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ASU football wide receiver Ellis Jefferson returns home looking for a breakout game

Can "District 19" come up with a big game in his home state?

Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ellis Jefferson is tackled during the last day of Camp Tontozona on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, in Payson, Arizona.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ellis Jefferson is tackled during the last day of Camp Tontozona on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, in Payson, Arizona.

Mike Bercovici. D.J. Foster. Jordan Simone.

All three are the faces of ASU football.

But what about their roommate, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Ellis Jefferson?

On Saturday night in Houston, his opportunity just might come. 

The Denton, Texas native will be returning to his home state to open the season against Texas A&M, a game he's hard marked on his schedule for a long time.

"It's going to be amazing," Jefferson said. "I can't wait. A lot of us Texas players, we're so excited to be there and we cannot wait to be there. It's all bottled up right now, but I'm going to let it loose Saturday."

Jefferson is expected to receive a high amount of snaps as a member of the wide receiver rotation that includes Foster, redshirt senior Devin Lucien, redshirt senior Gary Chambers, redshirt junior Fred Gammage, redshirt junior "Gump" Hayes and redshirt junior Tim White.

"All of us can be 'that guy' on the team," Jefferson said. "A lot people say that since Jaelen (Strong) or since Cam Smith is out that there needs to be someone that steps up. I think that all of us should be able to be that receiver and we have the potential to do that."

For Jefferson to have success and a breakout game, it will likely come down to one thing — tempo.

"Our offense is high tempo, like coach (Mike) Norvell says," he said. "What we have for them is going to set off the year right and we'll be 1-0."

The 6-foot-5, 212-pound wide receiver is eagerly anticipating playing in a hostile environment, particularly in his home state.

"I think I play better when I'm at an away game, with the crowd going crazy," Jefferson said. "We come together more as an offense."

"District 19" is primed for a breakout game that will allow him to live up to his nickname from his days at Guyer High School.

"It's just my motto," Jefferson said. "It's just this thing that I've gone off of ever since high school."

Jefferson and Bercovici's connection goes back beyond being roommates, as the two have been forced to grow together while working with the backups.

"I've been with Berco ever since my freshman year," Jefferson said. "He was backed up behind Taylor Kelly and I was behind Jaelen, so it's nothing different. Even my redshirt freshman year, I was going with Berco, so we already have the chemistry. We just got to make it work come game time."

Jefferson has become an under-the-radar target for a program that is no longer falling under anyone's national radar, with experts such as ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit going so far as to predict the Sun Devils crashing the College Football Playoff.

"Coach (Todd) Graham and the other coaches haven't talked about it at all," Jefferson said. "I saw it on my phone and I didn't even speak about it. Nobody has even talked about it in the locker room, we're just going 1-0 every day. 

"Just block it out. I get text messages saying, 'Did you see what Kirk said?' and all that stuff, my dad calls me and tells me about it, but that doesn't mean anything."

Todd Graham post-practice comments

Coach Graham told reporters Wednesday that the process in preparing for Texas A&M has reminded him of just how far he has come.

"I remember being at Allen High School (in Texas) and dreaming of being in a place like this and doing this," Graham said. "Don't forget to enjoy it."

He added that his team is as prepared as ever for the challenge in the season opener.

"We're putting them in about as tough an environment as you can be in week one, and I think we're ready for it," Graham said. "I like these guys."

Practice Notes:

- ASU came out in shorts in their final indoor practice of the week, as they are slated to practice inside of Sun Devil Stadium in their last session before embarking to Houston. Thursday's practice will not have any media availability.

- Redshirt junior wide receiver Tim White came to practice without a cast Wednesday, instead replacing it with a small black brace on his left wrist. He was still wearing a green non-contact jersey.

- There have been no changes to who is wearing a green non-contact jersey: White (wrist injury), redshirt freshman offensive lineman Sam Jones (left knee injury), junior wide receiver Cam Smith (knee injury; out for the season), freshman offensive lineman Dillon Faamatau (knee surgery; out for the season) and redshirt freshman receiver Jalen Harvey (collarbone injury, out 8-10 weeks).

- The media, as per usual, were only allowed to watch one session of 11-on-11 play. The situation was the offense trailing by two with one timeout and less than a minute remaining.

Here's how they lined up:

First-Team Offense

QB: Mike Bercovici

RB: Demario Richard

WR: D.J. Foster, De'Chavon Hayes and Devin Lucien

TE: Kody Kohl

LT: Evan Goodman

LG: Christian Westerman

C: Nick Kelly

RG: Vi Teofilo

RT: Billy McGehee

First-Team Defense

DL: Ami Latu, Demetrius Cherry and Edmond Boateng

"Will" linebacker: Christian Sam

"Devilbacker:" Antonio Longino

"Sam" linebacker: Salamo Fiso

"Spur" linebacker: Laiu Moeakiola

Field corner: Kweishi Brown

Boundary corner: Lloyd Carrington

Bandit safety: Jordan Simone

Field safety: Armand Perry

- "PT42" jerseys: redshirt senior safety Jordan Simone, redshirt senior cornerback Lloyd Carrington and redshirt sophomore safety James Johnson.
- Scouts from the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills attended Wednesday's practice.


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

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