The ASU football team is getting thin in an area it can hardly afford to lose any depth.
Reserve sophomore offensive guard Mike Marcisz will have season-ending surgery after suffering an injury to his shoulder in Saturday’s loss against Georgia, coach Dennis Erickson announced after Tuesday’s practice.
The loss of Marcisz, who played in two games this season, is a blow to the Sun Devils because starting sophomore guard Matt Hustad will be out for at least three weeks after injuring his knee during Saturday’s game.
Erickson said he has never had a line so decimated by injuries this early in the season.
“But as many years as I’ve been [coaching], you’ll have a lot of things happen,” the coach said.
In other banged-up offensive lineman news, senior center Thomas Altieri (knee) participated sparingly in practice on Tuesday and is questionable for this weekend’s Pac-10 opener against Oregon State.
Luckily for ASU, sophomore offensive lineman Garth Gerhart practiced on Tuesday after sitting out the majority of the young season with turf toe.
Gerhart’s return the lineup will be important for ASU, because the sophomore can also be used at guard, where the Sun Devils are struggling mightily to stay healthy.
As a result of the injuries, offensive linemen Kyle Johnson (redshirt freshman) and Adam Tello (sophomore) came off the scout team to practice with the second-team unit on Tuesday.
Highly regarded sophomore guard Zach Schlink has an outside chance of playing against OSU but is more likely to see his first action of the season when ASU travels to Washington State on Oct. 10, Erickson said.
Senior safety Ryan McFoy was nursing a foot sprain on Tuesday and did not practice.
Brooks returns
The already stellar ASU defense — currently No. 3 in the country — will get a boost on Saturday with the return of defensive end James Brooks.
The sophomore sat out the first three games of the season while serving a suspension for violation of an undisclosed team rule.
Brooks will take up his post as strong-side defensive end, which will allow senior defensive end Dexter Davis — who came into the year fourth on the ASU all-time list with 27.5 career sacks but is yet to record one this season — to move back to his more familiar spot on the weak side.
Running it back
While the loss of star junior kicker Thomas Weber has clearly hampered ASU in the kicking game, the Sun Devil kick return team has been giving its offensive great starting field position.
ASU ranks second in the Pac-10 (behind Stanford) and third nationally in kickoff return average.
The 89-yard touchdown return by junior Omar Bolden on the opening kickoff against Louisiana-Monroe provided the biggest highlight-reel moment for the unit, but the consistent play of redshirt freshman Keelan Johnson is a big reason the Sun Devils rank among the best in the country in the category.
Johnson, a local product from Mesa High School who is averaging 26.2 yards per return, didn’t know he would be involved in the return game heading into the season.
“They kind of just threw me in the mix, and I’m trying to make the best of it,” Johnson said. “When you’re back there, the spotlight is on you, and everybody’s watching you. So when you make a big play, people recognize who you are.”
Bolden’s touchdown return has been a motivator for Johnson, who said he is aiming to cross the goal line before season’s end.
“That’s everybody’s dream,” Johnson said. If you’re back there, you want to return it to the house. [Bolden] got one, so now I’ve got to get one. Hopefully, I’ll get mine this weekend.”
Erickson attributes the strong return game to the work put in by his assistant coaches.
“With the kickoff return, coach [Jamie] Christian and coach [Greg] Burns do a really good job teaching it,” Erickson said. “We’ve got athletes that can get back on kickoffs. … We’re athletic enough to hold them up and give our [return] guys a chance.”
Reach the reporter at nick.kosmider@asu.edu.
