About 100 miles from their Tempe practice facility, the ASU football team took to the Camp Tontozona practice field Wednesday for the first time since 2007.
While sophomore quarterback Mike Bercovici did receive reps at quarterback, redshirt sophomore Taylor Kelly and redshirt freshman Michael Eubank split the majority of the snaps with the first-team offense.
The current quarterback competition is certainly taking its toll on the quarterbacks that want to know where they fall on the depth chart, but it is also having an impact on the rest of the offense as it attempts to find cohesion. Coach Todd Graham’s recent decision to narrow the competition to two was a big relief to members of the offense, including junior tight end Chris Coyle, who want to start building a rapport with the signal caller.
“It helps me only having two quarterbacks,” Coyle said. “It helps me get a rhythm. I’m starting to understand how each one plays a little bit better. (I’m learning) where their release is, where I should expect the ball and how quick they are going to get me the ball.”
Kelly has never started a game for the Sun Devils, but he already has a strong relationship with Coyle that began during their freshman year. Kelly’s comfort with Coyle was seen in the first team drill as the Idaho native attempted four passes, all of which were thrown in Coyle’s direction.
“Taylor and I are really good friends,” Coyle said. “If he ends up as the starting quarterback, we can carry that into the season and I think it would be a good situation.”
However, Coyle would be just as comfortable with Eubank, who he believes will be a valuable asset to the program because of his athleticism.
“I know how athletic he is and how he can get out of the pocket and sling the ball downfield,” Coyle said. “I could see him going in on some third and short plays where he could rush for it. I could see him in the option game because he’s big and if he hits someone they’ll be going backwards.”
Notes:
- It may have been due to the thinner air, but redshirt sophomore kicker Alex Garoutte had a strong day during kickoffs. Garoutte kicked the ball off eight times. Seven of those kicks went for touchbacks and five cleared the end zone.
- When it came to field goal attempts, redshirt sophomore kicker Jon Mora took the first kicks in every drill. Garoutte kicked second while junior kicker Dillon Jackson took the third reps.
- Junior defensive lineman Mike Pennell did not practice and several players were wearing green non-contact jerseys. Those in green included redshirt senior defensive end Toa Tuitea, redshirt junior linebacker Anthony Jones, sophomore cornerback Rashad Wadood, freshman linebacker Carlos Mendoza and junior wide receiver Kyle Middlebrooks.
- Freshman D.J. Foster received a lot of reps in practice and was used in various formations. Graham recently said he expects Foster to start and it looks like the running back will get his fair share of touches this season.
- Freshman receiver Rick Smith and junior running back Marion Grice were both impressive in the open field and had long plays where they made several defenders miss.
- Despite having two practices Wednesday, the coaching staff continues to emphasize hustling on and off the field. At one point in practice the offense took the field lackadaisically. Subsequently, they were forced to run off the field and take it again.
