Offensive report by Scott
First Team
OL
LT Isaia Glass
LG Slone Finau
C Leif Fautanu
RG Cade Briggs
RT Emmit Bohle
QB
Jaden Rashada
Trenton Bourguet
Rashada ran the first-team reps in the team tempo period. Bourguet took the reigns in standard 11v11. The two split first and second team reps during 7v7s.
RB
Cam Skattebo
DeCarlos Brooks
Skattebo and Brooks again rotated reps on the first team today, a 50/50 split.
WR
Elijhah Badger
Xavier Guillory
Melquan Stovall (slot)
TE
Bryce Pierre
Messiah Swinson
Pierre and Swinson were often on the field simultaneously, with the offense implementing two tight end sets with an empty backfield. In most single TE sets though, Pierre ran with the first team.
Second Team
OL
LT Sean Na’a
LG Ben Bray
C Kyle Scott
RG Colby Garvin
RT Bram Walden
QB
Trenton Bourguet
Jaden Rashada
Bourguet worked with the second team in the tempo, while Rashada commanded them during standard 11v11. The two QBs split reps between each team in 7v7s.
RB
Kyson Brown
Javen Jacobs
Sinjin Schmitt
75% of snaps to Brown. Jacobs was used in short down distances for runs up the middle mostly. Schmitt was used on a handful of plays.
WR
Andre Johnson Jr.
Gio Sanders (slot)
Troy Omeire
TE
Messiah Swinson
***
What a difference a day makes in the desert. While the scorching sun still beat down on the Devils, the offensive unit was far more structured and disciplined on Tuesday, at least in comparison to Monday’s practice. However, it still wasn’t perfect.
Trenton Bourguet looked like the better quarterback on the field Tuesday, especially thriving in the short game. Much of the play calling in live play gave Bourguet opportunities to zip short passes for small gains, which he did with regularity. Slant routes and quick outs were his bread and butter as they have been throughout camp. Outside of those first 5-10 yards, though, it got tricky for Bourguet as he missed a couple of deep balls due to overthrows. Regardless, he made smart plays in rolling out of sacks to pick up yards with his feet, exemplifying his athleticism and versatility in the pocket.
Jaden Rashada, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. The freshman signal-caller went through plenty of struggles today, mostly with his accuracy. In his drive of the 7v7s, Rashada went just 3/10, with multiple overthrows and three interceptions tallied. One of the interceptions didn’t fall totally on his shoulders due to a receiver slip, but Rashada’s accuracy was not what it needed to be in live ball periods, with a few more overthrows in 11v11s. His pocket and situational awareness also were lacking today, having taken a safety in the very first play of 11v11s. It was a far cry from the player who started Tuesday’s practice with gorgeous deep balls hitting receivers in stride, but it’s not unlike a usual freshman’s development curve.
Quarterback drills on Tuesday were centered around pocket movement. Bourguet, Rashada, Jacob Conover, and Hunter Herrera practiced evading edge rushers and maneuvering around the pocket for cleaner looks. Their throwing drills consisted of deep sideline throws as well, with Rashada standing out the most in that subject.
There was no one real standout from the running back room on Tuesday, but each guy had his moments. The position drills emphasized the flat route, catch-and-run out of the backfield, and sometimes play action. Kyson Brown succeeded in this department the most, catching the ball in stride and tearing up the sideline for decent chunks on multiple occasions. Brown ran off the tackles well during the 11v11s as well. Cam Skattebo also showed his strength receiving such passes while throwing his weight around well to get yards up the middle, including a touchdown in 11v11s. DeCarlos Brooks took a share of first-team reps as well and improved upon his ball security issue from Monday without a fumble on Tuesday. Operating as a power back, Brooks added a five-yard touchdown in 11v11s as well. Javen Jacobs looked shifty and hard to tackle in his reps, primarily used as the up-the-middle back, breaking through the line to the second level a few times in the live play. Sinjin Schmitt got in on the action with a couple of short catches, operating as the receiving back of the second team.
