Christian Westerman participated in all of the team segments. His offensive lineman teammate Vi Teofilo didn’t participate initially for a few snaps but later on was a full participant. So looks like the original starting five here should be available tomorrow and for the scrimmage on Saturday.
Jay Jay Wilson fully practiced for the first time today and lined up at Devil backer, giving a bigger look to the front four much like JoJo Wicker does. In fact Wilson took a snap or two with the 1’s but was mainly with 2’s. Was hard to get a good read on his abilities in a small sample size but it does seem that he’s very likely to remain on defense which puts pressure on the tight end depth. Speaking of tight ends, Dan Vear still wore a green jersey but did take a few snaps in skeleton drills.
Linebackers Laiu Moeakiola and Antonio Longino, as well as running back Jacom Brimhall all took second teams snaps in team segments (Longino mixed in a few first team reps too) so these are three more players who are good to go now health wise.
Raymond Epps missed the latter half of practice which looked like due to some kind of leg injury. We’ll see what his availability is tomorrow and for the scrimmage.
As far as depth chart goes there was a lot of mix and matching going on so I will just point out the more notable items.
Offense came out with a 20 personnel (two running backs) look with Richard and Ballage and that is a lineup we are seeing more and more this week. Lucien, Tim White and Hayes were at first team wide receiver and the latter seemed to have received a lot more reps than the day before. Obviously nothing to read into the fact that Foster didn’t line up with the 1’s. We did see more Tyler Whiley sightings on the second team but that is more a function of Terrell Chatman being held out of team segments. Ellis Jefferson bouncing some between first and second team.
At the offensive line second team we saw Steve Miller take left guard reps I believe for the first time in camp, as Sam Jones lined up at left tackle and Quinn Bailey who started camp as the backup at right tackle and took a lot of reps in camp at guard was back at right tackle.
On defense Ami Latu returned to starting nose tackle and we saw Renell Wren in the same role on the second team. This may signal Latu’s establishment as the starter at nose. Lots of different bodies at Devil with Wilson who I already mentioned, Chans Cox (had a sack), Murphy-Richardson, Bo Wallace and A.J. Latu. Emmanuel Dayries lined up at 2nd team Tiger. Nothing to read into James Johnson getting first team reps at Bandit safety as Todd Graham they wanted to keep Jordan Simone fresh.
Quarterbacks
Not that Mike Bercovici (for some reason was the only signal caller wearing a grey jersey today) had a horrible day yesterday, but on Thursday he was really dealing. In the very first team segment, Bercovici takes the free play on the defense’s offside penalty and finds Ellis Jefferson in the corner of the end zone on a fade route. Beautifully executed. A fake screen pass by Bercovici finds Devin Lucien in the back of the end zone just before the wide receiver ran out of real estate. Bercovici connected with Tim White on two touchdowns and one of them was where he called an audible which didn’t fool the defense who was expecting a pass, yet through heavy traffic the two connected for a score.
Bryce Perkins had back to back touchdowns to Hayes on a very bad blown coverage by Solomon Means, and on the very next play finds Lucien for a touchdown. Perkins also had a nice scramble on another play. The true freshman just seems not rattled by everything that has been thrown at him. He seems to have an easier time making plays than the other backups. I’m expecting to see him take more second team snaps tomorrow and on Saturday.
Side note on the quarterbacks, today I noticed Graduate Assistant Taylor Kelly given more and more autonomy and running a few drills on his own while Mike Norvell was attending to other drills.
Running Backs
Kalen Ballage did have a few snaps on defense but for the last few days he’s definitely taking the lion share of his reps at running back and had the best play today from that group, busting out a 25-yard touchdown up the middle. I’m more and more impressed with his receiving abilities and truly believe he can be a weapon there. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see him taking many snaps at defense, if any, the rest of camp.
Demario Richard got a few nice runs here and there, but no big plays like he had on Wednesday. He got stuffed for minimal gains and much more so than yesterday. De’Chavon Hayes was doing more damage at receiver today than running back, although I thought today may have been his best day rushing the ball. His speed will be hard to match for a lot of opposing defenses.
Quiet day for Jason Lewis although yesterday was hard to top for someone who just got cleared academically a few days ago. Didn’t see much from Brimhall or Nick Ralston.
Funny story on Lewis, when he showed up first time in camp, one of the players asked his teammate: “Who’s this JUCO guy?” and was obviously shocked that Lewis is a true freshman out of high school.
Wide Receivers
Can’t say enough about the performance of Tim White. Heard over the summer that he’s much more than a speedster, and we really get to see in camp his crisp route running and sure hands. Has better size than advertised too. I’m sure we will see more plays that really exploit his speed since we haven’t see much of them so far. Either way, he’s one newcomer that could go down as the steal of the 2015 class, especially because he was signed months after National Letter of Intent Day.
Devin Lucien had a fumble lost, courtesy of James Johnson, along with his two touchdown receptions. But even on a mixed day performance like this you cannot ignore his value to this unit.
Jalen Harvey had a big catch from a Perkins throw. Overall, the wide receiver has rebounded nicely from a subpar spring.
