. Tillman Evan Fields makes a quick tackle
- Eno run up the middle
- Isaiah Floyd runs for 8 yards
- Floyd runs up the middle
- Corey Stephens brings pressure up the middle, DSC throws it away.
- A.J. Carter runs for 10 yards up the middle
Yellen:
-Handoff left side to Floyd, gain of 3 or 4 off the left guard.
-Handoff middle to Floyd, big hole, gain of 3-5.
-Play action pass 20 yards downfield middle, complete to Geordon Porter
-Handoff right side to A.J. Carter, gain of 5-7.
-Handoff to Demetrius Flowers up the middle, Flowers fumbles.
-Handoff middle, RB gets lit up in the backfield by Khaylan Thomas.
-Side steps a tackler, passes to 87 15-yards downfield. Probably would have been a sack by Case Hatch.
-Hand-off left to Paul Lucas who gets into space, gains maybe 10 yards.
*** SEPARATE PERIOD ***
Yellen:
-Handoff middle to Eno for a minimal gain.
-Play action, accurate throw to Frank Darby over the middle, dropped. Maybe a little bit high.
-Messed up RPO, play called dead.
-Eno Benjmain up the middle, Kyle Williams gets in his way making a block, Eno breaks free for maybe 10 yards.
-Eno Benjamin again up the middle, maybe 1-2 yards gained.
Long:
- Floyd run to the left
- Floyd run up the middle
- Long can't find anything, pressure comes and he gets sacked
- Bootleg, Long runs to the left for about 10 yards
- Tavian Gould run
- Tavian Gould run
Daniels:
- Floyd runs, gets a really good block from TE Tommy Hudson
- Can't find anything, if there was tackling Jermayne Lole and Darien Butler would have sacked him
- Floyd runs to the right -- DSC screams from the sideline about Hudson's good block
- Floyd runs to the right
- Option. Floyd runs to the right
- False start
- Aashari Crosswell sack
- Carter run
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Right after stretches finished up, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk painstakingly dragged his feet over to muscle beach. The gloom on his face set in as he saw a trainer notice that Aiyuk was coming their way.
"B-A, good to see you," the trainer said.
"Welcome to the brotherhood," Ryan Newsome, who was on muscle beach (and has been for the entire spring), yelled out to him.
*******
That's it from today's practice. Stay tuned for more coverage throughout the week and throughout the entirety of the Sun Devils’ spring practices. If you have any questions, as always, feel free to ask.
STRETCHING MUSIC: "If I'm Lyin, I'm Flyin," by Kodak Black // "Freaks Come Out at Night," by Whodini
ATTIRE: Full pads
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Full two hours, but we could only video tape the first 30 minutes
Muscle Beach: DL D.J. Davidson, WR Ryan Newsome, WR John Humphrey, LB Tyler Johnson, LB Stanley Lambert, DL Mark Walton, CB Dom Harrison, OL Zach Robertson, LB Merlin Robertson, *TE Curtis Hodges and *WR Brandon Aiyuk
*First time on muscle beach this spring
Personnel Notes:
Wide receiver Kyle Williams was at practice after missing the previous two practices due to classes
Center Jarrett Bell was off to the side for the entirety of the practice. he didn't participate in individual or team drills but also wasn't on muscle beach.
Other than that, there was really nothing new to make note of, which is good for ASU.
First-Team Offense
QB: Dillon Sterling-Cole, Joey Yellen
RB: Eno Benjamin, Isaiah Floyd
WR: Frank Darby, Kyle Williams, Geordon Porter
TE: Tommy Hudson
OL: Roy Hemsley, Alex Losoya, Cohl Cabral, Cade Cote Steven Miller
Second-Team Offense
QB: Dillon Sterling-Cole, Joey Yellen
RB: A.J. Carter, Demetrious Flowers, Tavian Gould
WR: Paul Lucas, Keith Davis, C.J. Jarmon, Angel Ruiz, Tannor Park, Tyerell Baldonado-Kaeiopu
TE: Jared Bubak
OL: Ralph Frias, Dohnovan West, Jonathon Sanchez, Marco Salas, Spencer Lovell
First-Team Defense
DL: Jermayne Lole, Michael Matus, Shannon Forman
LB: Khalyan Thomas, Darien Butler, Case Hatch
CB: Kobe Williams, Timarcus Davis
S: Evan Fields, Aashari Crosswell, Cam Phillips
Second-Team Defense
DL: Jermayne Lole, Corey Stephens, Michael Matus
LB: Ely Doyle, Case Hatch, Kyle Soelle
CB: Chase Lucas, Terin Adams
S: Langston Frederick, Aashari Crosswell, K.J. Jarrell
NOTES:
-- DB Aashari Crosswell made a really nice hustle play to run over and stop Eno Benjamin in the flat on a pass play, great aggressive tackle in space. Crosswell also made a nice wrap up tackle on an outside handoff at the line.
-- Corey Stephens and Michael Matus both got pressure off the edges on one play to keep Sterling-Cole from scrambling, forced him to throw it away.
-- OL coach Dave Christensen was working a lot with second-team right tackle Spencer Lovell today. During individual pass-blocking drills, Christensen had to keep telling Lovell to stop backing up.
-- I know people have asked a lot about the hands of receiver Frank Darby after he dropped a significant amount of balls during last season. Up until tonight, Darby had been rock-solid, looking like a sure-fire No. 1 receiver. On Friday, though, he had two drops -- one that came on a short curl and another on a longer post route where he tried to use his body.
1-ON- 1 DB vs. WR
DANIELS—Kyle Williams gets a step on Langston Frederick, drops an out route.
