Arizona State was in shells – helmets and shoulder pads – for Tuesday’s practice. Perfect football weather under cloudy skies, and temperatures around the low to mid 70’s. Team did practice outside and it did start raining a bit at the end of the approximately 20-minute viewing window.
This by the way will be the only media viewing of practice this week ahead of Friday night’s game.
Here are the offensive notes:
Personnel Update:
WR Johnny Wilson who did miss the UCLA game due to a hamstring injury wasn’t dressed. We didn’t get an update on his status as of yet, but suffice to say that with a short week he may be questionable to play versus Stanford.
OL Armon Bethea once again participated wearing a maroon jersey, but unlike last week he was not observed splitting reps with the defensive line.
TE Jake Ray also has not been seen at practice for a stretch of practices dating back a few weeks. The redshirt freshman from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is still listed on ASU’s official roster.
As we were leaving the practice field the first team seem to be unchanged. Persall, Bunkley-Shelton, and Bryan Thompson were lined up at wide receiver.
Interim tight ends coach Juston Wood was working with his position group as well as the offensive tackles on hand placement at the point of engagement as well as being mindful of your knee movement as you are moving laterally so you’re not locking knees with an opposing defensive lineman. Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh was working with the interior linemen on pulling plays.
Some of the quarterbacks (mainly backups) worked with the running backs on passes out of the backfield, while Daniels and Bourguet did routes-on-air work with the wide receivers.
Defense
Here are notes and observations of the Arizona State defense for Tuesday’s media viewing window.
Based on what we have seen from practice and over the last five games, here is the tentative two-deep as the team returns home on a quick turnaround to face Stanford, its third conference opponent, on Friday at 7:30 pm:
First-team defense
Right DE Tyler Johnson
3-technique Shannon Forman
Nose D.J. Davidson
Left DE Stanley Lambert
SAM Merlin Robertson
MIKE Will Shaffer
WILL Darien Butler
S DeAndre Pierce
S Evan Fields
CB Jack Jones
CB Chase Lucas
Nickel CB: Timarcus Davis
Second-team defense
Right DE Anthonie Cooper / Gharin Stansbury
3-technique Omarr Norman-Lott / BJ Green
Nose T.J. Pesefea / Corey Stephens
Left DE Stanley Lambert / Joe Moore
SAM Eric Gentry
MIKE Will Shaffer
WILL Caleb McCullough
S Kejuan Markham
S T Lee
CB Jordan Clark
CB Ed Woods
Nickel CB: Macen Williams
When the Sun Devils line up base 4-3 defense (three linebackers), Lucas and Jones play the boundary corner positions. When the Sun Devils substitute for nickel personnel, Robertson typically comes off the field for a third cornerback. In fall camp, the third cornerback was Timarcus Davis but he has dealt with injuries at the start of the season and Macen Williams has played well as his replacement. When either cornerback enters the game, they take Lucas’ position outside while Lucas assumes the slot corner role.
Attendance
Safety Evan Fields, who did not make the trip to play against UCLA on Saturday with an undisclosed issue, was at practice wearing a catapult vest and moving well. Head coach Herm Edwards said it was a “close” decision regarding Fields’ ability to play.
Cornerback Timarcus Davis was present at practice, along with Chase Lucas. Safety DeAndre Pierce, who exited the game in the third quarter but started the fourth quarter, was observed with the defensive backs. T Lee, who went to the locker room in the third quarter but later returned, also participated.
Defensive end Michael Matus was not observed with the defensive line during positional drills workouts, as was linebacker Kyle Soelle. Defensive end Tyler Johnson engaged in drills with the defensive line.
Undisclosed timetable: DE Amiri Johnson, LB Dylan DeVito, DT Matthew Palo-Mao, S Cam Phillips
Out for the season: DT Jermayne Lole, DE Travez Moore
Positional Drills
Today’s practice began at 9:57 am. Players were in skeletons and media was allowed to see the first two periods of the positional drills period. Tuesday was a cloudy day, slightly breezy, and began to rain toward the end of the viewing window.
Linebackers coach Chris Claiborne started positional drills with a variation of the medicine ball workout. This time, Claiborne added a padded beam which the players would engage as they moved horizontally across the object. Once they reached the end, Claiborne tossed a large medicine ball toward their midsection, which the players were forced to bat down with their arms extended and away from their body.