Offensive Line and Tight Ends
Generally not a great day for this group. Run blocking was often nowhere at the level of yesterday, and pass blocking, albeit more with the reserves, was lacking. A miscue by backup center Cade Cote saw Antonio Longino deliver the biggest hit of the day on Jacom Brimhall for a 5-yard tackle for loss. If my count is right we saw seven sacks given up today.
Not much to report on the tight ends, other than Raymond Epps still struggling with his assignments at times. He really had a chance to further establish himself in the rotation with Dan Vear limited and Grant Martinez out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the coaches deep down cannot wait for that duo to come back quickly so this offense has a better chance of effectively running the two-tight end sets it yearns for. Not having Wilson does hurt in theory, but I’m hearing that he’s just more suitable for defense at this point.
Defensive Line
Saw much more from JoJo Wicker with some big run stops (one put Richard on his back) and a sack as well. Ami Latu who is back on the first team responded with a solid day. For most of practice this group got a good push on the offensive line allowing the linebackers to make big plays. Jalen bates had a sack. Bo Wallace had a solid quarterback hurry I believe on White.
Linebackers
Name a linebacker that didn’t stand out today. Salamo Fiso with a pair of sacks, we already talked about Longino who also had a sack along with that monster TFL. Graham said Christian Sam had his best day, another reason for the running game being shut down for the most part. Marcus Ball and D.J. Calhoun flying all over the place making plays, some of them at Richard’s expense too. Carlos Mendoza had a sack on Brady White (as did Sam). Collectively, I don’t know if you could ask more of this group today. Showed up big time and displayed the incredible depth we all know they have.
Secondary
Graham said he was giving Lloyd Carrington a hard time, to some extent jokingly I’m sure, because Kweishi Brown outplayed him today. Either way, you have to feel good about ASU’s starting corners. Brown impresses more and more as a sure tackler, just night and day from last year. Carrington though did a nice job snuffing out a screen pass to Ballage and stopping him in his tracks. Brown too stopped Ballage for a short gain on a lateral pass, and batted down a pass that could have gone for a long gain by a receiver. Ronald Lewis may have had his best camp practice with a pass breakup in the end zone and tackle for loss as well. Kareem Orr continues to be very consistent and I could see him leaping over Solomon Means on the depth chart.
Armand Perry was more consistent in coverage today than he was the last few days, and on one play prevented a big gain by Hayes. Uneventful day for Jordan Simone which again got a lot of reps off to give James Johnson some first team snaps.
ASU Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson was once again in attendance.
As mentioned earlier there was a very big crowd there today and I’m expecting even a larger one tomorrow so arrive early since the team will seemingly be on the field much before the 9 a.m. scheduled practice time.
If you have any questions please post them in this thread.
Jay Jay Wilson fully practiced for the first time today and lined up at Devil backer, giving a bigger look to the front four much like JoJo Wicker does. In fact Wilson took a snap or two with the 1’s but was mainly with 2’s. Was hard to get a good read on his abilities in a small sample size but it does seem that he’s very likely to remain on defense which puts pressure on the tight end depth. Speaking of tight ends, Dan Vear still wore a green jersey but did take a few snaps in skeleton drills.
Linebackers Laiu Moeakiola and Antonio Longino, as well as running back Jacom Brimhall all took second teams snaps in team segments (Longino mixed in a few first team reps too) so these are three more players who are good to go now health wise.
Raymond Epps missed the latter half of practice which looked like due to some kind of leg injury. We’ll see what his availability is tomorrow and for the scrimmage.
As far as depth chart goes there was a lot of mix and matching going on so I will just point out the more notable items.
Offense came out with a 20 personnel (two running backs) look with Richard and Ballage and that is a lineup we are seeing more and more this week. Lucien, Tim White and Hayes were at first team wide receiver and the latter seemed to have received a lot more reps than the day before. Obviously nothing to read into the fact that Foster didn’t line up with the 1’s. We did see more Tyler Whiley sightings on the second team but that is more a function of Terrell Chatman being held out of team segments. Ellis Jefferson bouncing some between first and second team.
At the offensive line second team we saw Steve Miller take left guard reps I believe for the first time in camp, as Sam Jones lined up at left tackle and Quinn Bailey who started camp as the backup at right tackle and took a lot of reps in camp at guard was back at right tackle.
On defense Ami Latu returned to starting nose tackle and we saw Renell Wren in the same role on the second team. This may signal Latu’s establishment as the starter at nose. Lots of different bodies at Devil with Wilson who I already mentioned, Chans Cox (had a sack), Murphy-Richardson, Bo Wallace and A.J. Latu. Emmanuel Dayries lined up at 2nd team Tiger. Nothing to read into James Johnson getting first team reps at Bandit safety as Todd Graham they wanted to keep Jordan Simone fresh.
Quarterbacks
Not that Mike Bercovici (for some reason was the only signal caller wearing a grey jersey today) had a horrible day yesterday, but on Thursday he was really dealing. In the very first team segment, Bercovici takes the free play on the defense’s offside penalty and finds Ellis Jefferson in the corner of the end zone on a fade route. Beautifully executed. A fake screen pass by Bercovici finds Devin Lucien in the back of the end zone just before the wide receiver ran out of real estate. Bercovici connected with Tim White on two touchdowns and one of them was where he called an audible which didn’t fool the defense who was expecting a pass, yet through heavy traffic the two connected for a score.
