Quarterback

ASU’s Rudy Carpenter enters his senior season as the most experienced, and arguably the best, quarterback in the Pac-10 Conference.

Carpenter passed for 3,202 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2007 and is on pace to break nearly every ASU career passing record by season’s end.

NAU isn’t even sure who its quarterback will be against the Sun Devils.

Returning starter Lance Kriesien (senior), Corey Slater (junior) and Mississippi transfer Michael Herrick (sophomore) have all been battling for the starting job in the preseason.

NAU coach Jerome Souers said he won’t make a decision about who will take the first snap until game time.

As long as the offensive line can protect Carpenter, he should have no problem distributing the ball to the rest of ASU’s weapons on offense.

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Running back

ASU has had some injury problems at the position this week leading up to the season opener.

Senior Keegan Herring missed parts of Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s practices because of an apparent hamstring injury. Coach Dennis Erickson said his status is questionable for Saturday’s game.

If Herring is unavailable, junior Dimitri Nance will get the bulk of the carries. Nance rushed for 500 yards and a team-leading seven touchdowns last season.

NAU led the Big Sky Conference in rushing last season and returns junior Alex Henderson, who racked up 899 yards and six touchdowns last season.

However, there isn’t much help behind Henderson, as true freshman Deonte Williams is currently the backup.

Despite the health issues, ASU still has much more depth and talent at the position.

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Receivers

ASU is loaded at wide receiver, where as many as eight players could see significant action.

The Sun Devils return both starters from a year ago in junior Chris McGaha and senior Michael Jones.

McGaha led the team in catches (61) and receiving yards (830) in 2007, while Jones was second in both of those categories and led the team in touchdown grabs (10).

McGaha has had a nagging toe injury for the past two weeks, but Erickson said he is expected to start Saturday’s game.

The Sun Devil tight ends are unproven, as the entire group has a combined two career catches.

NAU lost its leading receiver from last season, Alex Watson, but returns senior Skyler Moore. Moore was second on the team in receptions before suffering a season-ending ankle injury halfway through last season.

The Lumberjacks also return senior tight end Shaun Fitzpatrick, who was second on the team last year in receptions (28) and yards (360) and is one of the best tight ends in the Football Championship Subdivision.

The Sun Devils may be inexperienced at tight end, but the skill at wide receiver is just too strong.

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Offensive line

To put it bluntly, ASU’s offensive line was not good last season.

The unit gave up 55 sacks, which was second worst in all of college football, and will have three new starters lining up on Saturday.

NAU’s offensive line gave up just 13 sacks last season and will welcome back senior Trevor Heekin and junior Kevin Meagher, who both missed the entire 2007 season because of injuries.

Until ASU’s offensive line can prove that it has fixed last season’s problems and can keep Carpenter off his backside, it will continue to be doubted.

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Defensive line

The Sun Devils have two of the best defensive ends in the Pac-10 in junior Dexter Davis and senior Luis Vazquez, as the duo combined for 76 tackles and 15 sacks last season.

Senior defensive tackle David Smith is also a returning starter and recorded 3.5 sacks in 2007, but the rest of the options on the ASU defensive line are young.

NAU’s projected starters — sophomore Kyle Rath, senior Stephen Nwogbe and junior Michael Battisti — have only a combined two starts between them.

Even with players coming back on NAU’s offensive line, don’t be surprised to see Davis and Vazquez making plays in the Lumberjack backfield early and often.

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Linebackers

ASU returns three players who have started at linebacker, including last year’s second leading tackler, junior Travis Goethel (71).

Juniors Gerald Munns, Mike Nixon and Ryan McFoy are all experienced and will compete for the other two spots. True freshmen Brandon Magee and Shelly Lyons will be in the rotation as well.

The Lumberjacks return one starter at linebacker, junior Cody Dowd, who recorded 35 tackles and four sacks.

ASU’s core should be able to make plenty of big plays in the running and passing game against NAU’s offense.

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Secondary

The Sun Devils have two outstanding players in the secondary in sophomore cornerback Omar Bolden and senior safety Troy Nolan, but there is still uncertainty about who is going to start at the second corner spot.

Bolden was a Freshman All-American last season after quickly emerging into a lockdown corner in his first year in Tempe.

Nolan led the Sun Devils with six interceptions last season, returning two of those for touchdowns.

NAU plays five defensive backs, a formation that gave the Sun Devils a bit of trouble in their 2006 contest.

Senior K.J. Gerard was voted a preseason All-American after he grabbed six interceptions last season and forced two fumbles.

Senior safety Cyrus Igono also returns as the Lumberjacks’ leading tackler (79) from a year ago.

While the Sun Devil air attack will probably need a bit of time to adjust to the Lumberjacks’ atypical scheme, it’s Bolden and Nolan who are more likely to get their hands on the ball and take an interception to the end zone.

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Special Teams

ASU and NAU both have two of the best kickers in the country.

ASU sophomore Thomas Weber is the reigning Groza Award winner, which is given to the nation’s top kicker. He made 24 of 25 field goals last season.

NAU senior Robbie Dehaze made 40 of 54 field goals last season and is a preseason All-American.

ASU junior Kyle Williams is a dangerous returner on kickoffs and punts.

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X-Factor

One could argue that NAU has “nothing to lose” in Saturday’s game and that the Lumberjacks could upset ASU if the Sun Devils aren’t careful.

But we have seen in the past ASU’s ability to sleepwalk through an entire half and still come out on top.

The only threat to ASU that NAU has to offer is that it will be playing in the game and thus affords itself even the most minimal of chances.

The Lumberjacks won’t be bringing equitable talent, but they’ll still be coming.

But the Sun Devils won’t take the Lumberjacks lightly this time around and will come out of the tunnel ready to play on Saturday.

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OVERALL EDGE ASU

Reach the reporter at gmizell@asu.edu