Offensive report by Scott
First Team
OL
LT Isaia Glass
LG Slone Finau
C Cade Briggs
RG Aaron Frost
RT Emmit Bohle
QB
Trenton Bourguet/Jaden Rashada
Slightly more first-team snaps to Bourguet, who led the first team in more 11v11 drives. Rashada handled the first team for about half of the 7v7s as well.
RB
DeCarlos Brooks/Cam Skattebo
Even split. Only one on the field at a time.
WR
Elijhah Badger
Xavier Guillory
Gio Sanders/Melquan Stovall (slot)
Sanders and Stovall rotated between the first and second teams as the slot receiver.
TE
Jalin Conyers
Bryce Pierre/Messiah Swinson
Second Team
OL
LT Bram Walden
LG Makua Pule
C Ben Bray
RG Kyle Scott
RT Max Iheanachor
QB
Jaden Rashada/Jacob Conover
About 70-30 split in snaps in favor of Rashada
RB
Kyson Brown/George Hart III/Tevin White
Even split among the three backs.
WR
Troy Omeire
Kaleb Black
Shawn Charles
TE
Bryce Pierre/Messiah Swinson
Even snap count at TE for Pierre and Swinson.
On a rare Sunday morning practice, the Sun Devils did not look the stereotypical lackadaisical for a second weekend session. Leading it off with the standard team tempo period, Trenton Bourguet took command of the first team and looked sharp in moving the ball down the field both efficiently and quickly with short passes that emphasized the catch and run. Jaden Rashada stood out as well, but in his own way, letting go of some deeper passes for bigger chunk gains.
Bourguet led the first team in most 11v11 and 7v7 reps, and rewarded his new head coach’s trust as he displayed his experience by making a handful of high-IQ plays. Much of the live ball action consisted of short passes before defensive backs could get to their men, and Bourguet was crisp in making those quick decisions throughout practice. He also exhibited his smarts in escaping the pocket to evade sacks a couple of times while picking up some extra yardage with his feet. While conceding an interception, which came off a tipped ball, rendering it bad luck rather than a bad throw. Bourguet still hasn’t really proven himself as a deep ball passer, and with the plethora of short routes the offense has been using, hasn’t gotten the chance to really.
Not to be outdone, Jaden Rashada put together a good session in his own right. Rashada showed off his arm strength both in live segments and drills to connect with receivers for big chunk plays. He also was able to thread the needle to make passes in traffic, including an impressive corner route in 7v7s that went for a touchdown between three defenders in the indoor 11v11s and a dime of a throw to Elijhah Badger for a deep touchdown in the outside during 11v11s. Rashada also was able to scramble when needed but showed just a little bit of impatience (not unlike any other freshman) in going through his progressions.
Both QBs seemed to respond well to the second portion of practice, which took the team indoors to simulate a crowd noise meant to distract them. However, it did not tinker with Rashada nor Bourguet’s usual abilities, and both stood their ground under adversity, something Dillingham preached in practice all week.
The quarterbacks were more diverse than usual in their respective positional drills today. Each signal-caller practiced the QB sneak play on the goal line while also doing pocket mobility and throwing sessions. Bourguet, Rashada, and Conover all hit their receivers accurately and in stride for the most part, with Rashada and Conover showing off some more distance on their passes.
The running back room has begun to benefit from improved offensive line play. At the start of fall camp, it was a rarity to see many yards gained on the ground, but thanks to the guys up front, backs such as Cam Skattebo and DeCarlos Brooks have begun to thrive. Where they’ve found their most success is up the middle between the tackles, where both Brooks and Skattebo were able to break through into the second level. Brooks in particular, along with George Hart III, have improved on the outside runs as well, both getting to the sideline and turning upfield on multiple occasions on Sunday. Plenty of backs got their feet wet in catching live passes as well, particularly in the 11v11 sessions inside the dome, with high success catching the ball and quickly turning and running.
The positional drills for running backs on Sunday were nothing out of the ordinary, including two-ball agility training, flat route catch-and-run, and ball security. However, the staff did throw in some new spices, having the running backs handle direct snap drills, both as runners and passers.
There wasn’t one true standout among the receiver group on Sunday, but it was business as usual during live periods. The play-calling focused mostly on double-move short routes, which got Xavier Guillory and Elijhah Badger the most space. Badger made his highlight of the day off a gorgeous throw from Rashada from deep in the end zone for a touchdown in outside 11v11s. Gio Sanders, in his elevation to the first team rotation, took advantage of catches in both the tempo and 11v11 sessions. Troy Omeire made a couple of plays as the feature receiver of the second team as well, commonly using his height advantage on high throws along the sidelines.
In their positional drills, the wideouts mostly focused on their breaks from the line of scrimmage. Coach Rashaad Samples was emphasizing to the guys to stay low in their bursts to the defensive back so as to create more running momentum down the field. Their practice routes consisted mostly of boom-or-bust stuff, with short slant routes but deep go routes mixed in evenly.
While Jalin Conyers will surely be the TE1 come kickoff, both Bryce Pierre and Messiah Swinson showed no signs of wavering in their chase to be staples of the offense. Both were used frequently in live play, going on streak routes over the middle and making catches between defenders. Swinson especially stood out in this variation by exhibiting some catch-and-run ability. Both Pierre and Swinson also displayed their hands in goal line passing segments, neither dropping a target all day. Tight end drills were mostly focused on those streak routes today, and it paid off in the live ball segments.
Dario Longhetto displayed his consistency today after Bourguet and Rashada both moved the ball well into field goal range in the 1-minute drill indoors, Longhetto nailed both kicks from 22 and 33 yards, respectively, to seal the win in simulated game situations.