DANIELS—Geordon Porter out route to the left, gets separation from Timarcus Davis and makes the catch.
DANIELS—overthrows Darby deep sideline, good coverage by Kobe Williams.
LONG—Lucas gets a step on Crosswell but it’s underthrown, incomplete.
LONG—chase locks down C.J. Jarmon down the sideline, incomplete.
LONG—Terin Adams knocks down Tyrell Baldonade-Kaieopu, incomplete.
STERLING-COLE—quick route to Angel Ruiz, gets inside K.J. Jarrell, complete.
STERLING-COLE—Darby beats Preston Liger, makes an incredible one-hand leaping catch, comes up limping but celebrates with Chase Lucas.
STERLING-COLE—Tannor Park gets a step inside Darien Cornay, complete.
YELLEN—Kyle Willaims gets open but Alijah Gammage catches up and breaks up a post to the sideline.
YELLEN—Crosswell sticks with Porter down the sideline, incomplete.
DANIELS–Paul Lucas makes a nice studder step to get away from Crosswell and make a catch.
DANIELS—overthrows Ruiz downfield, good coverage by Preston Liger.
QUARTERBACK COMPETITION:
Today's two quarterbacks in control of the offense during team periods were Dillon Sterling-Cole and Joey Yellen. But for the first time this spring, the other two quarterbacks -- Jayden Daniels and Ethan Long -- took some 11-on-11 reps. Since the latter two quarterbacks didn't throw a single pass, we decided to just talk about DSC and Yellen.
Dillon Sterling Cole- DSC only had one series with the first-team offense for 11-on-11 play. Now, practice was cut short by a little bit, but the fact that the coaches decided to have all three of the freshman quarterbacks throw in the second 11-on-11 period but not DSC kind of says to me that he is the clear frontrunner right now. Right now, Sterling-Cole looks sharp and poised, improving with his short and intermediate and really reigning in the accuracy issues that have plagued him in Tempe.
DSC had a few passes in 7-on-7, connecting on a deep seam-route and an out-route pass that were really well thrown. I still think the biggest thing that could plague him is that he just loves to throw 10-yard passes at 100 mph, which can lead to drops. Now, I say that DSC is in the lead but that comes with the caveat that we still haven't seen what Daniels can do when given the option to run and what a tailored offense looks like when that happens. I think it's fair to say that Daniels has DSC beat in the running department.
Yellen- I think this was Yellen's best night because 1.) He didn't seem as timid in the pocket, 2.) It didn't last that long. Yellen didn't have to throw that much in his time under center Friday but did a much better job at throwing the deep seam pass and showing better accuracy at intermediate routes. Right now, I would have to think that Yellen is the third-best quarterback in the competition, well behind DSC and Daniels. The problem I see with Yellen's chances in this competition is that he came into it being touted as the best passer and the guy that could really pick apart a defense. Fast forward to the spring and DSC and Daniels both seem to have a leg-up on him in those categories.
LOG OF EVERY PLAY:
Sterling-Cole:
- Eno Benjamin run up the middle
- Eno run up the middle
- On a play-action pass, DSC hits Eno on an out-route. Tillman Evan Fields makes a quick tackle
- Eno run up the middle
- Isaiah Floyd runs for 8 yards
- Floyd runs up the middle
- Corey Stephens brings pressure up the middle, DSC throws it away.
- A.J. Carter runs for 10 yards up the middle
Yellen:
-Handoff left side to Floyd, gain of 3 or 4 off the left guard.
-Handoff middle to Floyd, big hole, gain of 3-5.
-Play action pass 20 yards downfield middle, complete to Geordon Porter
-Handoff right side to A.J. Carter, gain of 5-7.
-Handoff to Demetrius Flowers up the middle, Flowers fumbles.
-Handoff middle, RB gets lit up in the backfield by Khaylan Thomas.
-Side steps a tackler, passes to 87 15-yards downfield. Probably would have been a sack by Case Hatch.
-Hand-off left to Paul Lucas who gets into space, gains maybe 10 yards.
*** SEPARATE PERIOD ***
Yellen:
-Handoff middle to Eno for a minimal gain.
-Play action, accurate throw to Frank Darby over the middle, dropped. Maybe a little bit high.
-Messed up RPO, play called dead.
-Eno Benjmain up the middle, Kyle Williams gets in his way making a block, Eno breaks free for maybe 10 yards.
-Eno Benjamin again up the middle, maybe 1-2 yards gained.
Long:
- Floyd run to the left
- Floyd run up the middle
- Long can't find anything, pressure comes and he gets sacked
- Bootleg, Long runs to the left for about 10 yards
- Tavian Gould run
- Tavian Gould run
Daniels:
- Floyd runs, gets a really good block from TE Tommy Hudson
- Can't find anything, if there was tackling Jermayne Lole and Darien Butler would have sacked him
- Floyd runs to the right -- DSC screams from the sideline about Hudson's good block
- Floyd runs to the right
- Option. Floyd runs to the right
- False start
- Aashari Crosswell sack
- Carter run
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Right after stretches finished up, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk painstakingly dragged his feet over to muscle beach. The gloom on his face set in as he saw a trainer notice that Aiyuk was coming their way.
"B-A, good to see you," the trainer said.
"Welcome to the brotherhood," Ryan Newsome, who was on muscle beach (and has been for the entire spring), yelled out to him.
*******
That's it from today's practice. Stay tuned for more coverage throughout the week and throughout the entirety of the Sun Devils’ spring practices. If you have any questions, as always, feel free to ask.