Sun Devil receivers were a bit of a mixed bag. On one end, Elijah Badger and Xavier Guillory were making highlight-reel grabs. On the other, Gio Sanders and Troy Omeire couldn’t hold onto passes. Sanders accounted for three total drops on the day, while Omeire struggled in sideline routes, whether it be with ball possession or feet placement. Omeire did redeem himself though, with arguably the best catch of camp thus far, a fading grab in the endzone at the end of 11v11s. Both Badger and Guillory were feature receivers in live ball periods, both benefitting from Rashada’s deep sideline balls while also making plays off the short throws from Bourguet. Melquan Stovall operated out of the slot and saw his fair share of streak routes up the middle, but most were either broken up or overthrown. Andre Johnson primarily worked the short routes along the sideline and showed promise in catching and running upfield, something the coaches were preaching loudly to the receiving room. Both Max Ware and Coben Bourguet got in on the 7v7s as well.
Both skill positions of running back and wide receiver focused on ball security in drills, working the agility ladder with two footballs tucked in their arms while coaches swung at them with pads. Wide receivers also worked on the duck-and-go route as well as standard catch-and-runs.
The offensive line’s performance was far and away better than Monday’s, cutting down on their penalties significantly. Instead of eight separate drives in team tempo due to false starts and holdings, only two were needed on Tuesday, thanks to better discipline up front. Line coach Saga Tuitele stressed his guys to square up better in drills while having more active feet. Tuitele also continued to rotate the players throughout all five positions on Tuesday as well.
Kick-returning was emphasized today as well. The primary kickoff returners used were Javen Jacobs, Elijhah Badger, Melquan Stovall, Gio Sanders, and Xavier Guillory. The most impressive of the group was Stovall, who continued his strong day yesterday with multiple runs to the 20 or further, with a nice burst off the catch. Stovall also pleased Dillingham with his aggressiveness to the ball, as Dillingham preached to the unit to “attack” the football in the return game. However, he did have a muff on one of his returns in the field of play, as did Badger.
In the kicking game, Dario Longhetto was highly impressive, going 6/6 on kicks in that period. All of his kicks were from medium range (30-45 yards) from both the right and left hashes. Each kick was straight, end-over-end, without any sudden changes of direction. The offensive line blocked well to keep his kicking lane clear each time.
While still not in the shape he wants them to be, head coach Kenny Dillingham saw significant improvement in Tuesday’s practice, as can be told by his feedback following a drive in the 11v11s.
“You look like an offense…it’s about (expletive) time!”
First Team
OL
LT Isaia Glass
LG Slone Finau
C Leif Fautanu
RG Cade Briggs
RT Emmit Bohle
QB
Jaden Rashada
Trenton Bourguet
Rashada ran the first-team reps in the team tempo period. Bourguet took the reigns in standard 11v11. The two split first and second team reps during 7v7s.
RB
Cam Skattebo
DeCarlos Brooks
Skattebo and Brooks again rotated reps on the first team today, a 50/50 split.
WR
Elijhah Badger
Xavier Guillory
Melquan Stovall (slot)
TE
Bryce Pierre
Messiah Swinson
Pierre and Swinson were often on the field simultaneously, with the offense implementing two tight end sets with an empty backfield. In most single TE sets though, Pierre ran with the first team.
Second Team
OL
LT Sean Na’a
LG Ben Bray
C Kyle Scott
RG Colby Garvin
RT Bram Walden
QB
Trenton Bourguet
Jaden Rashada
Bourguet worked with the second team in the tempo, while Rashada commanded them during standard 11v11. The two QBs split reps between each team in 7v7s.
RB
Kyson Brown
Javen Jacobs
Sinjin Schmitt
75% of snaps to Brown. Jacobs was used in short down distances for runs up the middle mostly. Schmitt was used on a handful of plays.
WR
Andre Johnson Jr.
Gio Sanders (slot)
Troy Omeire
TE
Messiah Swinson
***
What a difference a day makes in the desert. While the scorching sun still beat down on the Devils, the offensive unit was far more structured and disciplined on Tuesday, at least in comparison to Monday’s practice. However, it still wasn’t perfect.
Trenton Bourguet looked like the better quarterback on the field Tuesday, especially thriving in the short game. Much of the play calling in live play gave Bourguet opportunities to zip short passes for small gains, which he did with regularity. Slant routes and quick outs were his bread and butter as they have been throughout camp. Outside of those first 5-10 yards, though, it got tricky for Bourguet as he missed a couple of deep balls due to overthrows. Regardless, he made smart plays in rolling out of sacks to pick up yards with his feet, exemplifying his athleticism and versatility in the pocket.
