With the likelihood of redshirt freshman Brady White making his first start against UCLA increasing at the midweek point, Wednesday’s practice was an opportunity for ASU football to to solidify its quarterback situation.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins, while fully dressed and with tape on his right ankle, did not stretch with the team in their warmup period and participated minimally — his lone activity being a static ball security drill with White and several skill position players.
Wilkins also observed as graduate assistant coach Nick Kelly worked with the centers, including junior A.J. McCollum, the starter who also worked with White in team tempo.
While many offensive skill players were coy and indifferent during the quarterback battle leading up to the season, on Wednesday many of them expressed their confidence in White.
“That’s how we do things around here,” said junior running back Kalen Ballage. “Everybody’s ready – three deep. You come to practice every day and work, and have that mentality that when your time comes and it’s your opportunity, you take it and run.”
Junior running back Demario Richard said the familiarity the offense has with White will eliminate the typical adjustment period for a backup to acclimate to becoming the starter.
“He’s not a new quarterback,” Richard said. “He comes into work every day with his hard hat and his toolbox, he watches extra film, and he prepares like he’s No. 1. It’s not really a transition or anything, it’s just a new face back there that has the timing of the No. 1 quarterback because of his preparation.”
Offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey also praised White for his ability to step into the No. 1 role in practice and in the second half against USC in Los Angeles last Saturday.
“Brady was great, his demeanor was great,” Lindsey said. “We saw a lot of maturity out of him, and I liked the way he handled that tough situation.”
Offensive line coach Chris Thompsen working on stance and technique with the big guys: pic.twitter.com/OYG5mG4YYJ
— Stefan Modrich (@StefanJModrich) October 5, 2016
Tasked with protecting either White or Wilkins, the ASU offensive line has been a strength of the Sun Devils (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12) thus far, but after being humbled by a superior defensive line at USC and now facing the possibility of a new signal-caller taking the reigns, it will be a point of focus going forward.
“They’ve done an amazing job,” Ballage said. “Sometimes things just don’t always work out the way you expect. You have to be able to roll with the punches.”
Though Ballage emphasized the team had moved past the USC loss, he added “maybe it’s exactly what we need,” calling it “fuel to the fire.”
Ballage and Richard provide the kindling for such fires – the two combined for 138 yards in last year’s 38-23 upset of UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
Richard said his team’s goal to win the Pac-12 South and eventually the Pac-12 Conference won’t be altered by one loss, and that increased competition in ASU’s division will only provide more incentive to succeed.
“To me the Pac-12 is always one of the hardest conferences in the nation,” Richard said. “Nobody thought Washington State would do what they did last year, nobody thought Cal would do what they did in the beginning of the year.
"The Pac-12 South is wide open, you’re going up against dogs every week.”
The South has been won in previous years by the winner of the game between the Sun Devils and Bruins (3-2, 1-1 Pac-12) – which raises the stakes on this matchup.
“It’s gonna be a good game, you know,” Richard said. “Especially after what we did running the ball last year.”
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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