Bryce Perkins had back to back touchdowns to Hayes on a very bad blown coverage by Solomon Means, and on the very next play finds Lucien for a touchdown. Perkins also had a nice scramble on another play. The true freshman just seems not rattled by everything that has been thrown at him. He seems to have an easier time making plays than the other backups. I’m expecting to see him take more second team snaps tomorrow and on Saturday.
Side note on the quarterbacks, today I noticed Graduate Assistant Taylor Kelly given more and more autonomy and running a few drills on his own while Mike Norvell was attending to other drills.
Running Backs
Kalen Ballage did have a few snaps on defense but for the last few days he’s definitely taking the lion share of his reps at running back and had the best play today from that group, busting out a 25-yard touchdown up the middle. I’m more and more impressed with his receiving abilities and truly believe he can be a weapon there. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see him taking many snaps at defense, if any, the rest of camp.
Demario Richard got a few nice runs here and there, but no big plays like he had on Wednesday. He got stuffed for minimal gains and much more so than yesterday. De’Chavon Hayes was doing more damage at receiver today than running back, although I thought today may have been his best day rushing the ball. His speed will be hard to match for a lot of opposing defenses.
Quiet day for Jason Lewis although yesterday was hard to top for someone who just got cleared academically a few days ago. Didn’t see much from Brimhall or Nick Ralston.
Funny story on Lewis, when he showed up first time in camp, one of the players asked his teammate: “Who’s this JUCO guy?” and was obviously shocked that Lewis is a true freshman out of high school.
Wide Receivers
Can’t say enough about the performance of Tim White. Heard over the summer that he’s much more than a speedster, and we really get to see in camp his crisp route running and sure hands. Has better size than advertised too. I’m sure we will see more plays that really exploit his speed since we haven’t see much of them so far. Either way, he’s one newcomer that could go down as the steal of the 2015 class, especially because he was signed months after National Letter of Intent Day.
Devin Lucien had a fumble lost, courtesy of James Johnson, along with his two touchdown receptions. But even on a mixed day performance like this you cannot ignore his value to this unit.
Jalen Harvey had a big catch from a Perkins throw. Overall, the wide receiver has rebounded nicely from a subpar spring.
Offensive Line and Tight Ends
Generally not a great day for this group. Run blocking was often nowhere at the level of yesterday, and pass blocking, albeit more with the reserves, was lacking. A miscue by backup center Cade Cote saw Antonio Longino deliver the biggest hit of the day on Jacom Brimhall for a 5-yard tackle for loss. If my count is right we saw seven sacks given up today.
Not much to report on the tight ends, other than Raymond Epps still struggling with his assignments at times. He really had a chance to further establish himself in the rotation with Dan Vear limited and Grant Martinez out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the coaches deep down cannot wait for that duo to come back quickly so this offense has a better chance of effectively running the two-tight end sets it yearns for. Not having Wilson does hurt in theory, but I’m hearing that he’s just more suitable for defense at this point.
Defensive Line
Saw much more from JoJo Wicker with some big run stops (one put Richard on his back) and a sack as well. Ami Latu who is back on the first team responded with a solid day. For most of practice this group got a good push on the offensive line allowing the linebackers to make big plays. Jalen bates had a sack. Bo Wallace had a solid quarterback hurry I believe on White.
Linebackers
Name a linebacker that didn’t stand out today. Salamo Fiso with a pair of sacks, we already talked about Longino who also had a sack along with that monster TFL. Graham said Christian Sam had his best day, another reason for the running game being shut down for the most part. Marcus Ball and D.J. Calhoun flying all over the place making plays, some of them at Richard’s expense too. Carlos Mendoza had a sack on Brady White (as did Sam). Collectively, I don’t know if you could ask more of this group today. Showed up big time and displayed the incredible depth we all know they have.
Secondary
Graham said he was giving Lloyd Carrington a hard time, to some extent jokingly I’m sure, because Kweishi Brown outplayed him today. Either way, you have to feel good about ASU’s starting corners. Brown impresses more and more as a sure tackler, just night and day from last year. Carrington though did a nice job snuffing out a screen pass to Ballage and stopping him in his tracks. Brown too stopped Ballage for a short gain on a lateral pass, and batted down a pass that could have gone for a long gain by a receiver. Ronald Lewis may have had his best camp practice with a pass breakup in the end zone and tackle for loss as well. Kareem Orr continues to be very consistent and I could see him leaping over Solomon Means on the depth chart.
Armand Perry was more consistent in coverage today than he was the last few days, and on one play prevented a big gain by Hayes. Uneventful day for Jordan Simone which again got a lot of reps off to give James Johnson some first team snaps.
ASU Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson was once again in attendance.
As mentioned earlier there was a very big crowd there today and I’m expecting even a larger one tomorrow so arrive early since the team will seemingly be on the field much before the 9 a.m. scheduled practice time.
If you have any questions please post them in this thread.
