Sometimes lessons come in disguise. Other times, they’re standing above you in orange and blue uniforms.
When Illinois sacked ASU junior quarterback Brock Osweiler six times on Sept. 17, the Sun Devil signal-caller didn’t know what hit him. But after watching the different looks the Illini threw at him, Osweiler gained experience he’d put to use in the very next game.
“A lot of their blitzes were something we hadn’t seen all of last year and this year,” he said. “At the time I didn’t understand what they were doing, I just knew I was getting hit every play. Then I saw the tape and figured out what was going on. USC gave us some of those same looks, so I changed the protections and we had big plays down the field.”
The adjustments Osweiler has made from week to week have the quarterback constantly improving in the eyes of his coaches.
“Where he’s at, he’s making a lot of plays and understands what’s going on,” ASU coach Dennis Erickson said. “He’s played really well. Obviously, like everybody else, he can still get better through the final weeks.”
Bolden makes strides
ASU cornerback Omar Bolden seemingly took another step Sunday toward a potential comeback from his spring practice ACL injury. The redshirt senior took snaps with the scout team against the Sun Devil offense.
“He’s moving around pretty good,” Erickson said. “I don’t know if or when he will play though. It’s up to him and the doctors. I know he won’t play this week, but it’s week by week with him.”
A few hours after ASU’s weekly Monday press conference, Bolden came out on his Twitter account with additional encouraging news.
“Cleared by my doctor from a medical standpoint,” he said. “Now I gotta get my swagger back … I won't play unless I'm just as effective as I was six months ago ... Refuse to damage stock!”
Injury report
Last week’s bye not only helped Sun Devils who had missed games due to injury, but also players who were still in uniform despite being banged up.
“The bye week came at a very crucial time,” Osweiler said. “We had been going since August. It really gave guys a time to heal up their bodies. We were very energized yesterday. The first three throws of practice, I overthrew the guys. I hadn’t done that in a while.”
ASU junior running back Cameron Marshall, who’s been slowed by a nagging ankle injury while still playing particularly well, didn’t do much in practice last week, but came out Sunday refreshed.
“He moved around better than he has all year,” Erickson said. “Rest really helped and it helped a lot of guys.”
ASU sophomore defensive end Junior Onyeali is expected to play Saturday after getting injured at Illinois, but sophomore offensive tackle Evan Finkenburg is still questionable.
“He’s close but I don’t know if he’ll play,” Erickson said. “(If he can’t) we’ll go with (Dan) Knapp at left tackle.”
Reach the reporter at tyler.emerick@asu.edu
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