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ASU football Camp Tontozona Report: Position battles are the key focus entering Saturday scrimmage

Who will stand up and take the reigns in some of the fall's most heated battles?

Todd Graham Camp T
ASU football head coach Todd Graham talks to the media after practice at Camp Tontozona Aug. 14, 2015.

CAMP TONTOZONA, Ariz. -- ASU football's Friday practice at Camp Tontozona was heated, and for more reasons than just the above-average temperatures.

Friday was the last practice before the program's annual Camp Tontozona scrimmage, a place where coach Todd Graham said several key position battles will be decided.

"The defensive line has competition at nearly every position," Graham said. "Still feeling a couple, you know? I don't think (the position battles) are going to die down. I think we've got more depth." 

One battle that remains wide open is the backup quarterback spot behind Mike Bercovici, which in recent days has seen freshman Bryce Perkins appear to take the lead over redshirt freshman Manny Wilkins and freshman Brady White.

"All three of those guys are competing," Graham said. "Bryce (Perkins) is a guy that really has stood out. They just (each) did different things. I think Brady (White)'s done some really nice things. I like his demeanor. Bryce is a guy that his guys always score. He's got great leadership. Manny (Wilkins) is a guy that has more of a comprehension of what we're doing.

"We've got to get that narrowed down, and that's something that we're hoping tomorrow will be a big evaluation for that." 

The fourth-year head coach said he's comfortable with two of his most important position groups — the offensive line and the secondary.

"We've got a lot of youth up front on the offensive line that's going to continue to develop," he said.

Graham said his team will likely play around two-thirds of a full game during Saturday's scrimmage, with the first-team offense and defense each taking about 50 snaps.

After Tontozona, Graham said third-team players and below will likely not receive any snaps.

Depth Chart:

First-team offense snaps

QB: Mike Bercovici/Bryce Perkins

RB: Demario Richard/Kalen Ballage/De'Chavon "Gump" Hayes/Jacom Brimhall

WR: D.J. Foster/Devin Lucien/Ellis Jefferson/Tim White/Gary Chambers/Jalen Harvey

TE: Kody Kohl/Raymond Epps

LT: Evan Goodman

LG: Christian Westerman

C: Nick Kelly

RG: Vi Teofilo/Stephon McCray

RT: Billy McGehee

First-team defense snaps

DL: Tashon Smallwood/Ami Latu/Demetrius Cherry/Edmond Boateng

"Devilbacker": JoJo Wicker/Jay Jay Wilson/Kalen Ballage/Ismael Murphy-Richardson/Bo Wallace

"Will" linebacker: DJ Calhoun

"Sam" linebacker: Salamo Fiso

"Spur" linebacker: Marcus Ball

Boundary corner: Lloyd Carrington

Field corner: Kweishi Brown/Solomon Means/Kareem Orr

Bandit safety: Jordan Simone

Field safety: Armand Perry

Second-team offense snaps

QB: Bryce Perkins/Manny Wilkins/Brady White

RB: Nick Ralston/"Gump" Hayes/Jacom Brimhall/Jason Lewis

WR: Tyler Whiley/Jordan Green/Ellis Jefferson/Eric Lauderdale

TE: Raymond Epps

OL: Steven Miller/Sam Jones/Stephon McCray/Quinn Bailey/Cade Cote

Second-team defense snaps

DL: Renell Wren/Edmond Boateng/Emanuel Dayries/A.J. Latu/Ami Latu

"Devilbacker": Jay Jay Wilson/Ismael Murphy-Richardson/Bo Wallace

"Will" linebacker: Antonio Longino

"Spur" linebacker: Laiu Moeakiola/DeAndre Scott

"Sam" linebacker: Christian Sam

Boundary corner: Solomon Means

Field corner: Kareem Orr/Ronald Lewis

Bandit safety: James Johnson

Field safety: Chad Adams

Additional Notes:

- "PT42" jerseys: redshirt senior safety Jordan Simone, redshirt senior cornerback Lloyd Carrington and redshirt sophomore safety James Johnson.

- "Flame" helmets: Simone, Carrington, Johnson, junior kicker Zane Gonzalez, redshirt junior tight end Kody Kohl, redshirt senior guard Christian Westerman, redshirt senior linebacker Antonio Longino, redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici, senior wide receiver D.J. Foster, senior center Nick Kelly, sophomore defensive back DeAndre Scott, sophomore running back Demario Richard, sophomore linebacker DJ Calhoun, redshirt sophomore linebacker Marcus Ball, sophomore safety Armand Perry, senior cornerback Kweishi Brown, sophomore defensive lineman Tashon Smallwood, sophomore running back/linebacker Kalen Ballage and redshirt junior linebacker Laiu Moeakiola.

- Green non-contact jerseys: junior wide receiver Cam Smith, redshirt junior tight end Dan Vear, redshirt junior wide receiver Fred Gammage, redshirt sophomore tight end Grant Martinez and freshman offensive lineman Dillon Faamatau.

- Limited: Freshman wide receiver Terrell Chatman

- Offensive play of the day: During a fourth-and-goal simulation, Bercovici hit redshirt freshman wide receiver Jalen Harvey on a quick slant into a tight throwing window for a touchdown.

- Defensive play of the day: Freshman defensive lineman Jalen Bates had two sacks Friday, notably one where he burst around the edge to knock over redshirt freshman Manny Wilkins.


Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.

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