The ASU football team's offense will have another bomb in its arsenal Saturday when sophomore wide receiver Daryl Lightfoot returns after being sidelined for the past month.
Lightfoot last played Aug. 31 in the home opener against Eastern Washington. He hasn't seen action since then while serving a one-game suspension and taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team to deal with personal issues.
The 5-foot-9, 162-pound Lightfoot missed a pair of non-conference games against Central Florida and San Diego State. After spending time on the scout team, Lightfoot came back last week when the Sun Devils were idle.
In his first two games, Lightfoot caught only one pass for 15 yards. However, he will see a dramatically increased role in Pac-10 play.
"Daryl has never had an issue on the field this year. From the first day of Camp Tontozona, Daryl has been fantastic in practice," Koetter said. "I tell people every day that Daryl probably practices better than (junior wide receiver) Shaun (McDonald). In the Nebraska and Eastern Washington games, Daryl didn't get many chances to get his hands on the ball. That's not his fault. That's my fault.
"We weren't sure when we were going to get Daryl back, but we're happy to have him back, and hopefully, he'll be able to play as well as he's been practicing."
The 2001 graduate of Phoenix Maryvale High School bypassed a redshirt year last season after being named the Class 5A Player of the Year by Phoenix Metro Magazine. Lightfoot will start opposite McDonald on Saturday against Stanford.
"It's another fresh pair of legs to get on the field," Sun Devil wide receivers coach Darryl Jackson said. "He's got great speed, so that's another speed receiver on the field at the same time. We're a vertical offense, and it always helps to have those guys that can stretch a defense and get a chance to throw the ball deep and make big plays."
Lightfoot, who has been unavailable for comment all week, needed the break to recuperate after a personally trying year in which his mother and grandfather both passed away. During his time off the field, Lightfoot underwent counseling for his problems.
"Daryl and I have had some great talks," Koetter said. "But more than that, Daryl felt like he needed to, and we agreed that he needed to have some kind of professional input — some stuff that we can't give him. He has done that, and continues to do that. He feels good about it, and if he feels good about it, then I feel good about it."
Jackson said Lightfoot showed maturity throughout the ordeal.
"He's gone through more things than people that are twice his age have gone through, and he's by himself," Jackson said. "He basically has himself and this football team here, so he's gone through a lot, and he's taken care of it.
"He's grown up a lot. There have been a lot of things I haven't been through ever in my life that he's already gone through, so from that standpoint, you can see he's matured and you can see him starting to become a little bit more responsible in what he needs to do."
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
