The ASU football team finished its final spring practice quickly. The practice lasted about 30 minutes, as the team was intent on resting up for the spring game, which will take place on Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium to wrap up spring football.
Spring practices have taken on a different tone this year, with the speed increase on offense the most notable difference from the fall.
“Offensively, where we’re at [and] the confidence factor that we have as an offensive football team in what we’re doing and how were executing is better than it’s been,” coach Dennis Erickson said.
Erickson said he was pleased with the progress of his team at the end of spring practice, for the most part.
“I like where we’re at,” Erickson said. “You don’t know until the fall, but I feel good with where we’re at. We’ve got a lot of improvement to make, there’s no question about it. Saturday is fun [and] we’ll see where we’re at in a game-type situation and where we’ve improved offensively and defensively.”
Erickson also noted he thinks his team is in prime position to surprise some people this season.
“All this is preparation to be better than what people think we are going to be,” Erickson said. “We’re not picked to be very good — I think we’re going be a little bit better than what people think.”
The quarterbacks, junior Steven Threet and sophomore Brock Osweiler, will rotate snaps during the spring game, Erickson said. Erickson will not announce a starting quarterback this spring.
The spring game will begin at 2:30 p.m. and will be the last formal meeting of the team until fall.
New format
ASU will be using a different scoring format. Rather than having two separate teams face each other, it will strictly be offense versus defense.
In addition to the usual six points for a touchdown and three for a field goal, the offense will get one point for every first down and two points for every play of 30 or more yards.
The defense will receive two points for forcing a three-and-out, three for a turnover, nine for a defensive touchdown, one for forcing a punt and two for a fourth-down stop.
There will be no punting or kicking in the game.
“With what we’re doing offensively and with the no-huddle and the substitutions and the number of different guys that you really need to execute what we want … we have to do it that way,” Erickson said. “It’s just a way of having ones against ones all the time. It kind of gives you more of a simulation of a game in terms of substitutions and so forth.”
Injury Notes
Senior offensive lineman Jon Hargis will miss the spring game, and possibly the entire season, after tearing his ACL in last Saturdays scrimmage.
Erickson said junior offensive lineman Adam Tello (knee) and senior cornerback LeQuan Lewis (wrist/hand) also will not play in the spring game.
Erickson said junior wide receiver George Bell (hamstring) “looked pretty good running around today,” and will be a game-time decision.
Junior linebacker Brandon Magee, who suffered a concussion in last Saturday’s scrimmage, “will have a chance to play,” Erickson said.
Sophomore running back Cameron Marshall, sophomore wide receiver A.J. Pickens and sophomore offensive lineman Patrick Jamison will all play after nursing various injuries throughout the spring.
Reach the reporter at kyle.glaser@asu.edu
