Spring football was supposed to continue to build hope for the ASU football team.
It certainly wasn’t supposed to put a damper on the confidence of a group that expects to contend for a conference championship come fall.
Now, just a few weeks into spring practice, ASU is holding its breath that knee injuries to a pair of key starters aren’t as serious as they appear.
During Saturday’s scrimmage at Sun Devil Stadium, senior cornerback Omar Bolden injured his knee in a non-contact play and didn’t return.
Afterward, ASU coach Dennis Erickson didn’t know how serious Bolden’s injury was, but the initial outlook didn’t look good.
Just a few days earlier, redshirt senior wide receiver TJ Simpson tried to get around a defensive back while running a streak route and got his foot caught in the turf, causing his knee to twist.
Simpson has yet to get a definitive answer, but initial doctor reports appear that he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament.
“I’m hoping for the best, but right now it is not looking too good,” Simpson said. “Things happen for a reason. [It’s] one door closing and another door opening for me.
“When I felt the pop and heard the pop, I knew that wasn’t normal. I knew something was wrong. I knew my knee was hurt and it could be serious.”
It is feared that Bolden also tore his ACL.
That would be a significant blow to the Sun Devils, as Bolden decided against entering the NFL Draft in order to return to Tempe to try and help lead ASU to the top of the Pac-12.
Bolden was an All-Pac-10 selection a year ago and is considered one of the top defensive backs in the conference.
Simpson’s loss would hurt as well.
He is ASU’s main deep threat and a valuable weapon in its spread offense.
If both suffered ACL tears, recovery time is usually anywhere from six-to-nine months, putting their seasons in doubt.
“You see two guys like that go down, you almost feel like not practicing,” Erickson said. “But that’s part of the game.”
Marshall impresses
If the first play of the very first scrimmage of spring practice is any indication of how junior running back Cameron Marshall is going to run in 2011, defenders across the country better take notice.
After getting the ball to open the scrimmage Saturday, Marshall hit the hole only to find the dangerous junior All-American linebacker Vontaze Burfict waiting for him.
While many players would shy away from Burfict, Marshall attacked him head on, running over the star linebacker and gaining at least an extra 15 yards on the play.
“Nobody in the country [has done that],” junior quarterback Brock Osweiler said. “For that to be the first play of the scrimmage, that is a true credit to how hard Cameron worked in the offseason, how powerful and how strong he is.”
Marshall quietly put up 787 yards on the ground last season, but has already shown improvement early on in spring practices.
“He’s getting better and better all of the time,” Erickson said. “The improvement with that kid really jumps out at you. He catches the ball, he protects, he’s strong. I think he is very underrated as a back in our league.”
Giving some perspective from the other side of the ball, redshirt senior defensive tackle Bo Moos doesn’t know if he’s played against someone like Marshall.
“He’s seriously strong,” Moos said. “You can just see it. Cameron is the most powerful back I’ve seen. Sometimes it doesn’t even look like he’s going that hard, then you try and tackle him and you get knocked over.”
But Marshall isn’t satisfied after a successful sophomore season.
“Personally, I expect a much better performance,” he said. “A 1,000 yard season at least, double digit touchdowns and I expect our offense to put a lot more points on the board and win more games.”
Week ahead
The Sun Devils will return to the practice field on Tuesday and Thursday this week, practicing from 4-6:10 p.m. ASU will likely scrimmage again on Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.
All spring practices are open to the public.
Reach the reporter at andrew.gruman@asu.edu
