Some of this stuff was covered in the brief update I had earlier, but here is the more complete report. I apologize for send this so late. Uploading videos here is an adventure plus I had a personal matter to attend to.
In terms of updates to injured players, here are the ones who did partially participate today:
Christian Westerman wasn’t wearing a green jersey but was only doing individual drills and was not participating in the team segments. We’ll see if he will be full go later this week.
Terrell Chatman much like Westerman (hamstring) limited in practice, not wearing a green jersey and not participating in the team segments.
Jay Jay Wilson (foot) once again practicing only with Devil backers, but only but was only doing individual drills and was not participating in the team segments.
Here is how the depth chart looked
First Team Offense
Quarterback – Mike Bercovici
Running Back – Demario Richard
Left Tackle – Evan Goodman
Left Guard – Stephon McCray
Center – Nick Kelly
Right Guard – Vi Teofilo
Right Tackle – Billie McGhee
Tight End – Kody Kohl
Wide Receiver – D.J. Foster
Wide Receiver – Gary Chambers
Wide Receiver - Devin Lucien
First Team Defense
Devil - JoJo Wicker
Nose - Renell Wren
Tiger - Tashon Smallwood
End - Demetrius Cherry
WILL - D.J. Calhoun
SAM - Salamo Fiso
Spur - Marcus Ball
Bandit Safety - Jordan Simone
Field Safety - Armand Perry
Boundary Corner- Lloyd Carrington
Field Corner - Kweishi Brown
Second Team Offense
Quarterback – Brady White
Running Back – Kalen Ballage
Left Tackle – Steve Miller
Left Guard – Sam Jones
Center – Cade Cote
Right Guard – Quinn Bailey
Right Tackle – Zach Robertson
Tight End – Raymond Epps
Wide Receiver – Jalen Harvey
Wide Receiver – Tim White
Wide Receiver - Ellis Jefferson
Second Team Defense
Devil - A.J. Latu
Nose - Mo Latu
Tiger - Ami Latu
End - Edmond Boateng
WILL - Khaylan Thomas
SAM - Christian Sam
Spur - DeAndre Scott
Bandit Safety - James Johnson
Field Safety - Chad Adams
Boundary Corner - Ronald Lewis
Field Corner - Solomon Means
Quarterbacks
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t know if it was a great day for the quarterbacks and the passing game in general (and part of that was due to good play by the secondary). The play that stood out the most is when on a goal line situation Mike Bercovici rolled out with heavy pursuit on him and threaded the needle for a touchdown pass to Kody Kohl who also had a defender or two draped over him.
The battle for backup quarterback is much closer than some may think. For the last few days I don’t get a feeling that Manny Wilkins is head and shoulders over Brady White and Bryce Perkins, and today Perkins may have been the most impressive signal caller not named Mike Bercovici. Even though his long touchdown pass to Eric Lauderdale was in large part due to busted coverage from Coltin Gerhart it surely helped Perkins’ confidence. That as well as completing a nice long pass to walk-on receiver Jordan Green and making a brief appearance on the first team. Perkins also had a run for touchdown on the goal line drill.
Running Backs
We all knew that the depth here would be impressive and today we saw that theory on full display. On the goal line drill Demario Richard scored back to back, one time simply bouncing off defenders. Richard and Kalen Ballage both ripped long touchdown runs and in general were a menace to the defense. Ballage’s long score caused both Mike Norvell and Bo Graham to race down to the end zone to congratulate him.
And then you have Jason Lewis. First day in pads, thrown into the fire and doesn’t disappoint. Thick lower body but deceivingly athletic and always moving his feet. He scored against the second team defense in the goal line drill and during inside run segment busted out some nice medium gains.
Nick Ralston was doing a good leading blocking from his fullback positon, but running the ball on short yardage had some difficulties. Very quiet day from De’Chavon Hayes (limited mostly to two running back sets) but I’m sure giving Jason Lewis a lot of reps is partially responsible for that.
Wide Receivers
Bercovici and D.J. Foster connected on a few plays. Devin Lucien continues to impress and on one play where he ran a prefect route towards the sideline on a good size gain that caused Mike Norvell to loudly praise him. You just get the feeling that his addition may be the one the biggest coups in recent memory for this football team. Quiet day in general otherwise for the other receivers.
Offensive Line and Tight Ends
In general, thus unit definitely showed up in the run blocking department, especially on the goal line drill and pass blocking was fine too as you didn’t see the quarterbacks being often under duress. As I mentioned earlier, what an asset to have a reserve like Stephon McCray who steps in for Westerman, perhaps the best blocker on the line, and the run game doesn’t miss a beat.
Started to see more and more two-tight end sets with Kody Kohl and Raymond Epps. Not a lot of depth there right now with Grant Martinez and Dan Vear in green jerseys, so those sets aren’t being run as often as the coaches would like them. With the thin numbers Tommy Hudson got some second team reps.
