ASU football coach Dennis Erickson said Tuesday that star sophomore linebacker Vontaze Burfict will be benched at the start of the team’s contest against Washington on Saturday.
Erickson said that redshirt senior middle linebacker Gerald Munns will start in his place, though Erickson said Burfict will play some, but did not indicate how much.
“There are things that are non-football related and you just can’t have them,” Erickson said. “We had one of those in the game (against Oregon State. So, he’s not going to start and hopefully he can learn to control himself and I believe he will. And like I said, we are working with him. You just can’t play when you do that stuff.”
Erickson did not say exactly what the incident was but indicated that it occurred in the fourth quarter on the field, not on the bench. Burfict was seen head butting OSU sophomore quarterback Ryan Katz late in the game and was flagged for it, but an infraction on OSU offset the penalty.
It appeared that Burfict also argued with a coach and a teammate on the bench, but no player or coach has confirmed it. It was also reported by Arizona Republic columnist Paola Boivin that Burfict “traded barbs” with the OSU crowd for “several minutes” in the third quarter of Saturday’s game.
“Again, that can’t continue to happen,” Erickson said of the fourth quarter incident. “If it does he just won’t play, so that’s where it is at right now,”
Burfict, a pre-season All-American who leads the team in tackles and is widely considered one of the most talented defensive players in the country, has been flagged for numerous personal foul penalties in his young career and has seemingly built a reputation for what some could consider dirty play.
“Hopefully he will continue to learn his lessons and if he does he will play more,” Erickson said. “He feels bad. He wants to be the best he can be and he loves his teammates. He’s one of the greatest guys off the field I have been around. He does all the right things.
“Obviously on the field there are times where he loses control and we just can’t have them. I wish I had a buck for every minute we’ve talked and he’s talked to a lot of different people. He’s getting it, it is just taking a little bit of time.”
Erickson said Tuesday that he was ‘trying to get a point across,’ but on Monday said that he did not feel that Burfict was out of control. He said Tuesday that he didn’t know the incident had occurred until after he met with the media on Monday.
Burfict was unavailable to the media and could not be reached for comment.
Munns has ten career starts and was credited with 31 tackles last season. Munns will be one of the Sun Devil defenders charged with trying to slow down a Huskies offense led by star quarterback Jake Locker.
“It’s a talented team but Gerald Munns is a pretty good football player,” Erickson said. “He’s a leader on our football team. “
Notes
Erickson confirmed that redshirt junior receiver Aaron Plufgrad is doubtful for Saturday’s contest with turf toe. He also said that the team is going to shuffle its defensive line some because of its struggles to generate a pass rush. Erickson indicated that freshman Junior Onyeali, a promising pass rush defensive end, could play more.
“You make changes when you’ve lost three in a row,” Erickson said.
Redshirt junior quarterback Samson Szakacsy took some snaps with the first team and could be used in special packages in the red zone.
Reach the reporter at nick.ruland@asu.edu