Claiborne then utilized a larger tackling dummy attached to a sled for a wrap-up and drive exercise. Each linebacker would tackle the dummy under the armpits and use the muscles in their chest and legs to push the accessory backward.
Strong-side linebacker Eric Gentry had difficulty executing the proper technique; he was too upright and not generating enough power with his legs. Claiborne coached Gentry through the proper motions and even demonstrated the correct method on the dummy himself. Gentry tapped the sides of his helmet in mild frustration as the studious linebacker listened to Claiborne explain the way to master the technique. Gentry made the biggest play of the year against UCLA in tackling DTR on 4th & Goal behind the line of scrimmage to preserve a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, and he shows bright moments of intelligence in-game. However, he is still a freshman learning to use his body efficiently and effectively.
After Claiborne finished coaching up Gentry, the linebackers transitioned into fine-tuning pursuit angles. Each player would rush diagonally at another advancing player, working on their explosion out of the gate.
Defensive line coach Robert Rodriguez spent the first half of Tuesday’s session overseeing the “money-makers,” the term he coined to describe the red blocking dummies nestled near the white Dickey Dome at the south end of the practice complex. Despite the overcast weather, Rodriguez was his usual upbeat self and radiated enthusiasm as he instructed his players. “Speed it up, get up, get down,” Rodriguez boomed. “I want to see some heat coming out of those hips.”
Freshman defensive end Gharin Stansbury has seen an increased amount of snaps in recent weeks as ASU’s depth at the EDGE position has been tested. Although he has performed well over those outings, no flaws in his technique escaped Rodriguez. “You better start punching, young buck,” Rodriguez said as Stansbury got a few extra reps in.
The linebackers and defensive line joined forces in the second half of the positional drill portion of practice. The defensive line worked on a variety of stunt work while the linebackers filled in the gaps.
The team’s defensive backs practiced trailing upfield and looking for the ball with their back to the sideline. It’s worth nothing ASU has committed three pass interference penalties over the last couple of games: two by Ed Woods against Colorado, the other by Chase Lucas in the UCLA game. Donnie Henderson likely wants his group to practice playing the ball instead of resorting to hampering the receiver.
As always, we will answer any questions you may have on Tuesday’s practice.
This by the way will be the only media viewing of practice this week ahead of Friday night’s game.
Here are the offensive notes:
Personnel Update:
WR Johnny Wilson who did miss the UCLA game due to a hamstring injury wasn’t dressed. We didn’t get an update on his status as of yet, but suffice to say that with a short week he may be questionable to play versus Stanford.
OL Armon Bethea once again participated wearing a maroon jersey, but unlike last week he was not observed splitting reps with the defensive line.
TE Jake Ray also has not been seen at practice for a stretch of practices dating back a few weeks. The redshirt freshman from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is still listed on ASU’s official roster.
As we were leaving the practice field the first team seem to be unchanged. Persall, Bunkley-Shelton, and Bryan Thompson were lined up at wide receiver.
Interim tight ends coach Juston Wood was working with his position group as well as the offensive tackles on hand placement at the point of engagement as well as being mindful of your knee movement as you are moving laterally so you’re not locking knees with an opposing defensive lineman. Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh was working with the interior linemen on pulling plays.
Some of the quarterbacks (mainly backups) worked with the running backs on passes out of the backfield, while Daniels and Bourguet did routes-on-air work with the wide receivers.
Defense
Here are notes and observations of the Arizona State defense for Tuesday’s media viewing window.
Based on what we have seen from practice and over the last five games, here is the tentative two-deep as the team returns home on a quick turnaround to face Stanford, its third conference opponent, on Friday at 7:30 pm:
First-team defense
Right DE Tyler Johnson
3-technique Shannon Forman
Nose D.J. Davidson
Left DE Stanley Lambert
SAM Merlin Robertson
MIKE Will Shaffer
WILL Darien Butler
S DeAndre Pierce
S Evan Fields
CB Jack Jones
CB Chase Lucas
Nickel CB: Timarcus Davis
Second-team defense
Right DE Anthonie Cooper / Gharin Stansbury
3-technique Omarr Norman-Lott / BJ Green
Nose T.J. Pesefea / Corey Stephens
Left DE Stanley Lambert / Joe Moore
SAM Eric Gentry
MIKE Will Shaffer
WILL Caleb McCullough
S Kejuan Markham
S T Lee
CB Jordan Clark
CB Ed Woods
Nickel CB: Macen Williams
When the Sun Devils line up base 4-3 defense (three linebackers), Lucas and Jones play the boundary corner positions. When the Sun Devils substitute for nickel personnel, Robertson typically comes off the field for a third cornerback. In fall camp, the third cornerback was Timarcus Davis but he has dealt with injuries at the start of the season and Macen Williams has played well as his replacement. When either cornerback enters the game, they take Lucas’ position outside while Lucas assumes the slot corner role.
