After a fall camp of maroon and white, the No. 15 ASU football team received a dash of new color this week.
Gold jerseys were handed out to members of the scout team as ASU continues to prepare for Saturday’s match-up with visiting NAU.
The gold jersey designates players who will attempt to mimic the offensive and defensive formations used by each week’s opponent.
Freshman quarterback Jack Elway, who will redshirt, led the scout team Tuesday and Wednesday, giving the first and second-string defense a look at a NAU-style offense.
Conversely, ASU’s first-team offense got a peek at a NAU-style defense, though that led to immediate struggles.
Junior center Thomas Altieri and senior quarterback Rudy Carpenter had trouble in the shotgun formation, as Altieri snapped the ball high to Carpenter on several occasions.
“We have a lot of mistakes to correct, and hopefully we’ll get that done tomorrow,” Erickson said after practice.
Erickson also said that those results were typical for a practice early in the week as the offense adjusts to the defensive unit for that week.
McGaha, Herring battling injuries
Junior wide receiver Chris McGaha (toe) participated in most of practice Tuesday but ended the night with a seat on the water cooler and a grimace on his face.
Erickson said McGaha is still experiencing discomfort.
“It’s going to get sore on him,” the coach said. “We just have to watch how much we play him and work him into it.”
Senior running back Keegan Herring pulled up lame during practice Wednesday night with an apparent hamstring injury.
Erickson said, “If there’s any chance [of major injury], I’m not going to put him out there where he can miss five or six games.”
In other injury news, junior running back Shaun DeWitty (hamstring) did not dress for practice.
Bolden looking for extra work
Sophomore defensive back Omar Bolden got a chance to work with the special teams as a kick returner Tuesday.
While Herring and junior wide receiver Kyle Williams will likely do the majority of the return work for the Sun Devils, Bolden’s speed makes him an option for the job.
Tillman, Snyder to be enshrined
ASU football legends Pat Tillman and Bruce Snyder will be inducted into the 2008 class of the ASU Sports Hall of Fame.
Tillman, considered by many the face of the program, was Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1997.
Snyder coached the Sun Devils for nine seasons (1992-2000) and led ASU to four bowl appearances.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
