Despite the announcers and regular season jerseys, mistakes made it apparent Saturday’s scrimmage at Sun Devil Stadium was the first of the season.
“Obviously (there are) a lot of things to work on and we’re going to evaluate,” coach Todd Graham said. “The first thing we’re going to try to get is some discipline, and we’ve got a ways to go. Too many penalties, too many times putting the ball in jeopardy, but as far as everything goes, it was a first scrimmage.”
The Sun Devils offense — wearing all-white uniforms while the defense was dressed in all black — threw two interceptions and had three false start penalties.
Defensively, there were four offsides penalties as well as one pass interference call. The Sun Devils also dropped a few interceptions and failed to create turnovers when the opportunities presented themselves.
“We should have had those,” redshirt senior safety Keelan Johnson said. “Our number one goal is to lead the nation in takeaways (and) explosive plays, and when you miss those opportunities, it’s just a dagger to the heart.”
The inability to make every play is frustrating to any athlete. Mistakes are plays that stand out, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of the players, but Johnson added that there were some positives in the effort.
“Our (defensive) line played well,” Johnson said. “Our secondary has matured compared to last year. I see a lot of guys making adjustments and not making as many mental errors.”
Redshirt senior linebacker Brandon Magee acknowledged the mistakes but is confident the Sun Devils will be able to correct them.
“We know what we did wrong,” Magee said. “We’ll watch it on tape and then we’ll come out here and correct it and we’ll be fine … Our goal is when we play games to not have any penalties. We want to be number one in (least committed) penalties, not number one in most penalties.”
Although he says not to put any stock into it, sophomore quarterback Mike Bercovici started and completed eight of his 15 pass attempts for 85 yards and a touchdown. He also threw one interception.
“Definitely not my best,” Bercovici said. “Overall, I thought I did a lot of things right fundamentally. Being live as a quarterback, I got hit a few times and that felt good.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Eubank completed nine of his 18 pass attempts with three touchdown passes and an interception. Eubank also had eight carries for 58 yards and was the first of four quarterbacks to lead the offense into the end zone.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Taylor Kelly completed eight of 14 pass attempts for 72 yards and an interception.
Although all the quarterbacks and the team as a whole had highs and lows, Saturday’s scrimmage was not expected to be a flawless preview of the 2012 team.
“(Saturday) was just about evaluating,” Graham said. “We’re trying to find 11 on offense and 11 on defense.”
Running Backs
With senior running back Cameron Marshall sidelined because of an injury, the other running backs were able to divide up the carries. Redshirt sophomore Deantre Lewis recorded the majority of the carries with 13. He was able to scramble for 45 yards, but was visibly exhausted in his first meaningful reps since being shot in the leg in February 2011.
“I’m proud of him,” Graham said. “He’s had to retrain that leg and retrain himself mentally, and he just gets better.”
Redshirt senior James Morrison also received a lot of playing time with 11 carries for 64 yards.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
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