Attendance
Safety Evan Fields, who did not make the trip to play against UCLA on Saturday with an undisclosed issue, was at practice wearing a catapult vest and moving well. Head coach Herm Edwards said it was a “close” decision regarding Fields’ ability to play.
Cornerback Timarcus Davis was present at practice, along with Chase Lucas. Safety DeAndre Pierce, who exited the game in the third quarter but started the fourth quarter, was observed with the defensive backs. T Lee, who went to the locker room in the third quarter but later returned, also participated.
Defensive end Michael Matus was not observed with the defensive line during positional drills workouts, as was linebacker Kyle Soelle. Defensive end Tyler Johnson engaged in drills with the defensive line.
Undisclosed timetable: DE Amiri Johnson, LB Dylan DeVito, DT Matthew Palo-Mao, S Cam Phillips
Out for the season: DT Jermayne Lole, DE Travez Moore
Positional Drills
Today’s practice began at 9:57 am. Players were in skeletons and media was allowed to see the first two periods of the positional drills period. Tuesday was a cloudy day, slightly breezy, and began to rain toward the end of the viewing window.
Linebackers coach Chris Claiborne started positional drills with a variation of the medicine ball workout. This time, Claiborne added a padded beam which the players would engage as they moved horizontally across the object. Once they reached the end, Claiborne tossed a large medicine ball toward their midsection, which the players were forced to bat down with their arms extended and away from their body.
Claiborne then utilized a larger tackling dummy attached to a sled for a wrap-up and drive exercise. Each linebacker would tackle the dummy under the armpits and use the muscles in their chest and legs to push the accessory backward.
Strong-side linebacker Eric Gentry had difficulty executing the proper technique; he was too upright and not generating enough power with his legs. Claiborne coached Gentry through the proper motions and even demonstrated the correct method on the dummy himself. Gentry tapped the sides of his helmet in mild frustration as the studious linebacker listened to Claiborne explain the way to master the technique. Gentry made the biggest play of the year against UCLA in tackling DTR on 4th & Goal behind the line of scrimmage to preserve a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, and he shows bright moments of intelligence in-game. However, he is still a freshman learning to use his body efficiently and effectively.
After Claiborne finished coaching up Gentry, the linebackers transitioned into fine-tuning pursuit angles. Each player would rush diagonally at another advancing player, working on their explosion out of the gate.
Defensive line coach Robert Rodriguez spent the first half of Tuesday’s session overseeing the “money-makers,” the term he coined to describe the red blocking dummies nestled near the white Dickey Dome at the south end of the practice complex. Despite the overcast weather, Rodriguez was his usual upbeat self and radiated enthusiasm as he instructed his players. “Speed it up, get up, get down,” Rodriguez boomed. “I want to see some heat coming out of those hips.”
Freshman defensive end Gharin Stansbury has seen an increased amount of snaps in recent weeks as ASU’s depth at the EDGE position has been tested. Although he has performed well over those outings, no flaws in his technique escaped Rodriguez. “You better start punching, young buck,” Rodriguez said as Stansbury got a few extra reps in.
The linebackers and defensive line joined forces in the second half of the positional drill portion of practice. The defensive line worked on a variety of stunt work while the linebackers filled in the gaps.
The team’s defensive backs practiced trailing upfield and looking for the ball with their back to the sideline. It’s worth nothing ASU has committed three pass interference penalties over the last couple of games: two by Ed Woods against Colorado, the other by Chase Lucas in the UCLA game. Donnie Henderson likely wants his group to practice playing the ball instead of resorting to hampering the receiver.
As always, we will answer any questions you may have on Tuesday’s practice.
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