Football, at its base, has a lot to do with hitting people.
ASU football has done just that, and it has done a lot of it this fall camp, much to the excitement of head coach Todd Graham.
"We've had the six most physical practices we've had since we've been (at ASU)," Graham said Monday. "Highly competitive."
Graham noted a stark difference in his team mentally that has allowed them to bring a more physical nature to the practice sessions.
"We're stronger," he said. "We're bigger. We're mentally tougher. Just more mature as a football team. Our personnel is changing. We've got more tight ends and more fullback-type people and that's by design. The biggest thing is just we've really just jumped a big barrier mentally from a mental standpoint and our mental toughness.
"Obviously, from a physical standpoint, we're stronger and faster. There's some big, powerful people out there. That's something that doesn't happen overnight."
One such case of the added physicality came when sophomore running back Demario Richard, who was excellent during the part of practice open to the media Monday, knocked over sophomore defensive back Armand Perry and redshirt sophomore safety Marcus Ball down to their backs on consecutive plays during 11-on-11 drills.
"Demario Richard's running really stood out to me," Graham told reporters. "Really taking his game to the next level and just the physicality with which we're playing. He bounced some guys off the turf today."
Additional Notes:
- "PT42" jerseys: redshirt senior safety Jordan Simone, redshirt senior cornerback Lloyd Carrington, redshirt senior linebacker Antonio Longino and redshirt sophomore safety James Johnson
- "Flame" helmets: Simone, Carrington, Longino, Johnson, redshirt junior linebacker Laiu Moeakiola, redshirt junior tight end Kody Kohl, redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici, redshirt senior guard Christian Westerman, sophomore running back Demario Richard, sophomore running back/linebacker Kalen Ballage, senior center Nick Kelly, senior wide receiver D.J. Foster, sophomore defensive lineman Tashon Smallwood, redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Corey Smith, senior cornerback Kweishi Brown, redshirt sophomore safety Marcus Ball, sophomore linebacker DJ Calhoun, sophomore defensive back DeAndre Scott, junior kicker Zane Gonzalez and sophomore safety Armand Perry.
- Green non-contact jerseys: Westerman, Moeakiola, redshirt junior wide receiver Fred Gammage and freshman tight end Jay Jay Wilson.
- Incoming freshman running back Jason Lewis tweeted Monday that he had been cleared by the NCAA to officially join the team. The former four-star prospect is expected to practice during Monday's night session.
ASU RB Jason Lewis receives NCAA clearance, should report soon. https://t.co/uwYZVa0erM
— Fabian Ardaya (@fardaya15) August 10, 2015
Graham confirmed after practice that Lewis is now officially with the team.
- NFL kicker Jay Feely was at practice Monday, and spoke briefly with ASU kicker Zane Gonzalez.
- Johnson, who suffered a right shoulder injury during practice Sunday, played with the second team on Monday.
- In Johnson's place at first-team field safety was Perry, who did a solid job Monday.
- With Moeakiola out for the third straight day, Ball took some snaps at first-team "Spur" linebacker.
- Coaches have been moving Calhoun around the defense all week. He had been working as the second-team "Will" linebacker, but saw first-team action at "Spur" this weekend and got first-team reps at "Devilbacker" on Monday.
- Foster saw limited action against live defense for the second straight day in an effort to get more wide receivers reps.
The first-team wide receiver group consisted of redshirt senior Devin Lucien, redshirt junior Tim White and redshirt junior De'Chavon "Gump" Hayes.
The second-string consisted of redshirt freshman Jalen Harvey, redshirt sophomore Ellis Jefferson and Ballage.
- Standout freshman defensive lineman JoJo Wicker saw some action with the first team along the defensive line.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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