Sun Devil fans had their first opportunity to watch ASU play in a game situation during a scrimmage on Saturday night.
The Sun Devils came out of the bus energized and excited to put on a strong performance at the Kajikawa practice fields. This was the third straight day the team wore full pads.
After stretches, the team huddled up around the corner of the 20-yard line as they prepared for an Oklahoma drill. Both the offense and defense were able to warm-up for the scrimmage that followed right after.
Special teams coach Shawn Slocum also worked on his hands team as preparation for the first game against University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) on Sep. 1. Junior wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was a big part of the recovery team to recover on-side kicks.
Head coach Herm Edwards said that Saturday night's scrimmage was a simulation of a game.
"You saw a lot of special teams being involved when we are doing series," Edwards said. "We put some of the two’s against the ones, we wanted to see some things.
The list below are the players who saw either first or second team snaps in Saturday's scrimmage.
First-Team offense
QB: Manny Wilkins
RB: Eno Benjamin, Isaiah Floyd, Trelon Smith
WR: N’Keal Harry, Kyle Williams, Brandon Aiyuk
OL: Casey Tucker (LT), Alex Losoya (LG), Cohl Cabral (C), Steven Miller, (RG), Quinn Bailey (RT)
First-team defense
DL: Shannon Forman, D.J Davidson/Renell Wren, Jalen Bates
LB: Merlin Robertson, Nick Ralston, Jay Jay Wilson
CB: Kobe Williams, Terin Adams
Tillman: Tyler Whiley
S: Demonte King, Langston Frederick
Second-Team offense
RB: Trelon Smith, A.J. Carter
WR: Curtis Hodges, Ryan Newsome, Keith Davis
OL: Ralph Frias (LT), Roy Hemsley (LG)/Cade Cote, Jonathan Sanchez (C), Jarrett Bell (RG)/Zach Robertson
Second-team defense
DL: Dougladson Subtyl/Jermayne Lole, George Lea, Jordan Hoyt
LB: Kyle Soelle/Stanley Lambert/Darien Butler, Malik Lawal/Tyler Johnson
Tillman: Dasmond Tautalatasi/Ely Doyle
CB: Dominique Harrison, Darien Cornay
S: Joey Bryant, Aashari Crosswell
As Edwards reiterated, the first and second team meshed in on plays. A strong connection showed as Wilkins threw a 40-yard ball that was under thrown to Newsome over the middle of the field. Newsome still managed to snag the ball from the secondary.
Only one turnover occurred on Saturday as Sterling-Cole scanned the field looking for an open man downfield. His pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Wilson and was intercepted by a diving Frederick.
After a few stalled drives by both the first and second team offenses, Wilkins showcased his arm as he led the team down the field from the 40-yard line. He connected with Newsome, Harry and French-Love for the touchdown. Floyd was stopped on a two-point conversion.
Overall, the first team offense seemed to be firing on all cylinders. Edwards saw that the team can build around the offense this coming season.
"I got a really good feeling of what the offense can be, especially all those guys being healthy," Edwards said after the scrimmage.
The healthy competition at key skill positions gives Edwards and his other offensive coaches a plethora of weapons to use.
"We know who the one back is going to be, (Benjamin)," Edwards said. "(Isaiah) Floyd has kind of flashed, the junior college kid. Number two (Aiyuk) has kinda flashed at the wide receiver position. We have a lot of guys. It is just a matter of how we are going to use all of them."
Defensively, the Sun Devils energy and physicality was not up to par for defensive coordinator Danny Gonzalez.
"“It wasn’t as physical as we wanted it to be,” Gonzalez said. “Watching it out here, we had a couple guys get nicked up early.”
Redshirt senior linebacker Whiley was carted off the field with an ankle injury after having it rolled up on in practice.
Even with Whiley's injury, Gonzalez wants to teach the players about the next man up mentality.
"We can't lose energy because we lose somebody," Gonzalez said. "We are going to lose people throughout the season. That's football. It will be a good teaching point for those guys to learn.”
Overall, the scrimmage was an opportunity for the Sun Devils as players — both veteran and young alike.
"Doesn't matter what year you are, how many reps you have, there are 11 starters and you gotta go out there and act like that," Edwards said. "Our standard to play can’t go down because there is a guy there that might be a freshman or a sophomore who does not play a lot. There are 11 guys and he’s got to play like a starter and he’s got to act like one too.”
Other Notes:
Redshirt sophomore defensive back Chase Lucas was not at practice on Saturday for what Edwards described as a "family deal," and he is fine. Redshirt sophomore defensive back Terin Adams took reps with the first team in place of Lucas.
Reach the reporter at sbemanue@asu.edu or follow @SebastianEman24 on Twitter.
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