Epps was a bag of mixed good today. Did have a nice block to help spring Ballage for a long score, but earlier than that was yanked out of a goal line situation by Norvell for not knowing his assignment.
Defensive Line
The big story here is JoJo Wicker being the latest player tried at the Devil backer, but again the look he gives you is more of a four-down lineman look which really helped spark the ASU defense last year and I think will be employed again in 2015. Maybe it’s Wicker who starts, maybe it’s Edmond Boateng who Graham said at the end of spring practice would get a long look here at Devil. One thing is for sure, Wicker is quick enough to come off the edge and at 6-3 275 lbs. not that easy to move. I was actually more impressed today with his run defense more than his pass rush.
Tashon Smallwood at Tiger is quietly having a solid camp, had a sack today and often did do a good job collapsing the pocket. I really thought Wicker would be the one who could really push him for his starting role, but with Wicker’s position move not sure that is still an option anymore.
Lately we saw Chans Cox at the third team, but today got more second team reps. Edmond Boateng hasn’t stood much at all in camp and I won’t be surprised if he is regulated to the second team. This defensive line in my opinion would be better if he could play end so Demetrius Cherry could play at nose. Renell Wren at starting nose is something I guess could eventually work out for the best if he continues to improve and really keep his pad level low which is an issue that has plagued him from day one (and with his frame hard to blame him).
Linebackers
Yes, they took their lumps with some impressive runs by the running backs, but this day was far from a bust. Both Salamo Fiso and Christian Sam had several plays stopping the runner for a minimal gain. D.J. Calhoun at WILL was solid and proved that as long as he sticks to his assignments and not freelance (which is often hard for such an athletic player) he can disrupt the short yardage passing game
We talked about DeAndre Scott at Spur who saved a touchdown with a huge tackle on Wilkins, and had a pass breakup too. But like I said, even with an impressive camp it remains to be seen if he can beat Marcus Ball for backup duties once Laiu Moekiola is healthy.
Secondary
Safety position generally did a good job today in pass coverage. Graham mentioned Armand Perry stopping Richard on the goal line, something that not many players could do today. The big play however that I mentioned by Lucien was bad coverage by Perry. Lloyd Carrington and Kweishi Brown quietly played well today which caused issues with the passing game. One player that I probably should have been talking more than I already am about is Kareem Orr who had a great pass breakup in the skeleton segment today. Has a real chance not to redshirt in my opinion.
Punter Matt Haack enjoying the thin air here in Payson and was just booming one punt after another. Kicker Zane Gonzalez missed form 52 yards wide right.
A New York Jets scout made the trek up here to Payson. ASU Vice President of Athletics ray Anderson was in attendance as well.
In terms of updates to injured players, here are the ones who did partially participate today:
Christian Westerman wasn’t wearing a green jersey but was only doing individual drills and was not participating in the team segments. We’ll see if he will be full go later this week.
Terrell Chatman much like Westerman (hamstring) limited in practice, not wearing a green jersey and not participating in the team segments.
Jay Jay Wilson (foot) once again practicing only with Devil backers, but only but was only doing individual drills and was not participating in the team segments.
Here is how the depth chart looked
First Team Offense
Quarterback – Mike Bercovici
Running Back – Demario Richard
Left Tackle – Evan Goodman
Left Guard – Stephon McCray
Center – Nick Kelly
Right Guard – Vi Teofilo
Right Tackle – Billie McGhee
Tight End – Kody Kohl
Wide Receiver – D.J. Foster
Wide Receiver – Gary Chambers
Wide Receiver - Devin Lucien
First Team Defense
Devil - JoJo Wicker
Nose - Renell Wren
Tiger - Tashon Smallwood
End - Demetrius Cherry
WILL - D.J. Calhoun
SAM - Salamo Fiso
Spur - Marcus Ball
Bandit Safety - Jordan Simone
Field Safety - Armand Perry
Boundary Corner- Lloyd Carrington
Field Corner - Kweishi Brown
Second Team Offense
Quarterback – Brady White
Running Back – Kalen Ballage
Left Tackle – Steve Miller
Left Guard – Sam Jones
Center – Cade Cote
Right Guard – Quinn Bailey
Right Tackle – Zach Robertson
Tight End – Raymond Epps
Wide Receiver – Jalen Harvey
Wide Receiver – Tim White
Wide Receiver - Ellis Jefferson
Second Team Defense
Devil - A.J. Latu
Nose - Mo Latu
Tiger - Ami Latu
End - Edmond Boateng
WILL - Khaylan Thomas
SAM - Christian Sam
Spur - DeAndre Scott
Bandit Safety - James Johnson
Field Safety - Chad Adams
Boundary Corner - Ronald Lewis
Field Corner - Solomon Means
Quarterbacks
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t know if it was a great day for the quarterbacks and the passing game in general (and part of that was due to good play by the secondary). The play that stood out the most is when on a goal line situation Mike Bercovici rolled out with heavy pursuit on him and threaded the needle for a touchdown pass to Kody Kohl who also had a defender or two draped over him.
