ASU football kicked off Tuesday's practice with multiple players wearing yellow scout-team jerseys.
With nine days until game day against New Mexico State, both the offense and defense continue to have their ups and downs.
Here is what the squads looked like:
First-Team Offense: Quarterback: Manny Wilkins
Running Back: Kalen Ballage, Demario Richard
Wide Receivers: N’Keal Harry, John Humphrey, Kyle Williams
Tight End: Jay Jay Wilson (Subbed in)
Offensive Line: Cohl Cabral (LT), Sam Jones (LG), A.J. McCollum (C), Steven Miller (RT), Quinn Bailey (RT)
Defense: Defensive Line: Alani Latu, JoJo Wicker, Tashon Smallwood
Linebackers: J’Marcus Rhodes, Christian Sam, DJ Calhoun, Koron Crump
Cornerbacks: Joey Bryant, Kobe Williams
Safeties: Dasmond Tautalatasi, Chad Adams
Team-standout sophomore wide receiver N’keal Harry had an uncharacteristic day. On one play with redshirt junior cornerback Joey Bryant in coverage, Harry began to cut inside before bursting upfield, only to drop the wide open pass.
However, a few plays later teammate and senior running back Kalen Ballage found a hole in the middle of the field and rushed through it for a 20-yard touchdown. Defensively the team looks like less of a powerhouse than they did during the Camp Tontozona scrimmage.
Senior linebackers Christian Sam and DJ Calhoun continue to make stops but have been left to shut down running backs on their own as the defensive line struggles to get penetration.
With game day nine days out, the starters are in place, but the effectiveness of those first-teamers remains in question.
Notes
-Redshirt sophomore wide receivers Ryan Newsome and John Humphrey split reps as punt returners.
-Humphrey swapped with other wide outs to get both first and second team reps.
-During the media viewing period the team came out with three wide receivers and two running backs. If a substitution was made, a tight end replaced a running back, not one of the three receivers.
-After coaches and teammates raved about redshirt freshman wide receiver Frank Darby’s performance at Saturday’s scrimmage he took second-team reps. The other two receivers on second team were senior running back Jacom Brimhall and Newsome.
Editor's note: The headline was changed from "ASU football continues to ride rollercoaster of consistency" to "Practice Report: ASU football's performance wavers" to better reflect the article's content.
Reach the reporter at atotri@asu.edu or follow @Anthony_Totri on Twitter.
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