While the buzz around Arizona State on Tuesday revolved around Herb Sendek and the men's basketball team, it was business as usual for the football team. No Byron at practice today, so I've got some notes on both the offense and defense.
On offense, the player that really had a solid day was Manny Wilkins, who may have been the quarterback of the day. I think it's fair to say that he was outplayed by Brady White in the first week, but on Tuesday, Wilkins had consistency throughout the day.
He avoided turnovers and was the only quarterback able to find completions down the field on a day that was very solid for the defensive secondary. Early in the day, he lofted a ball over the defense for a touchdown to Eric Lauderdale from about 30 yards out and made a very similar play later in the day to Kody Kohl. He also ran the read option naturally all day and managed to pull Kweishi Brown out of position and lob an easy 10-yard pass to a wide open Ellis Jefferson.
It was a lackluster day for both White and Mike Bercovici, who each had to settle for checkdowns and swing routes all practice. White should've had one interception when he locked in on his target and allowed his eyes to lead Christian Sam straight to a route. Bercovici did have an interception late in practice when a pass to D.J. Foster was stepped in front of by Lloyd Carrington.
The full lineups for Tuesday were as follows:
1st team offense: Mike Bercovici (QB), Demario Richard (RB), D.J. Foster (WR), Gary Chambers (WR), Jalen Harvey (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), DJ Calhoun (WILL), Christian Sam (SAM), Marcus Ball (SPUR), Lloyd Carrington (CB), Solomon Means (CB), Jordan Simone (S), and James Johnson (S).
2nd team offense: Manny Wilkins (QB), Nick Ralston (RB), Ellis Jefferson (WR), Eric Lauderdale (WR), Tyler Whiley (WR), De'Chavon Hayes (WR), Steven Miller (LT), Jack Powers (LG), Tyler McClure (C), Devin Goodman (RG), Quinn Bailey (RT)
2nd team defense: Corey Smith (DE), Emmanuel Dayries (DT), Ami Latu (DT) Ismael Murphy-Richardson (Devilbacker), Antonio Longino (WILL), Salamo Fiso (SAM), Carlos Mendoza (SPUR), Kweishi Brown (CB), Ronald Lewis (CB), Deandre Scott (S), and Chad Adams (S).
Those were the lineups for the first 11-on-11 session of the day, but there was a lot of rotation for the remainder of the day. Ralston primarily worked as the second-team running back, while Kalen Ballage split reps with Demario Richard with the first team.
Late in practice, Ballage went down on a play and was slow to get up. He limped off the field putting little weight on his left leg and did not return to the field for the remainder of the day.
If he dons green on Thursday, he'll likely join a very crowded Muscle Beach that keeps adding more and more players every practice. Chans Cox, Mo Latu, Ezekiel Bishop, Armand Perry, Laiu Moeakiola, Raymond Epps, Evan Goodman, Vi Teofilo, Jamal Scott, Frederick Gammage, Eriquel Florence and Grant Martinez all wore green on Tuesday, while Jordan Simone remained in his limited-contact gold jersey.
Simone also wore the Inferno helmet at practice, and was the only one doing so, which Todd Graham recently announced will signify leaders that are exemplifying the type of play and effort coaches hope for.
With so many injuries, there's the obvious instinct to believe coaches might be pushing players a little too hard and making practice a little too physical, but both Graham and Mike Norvell made efforts to minimize injuries on Tuesday. Graham stopped one trenches drill to tell players to stay off the ground and to be mindful of their teammates' knees.
Offensive lineman Jack Powers appeared to be shaken up on one play, but when a teammate tried to help him up, he refused the assistance and ran in for another rep, which he performed well in. Norvell wasn't happy with the display of grit and yelled at Powers to get treatment if he's injured.
Altogether, it was a solid day for the defense, despite a fast start for the offense. The offense won the W Drill 5-4, but couldn't run the ball much against the defensive line and only Wilkins was able to consistently find completions more than five yards from the line of scrimmage.