The battle for backup quarterback is much closer than some may think. For the last few days I don’t get a feeling that Manny Wilkins is head and shoulders over Brady White and Bryce Perkins, and today Perkins may have been the most impressive signal caller not named Mike Bercovici. Even though his long touchdown pass to Eric Lauderdale was in large part due to busted coverage from Coltin Gerhart it surely helped Perkins’ confidence. That as well as completing a nice long pass to walk-on receiver Jordan Green and making a brief appearance on the first team. Perkins also had a run for touchdown on the goal line drill.
Running Backs
We all knew that the depth here would be impressive and today we saw that theory on full display. On the goal line drill Demario Richard scored back to back, one time simply bouncing off defenders. Richard and Kalen Ballage both ripped long touchdown runs and in general were a menace to the defense. Ballage’s long score caused both Mike Norvell and Bo Graham to race down to the end zone to congratulate him.
And then you have Jason Lewis. First day in pads, thrown into the fire and doesn’t disappoint. Thick lower body but deceivingly athletic and always moving his feet. He scored against the second team defense in the goal line drill and during inside run segment busted out some nice medium gains.
Nick Ralston was doing a good leading blocking from his fullback positon, but running the ball on short yardage had some difficulties. Very quiet day from De’Chavon Hayes (limited mostly to two running back sets) but I’m sure giving Jason Lewis a lot of reps is partially responsible for that.
Wide Receivers
Bercovici and D.J. Foster connected on a few plays. Devin Lucien continues to impress and on one play where he ran a prefect route towards the sideline on a good size gain that caused Mike Norvell to loudly praise him. You just get the feeling that his addition may be the one the biggest coups in recent memory for this football team. Quiet day in general otherwise for the other receivers.
Offensive Line and Tight Ends
In general, thus unit definitely showed up in the run blocking department, especially on the goal line drill and pass blocking was fine too as you didn’t see the quarterbacks being often under duress. As I mentioned earlier, what an asset to have a reserve like Stephon McCray who steps in for Westerman, perhaps the best blocker on the line, and the run game doesn’t miss a beat.
Started to see more and more two-tight end sets with Kody Kohl and Raymond Epps. Not a lot of depth there right now with Grant Martinez and Dan Vear in green jerseys, so those sets aren’t being run as often as the coaches would like them. With the thin numbers Tommy Hudson got some second team reps.
Epps was a bag of mixed good today. Did have a nice block to help spring Ballage for a long score, but earlier than that was yanked out of a goal line situation by Norvell for not knowing his assignment.
Defensive Line
The big story here is JoJo Wicker being the latest player tried at the Devil backer, but again the look he gives you is more of a four-down lineman look which really helped spark the ASU defense last year and I think will be employed again in 2015. Maybe it’s Wicker who starts, maybe it’s Edmond Boateng who Graham said at the end of spring practice would get a long look here at Devil. One thing is for sure, Wicker is quick enough to come off the edge and at 6-3 275 lbs. not that easy to move. I was actually more impressed today with his run defense more than his pass rush.
Tashon Smallwood at Tiger is quietly having a solid camp, had a sack today and often did do a good job collapsing the pocket. I really thought Wicker would be the one who could really push him for his starting role, but with Wicker’s position move not sure that is still an option anymore.
Lately we saw Chans Cox at the third team, but today got more second team reps. Edmond Boateng hasn’t stood much at all in camp and I won’t be surprised if he is regulated to the second team. This defensive line in my opinion would be better if he could play end so Demetrius Cherry could play at nose. Renell Wren at starting nose is something I guess could eventually work out for the best if he continues to improve and really keep his pad level low which is an issue that has plagued him from day one (and with his frame hard to blame him).
Linebackers
Yes, they took their lumps with some impressive runs by the running backs, but this day was far from a bust. Both Salamo Fiso and Christian Sam had several plays stopping the runner for a minimal gain. D.J. Calhoun at WILL was solid and proved that as long as he sticks to his assignments and not freelance (which is often hard for such an athletic player) he can disrupt the short yardage passing game
We talked about DeAndre Scott at Spur who saved a touchdown with a huge tackle on Wilkins, and had a pass breakup too. But like I said, even with an impressive camp it remains to be seen if he can beat Marcus Ball for backup duties once Laiu Moekiola is healthy.
Secondary
Safety position generally did a good job today in pass coverage. Graham mentioned Armand Perry stopping Richard on the goal line, something that not many players could do today. The big play however that I mentioned by Lucien was bad coverage by Perry. Lloyd Carrington and Kweishi Brown quietly played well today which caused issues with the passing game. One player that I probably should have been talking more than I already am about is Kareem Orr who had a great pass breakup in the skeleton segment today. Has a real chance not to redshirt in my opinion.
Punter Matt Haack enjoying the thin air here in Payson and was just booming one punt after another. Kicker Zane Gonzalez missed form 52 yards wide right.
A New York Jets scout made the trek up here to Payson. ASU Vice President of Athletics ray Anderson was in attendance as well.