Jaden Rashada, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. The freshman signal-caller went through plenty of struggles today, mostly with his accuracy. In his drive of the 7v7s, Rashada went just 3/10, with multiple overthrows and three interceptions tallied. One of the interceptions didn’t fall totally on his shoulders due to a receiver slip, but Rashada’s accuracy was not what it needed to be in live ball periods, with a few more overthrows in 11v11s. His pocket and situational awareness also were lacking today, having taken a safety in the very first play of 11v11s. It was a far cry from the player who started Tuesday’s practice with gorgeous deep balls hitting receivers in stride, but it’s not unlike a usual freshman’s development curve.
Quarterback drills on Tuesday were centered around pocket movement. Bourguet, Rashada, Jacob Conover, and Hunter Herrera practiced evading edge rushers and maneuvering around the pocket for cleaner looks. Their throwing drills consisted of deep sideline throws as well, with Rashada standing out the most in that subject.
There was no one real standout from the running back room on Tuesday, but each guy had his moments. The position drills emphasized the flat route, catch-and-run out of the backfield, and sometimes play action. Kyson Brown succeeded in this department the most, catching the ball in stride and tearing up the sideline for decent chunks on multiple occasions. Brown ran off the tackles well during the 11v11s as well. Cam Skattebo also showed his strength receiving such passes while throwing his weight around well to get yards up the middle, including a touchdown in 11v11s. DeCarlos Brooks took a share of first-team reps as well and improved upon his ball security issue from Monday without a fumble on Tuesday. Operating as a power back, Brooks added a five-yard touchdown in 11v11s as well. Javen Jacobs looked shifty and hard to tackle in his reps, primarily used as the up-the-middle back, breaking through the line to the second level a few times in the live play. Sinjin Schmitt got in on the action with a couple of short catches, operating as the receiving back of the second team.
Sun Devil receivers were a bit of a mixed bag. On one end, Elijah Badger and Xavier Guillory were making highlight-reel grabs. On the other, Gio Sanders and Troy Omeire couldn’t hold onto passes. Sanders accounted for three total drops on the day, while Omeire struggled in sideline routes, whether it be with ball possession or feet placement. Omeire did redeem himself though, with arguably the best catch of camp thus far, a fading grab in the endzone at the end of 11v11s. Both Badger and Guillory were feature receivers in live ball periods, both benefitting from Rashada’s deep sideline balls while also making plays off the short throws from Bourguet. Melquan Stovall operated out of the slot and saw his fair share of streak routes up the middle, but most were either broken up or overthrown. Andre Johnson primarily worked the short routes along the sideline and showed promise in catching and running upfield, something the coaches were preaching loudly to the receiving room. Both Max Ware and Coben Bourguet got in on the 7v7s as well.
Both skill positions of running back and wide receiver focused on ball security in drills, working the agility ladder with two footballs tucked in their arms while coaches swung at them with pads. Wide receivers also worked on the duck-and-go route as well as standard catch-and-runs.
The offensive line’s performance was far and away better than Monday’s, cutting down on their penalties significantly. Instead of eight separate drives in team tempo due to false starts and holdings, only two were needed on Tuesday, thanks to better discipline up front. Line coach Saga Tuitele stressed his guys to square up better in drills while having more active feet. Tuitele also continued to rotate the players throughout all five positions on Tuesday as well.
Kick-returning was emphasized today as well. The primary kickoff returners used were Javen Jacobs, Elijhah Badger, Melquan Stovall, Gio Sanders, and Xavier Guillory. The most impressive of the group was Stovall, who continued his strong day yesterday with multiple runs to the 20 or further, with a nice burst off the catch. Stovall also pleased Dillingham with his aggressiveness to the ball, as Dillingham preached to the unit to “attack” the football in the return game. However, he did have a muff on one of his returns in the field of play, as did Badger.
In the kicking game, Dario Longhetto was highly impressive, going 6/6 on kicks in that period. All of his kicks were from medium range (30-45 yards) from both the right and left hashes. Each kick was straight, end-over-end, without any sudden changes of direction. The offensive line blocked well to keep his kicking lane clear each time.
While still not in the shape he wants them to be, head coach Kenny Dillingham saw significant improvement in Tuesday’s practice, as can be told by his feedback following a drive in the 11v11s.
“You look like an offense…it’s about (expletive) time!”