First Team
OL
LT Isaia Glass
LG Slone Finau
C Cade Briggs
RG Aaron Frost
RT Emmit Bohle
QB
Trenton Bourguet/Jaden Rashada
Slightly more first-team snaps to Bourguet, who led the first team in more 11v11 drives. Rashada handled the first team for about half of the 7v7s as well.
RB
DeCarlos Brooks/Cam Skattebo
Even split. Only one on the field at a time.
WR
Elijhah Badger
Xavier Guillory
Gio Sanders/Melquan Stovall (slot)
Sanders and Stovall rotated between the first and second teams as the slot receiver.
TE
Jalin Conyers
Bryce Pierre/Messiah Swinson
Second Team
OL
LT Bram Walden
LG Makua Pule
C Ben Bray
RG Kyle Scott
RT Max Iheanachor
QB
Jaden Rashada/Jacob Conover
About 70-30 split in snaps in favor of Rashada
RB
Kyson Brown/George Hart III/Tevin White
Even split among the three backs.
WR
Troy Omeire
Kaleb Black
Shawn Charles
TE
Bryce Pierre/Messiah Swinson
Even snap count at TE for Pierre and Swinson.
On a rare Sunday morning practice, the Sun Devils did not look the stereotypical lackadaisical for a second weekend session. Leading it off with the standard team tempo period, Trenton Bourguet took command of the first team and looked sharp in moving the ball down the field both efficiently and quickly with short passes that emphasized the catch and run. Jaden Rashada stood out as well, but in his own way, letting go of some deeper passes for bigger chunk gains.
Bourguet led the first team in most 11v11 and 7v7 reps, and rewarded his new head coach’s trust as he displayed his experience by making a handful of high-IQ plays. Much of the live ball action consisted of short passes before defensive backs could get to their men, and Bourguet was crisp in making those quick decisions throughout practice. He also exhibited his smarts in escaping the pocket to evade sacks a couple of times while picking up some extra yardage with his feet. While conceding an interception, which came off a tipped ball, rendering it bad luck rather than a bad throw. Bourguet still hasn’t really proven himself as a deep ball passer, and with the plethora of short routes the offense has been using, hasn’t gotten the chance to really.
Not to be outdone, Jaden Rashada put together a good session in his own right. Rashada showed off his arm strength both in live segments and drills to connect with receivers for big chunk plays. He also was able to thread the needle to make passes in traffic, including an impressive corner route in 7v7s that went for a touchdown between three defenders in the indoor 11v11s and a dime of a throw to Elijhah Badger for a deep touchdown in the outside during 11v11s. Rashada also was able to scramble when needed but showed just a little bit of impatience (not unlike any other freshman) in going through his progressions.
Both QBs seemed to respond well to the second portion of practice, which took the team indoors to simulate a crowd noise meant to distract them. However, it did not tinker with Rashada nor Bourguet’s usual abilities, and both stood their ground under adversity, something Dillingham preached in practice all week.
The quarterbacks were more diverse than usual in their respective positional drills today. Each signal-caller practiced the QB sneak play on the goal line while also doing pocket mobility and throwing sessions. Bourguet, Rashada, and Conover all hit their receivers accurately and in stride for the most part, with Rashada and Conover showing off some more distance on their passes.
The running back room has begun to benefit from improved offensive line play. At the start of fall camp, it was a rarity to see many yards gained on the ground, but thanks to the guys up front, backs such as Cam Skattebo and DeCarlos Brooks have begun to thrive. Where they’ve found their most success is up the middle between the tackles, where both Brooks and Skattebo were able to break through into the second level. Brooks in particular, along with George Hart III, have improved on the outside runs as well, both getting to the sideline and turning upfield on multiple occasions on Sunday. Plenty of backs got their feet wet in catching live passes as well, particularly in the 11v11 sessions inside the dome, with high success catching the ball and quickly turning and running.
The positional drills for running backs on Sunday were nothing out of the ordinary, including two-ball agility training, flat route catch-and-run, and ball security. However, the staff did throw in some new spices, having the running backs handle direct snap drills, both as runners and passers.
There wasn’t one true standout among the receiver group on Sunday, but it was business as usual during live periods. The play-calling focused mostly on double-move short routes, which got Xavier Guillory and Elijhah Badger the most space. Badger made his highlight of the day off a gorgeous throw from Rashada from deep in the end zone for a touchdown in outside 11v11s. Gio Sanders, in his elevation to the first team rotation, took advantage of catches in both the tempo and 11v11 sessions. Troy Omeire made a couple of plays as the feature receiver of the second team as well, commonly using his height advantage on high throws along the sidelines.
In their positional drills, the wideouts mostly focused on their breaks from the line of scrimmage. Coach Rashaad Samples was emphasizing to the guys to stay low in their bursts to the defensive back so as to create more running momentum down the field. Their practice routes consisted mostly of boom-or-bust stuff, with short slant routes but deep go routes mixed in evenly.
While Jalin Conyers will surely be the TE1 come kickoff, both Bryce Pierre and Messiah Swinson showed no signs of wavering in their chase to be staples of the offense. Both were used frequently in live play, going on streak routes over the middle and making catches between defenders. Swinson especially stood out in this variation by exhibiting some catch-and-run ability. Both Pierre and Swinson also displayed their hands in goal line passing segments, neither dropping a target all day. Tight end drills were mostly focused on those streak routes today, and it paid off in the live ball segments.
Dario Longhetto displayed his consistency today after Bourguet and Rashada both moved the ball well into field goal range in the 1-minute drill indoors, Longhetto nailed both kicks from 22 and 33 yards, respectively, to seal the win in simulated game situations.