I got a chance to watch just about every positional group today, so feel free to shoot some questions my way if you have any.
On offense, the player that really had a solid day was Manny Wilkins, who may have been the quarterback of the day. I think it's fair to say that he was outplayed by Brady White in the first week, but on Tuesday, Wilkins had consistency throughout the day.
He avoided turnovers and was the only quarterback able to find completions down the field on a day that was very solid for the defensive secondary. Early in the day, he lofted a ball over the defense for a touchdown to Eric Lauderdale from about 30 yards out and made a very similar play later in the day to Kody Kohl. He also ran the read option naturally all day and managed to pull Kweishi Brown out of position and lob an easy 10-yard pass to a wide open Ellis Jefferson.
It was a lackluster day for both White and Mike Bercovici, who each had to settle for checkdowns and swing routes all practice. White should've had one interception when he locked in on his target and allowed his eyes to lead Christian Sam straight to a route. Bercovici did have an interception late in practice when a pass to D.J. Foster was stepped in front of by Lloyd Carrington.
The full lineups for Tuesday were as follows:
1st team offense: Mike Bercovici (QB), Demario Richard (RB), D.J. Foster (WR), Gary Chambers (WR), Jalen Harvey (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), DJ Calhoun (WILL), Christian Sam (SAM), Marcus Ball (SPUR), Lloyd Carrington (CB), Solomon Means (CB), Jordan Simone (S), and James Johnson (S).
2nd team offense: Manny Wilkins (QB), Nick Ralston (RB), Ellis Jefferson (WR), Eric Lauderdale (WR), Tyler Whiley (WR), De'Chavon Hayes (WR), Steven Miller (LT), Jack Powers (LG), Tyler McClure (C), Devin Goodman (RG), Quinn Bailey (RT)
2nd team defense: Corey Smith (DE), Emmanuel Dayries (DT), Ami Latu (DT) Ismael Murphy-Richardson (Devilbacker), Antonio Longino (WILL), Salamo Fiso (SAM), Carlos Mendoza (SPUR), Kweishi Brown (CB), Ronald Lewis (CB), Deandre Scott (S), and Chad Adams (S).
Those were the lineups for the first 11-on-11 session of the day, but there was a lot of rotation for the remainder of the day. Ralston primarily worked as the second-team running back, while Kalen Ballage split reps with Demario Richard with the first team.
Late in practice, Ballage went down on a play and was slow to get up. He limped off the field putting little weight on his left leg and did not return to the field for the remainder of the day.
If he dons green on Thursday, he'll likely join a very crowded Muscle Beach that keeps adding more and more players every practice. Chans Cox, Mo Latu, Ezekiel Bishop, Armand Perry, Laiu Moeakiola, Raymond Epps, Evan Goodman, Vi Teofilo, Jamal Scott, Frederick Gammage, Eriquel Florence and Grant Martinez all wore green on Tuesday, while Jordan Simone remained in his limited-contact gold jersey.
Simone also wore the Inferno helmet at practice, and was the only one doing so, which Todd Graham recently announced will signify leaders that are exemplifying the type of play and effort coaches hope for.
With so many injuries, there's the obvious instinct to believe coaches might be pushing players a little too hard and making practice a little too physical, but both Graham and Mike Norvell made efforts to minimize injuries on Tuesday. Graham stopped one trenches drill to tell players to stay off the ground and to be mindful of their teammates' knees.
Offensive lineman Jack Powers appeared to be shaken up on one play, but when a teammate tried to help him up, he refused the assistance and ran in for another rep, which he performed well in. Norvell wasn't happy with the display of grit and yelled at Powers to get treatment if he's injured.
Altogether, it was a solid day for the defense, despite a fast start for the offense. The offense won the W Drill 5-4, but couldn't run the ball much against the defensive line and only Wilkins was able to consistently find completions more than five yards from the line of scrimmage.
I got a chance to watch just about every positional group today, so feel free to shoot some questions my way if you have any.
