Wednesday was another day of fall practice. Some players returned to the gridiron, and another practice went in the books. Here’s a rundown of what happened:
Next Practice: Thursday, August 15
Last Practice: Tuesday, August 13
NFL Scouts in attendance: Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders
Injury Update
Players who reported to the bubble included freshman defensive lineman Stephon Wright (conditioning), redshirt junior quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole (shoulder), redshirt senior running back Paul Lucas (unkown), and redshirt freshman wide receiver Geordon Porter (hamstring). For the second straight day, tight end Curtis Hodges had a right knee brace on as well.
Freshman defensive back Kejuan Markham also headed into the bubble during practice but returned later on. Redshirt senior offensive lineman Zach Robertson is still out due to personal reasons, and Kyle Soelle was not in attendance (unkown).
Stanley Lambert and Ethan Long were both in non-contact jerseys, and sophomore d-lineman Jermayne Lole was back to practice full-time after going through some conditioning workouts.
What Went On
Special teams, 7-on-7’s, and 11-on-11’s were highly prevalent in Wednesday’s practice. The defense also stood out.
The Sun Devils worked on punt and kick returns in addition to bringing out the hands team to focus on onside kicks.
As for the offense, redshirt junior tight end Jared Bubak had a solid night with a couple of receptions for the second team offense.
However, the strongest group appeared to be the defense. The group played stout, and in particular, the secondary was strong.
In a one-on-one freshmen matchup, defensive back Jordan Clark had a nice pass breakup in coverage against wideout Jordan Kerley. Then In 7-on-7’s, Kerley received a big hit on a slant route from sophomore safety Aashari Crosswell while in the red zone to break up another throw.
In 11-on-11’s, the second team defense had two picks off freshman Joey Yellen. Freshman linebacker Case Hatch was the first beneficiary, then Tyler Whiley had a pick-six just a few plays later.
Aside from that, freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels had a few nice throws, including a touchdown pass on a slant route to senior Kyle Williams in 7-on-7’s.
Daniels almost connected with Williams again while throwing on the run, but the ball just fell through his hands. He followed that missed connection with a perfectly placed deep ball down the sideline to wide receiver Ryan Newsome, who had an easy over the shoulder snag.
First Team Offense
QB: Jayden Daniels
RB: Eno Benjamin
WR: Brandon Aiyuk, Kyle Williams, Frank Darby, Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Kerley (Kerley and Pearsall took both first and second team reps)
TE: Tommy Hudson/Nolan Matthews
OL: Cohl Cabral (LT), Alex Losoya (LG), Cade Cote (C), Jarrett Bell/Roy Hemsley (RG). Steven Miller (RT)
First Team Defense:
DL: Jermayne Lole, DJ Davidson, George Lea
LB: Khaylan Kearse-Thomas/Tyler Johnson, Merlin Robertson, Darien Butler
CB: Chase Lucas, Kobe Williams
Tillman: Evan Fields
S: Cam Phillips, Aashari Crosswell
Second Team Offense
QB: Joey Yellen
RB: Isaiah Floyd
WR: Angel Ruiz, Ethan Long, Ricky Pearsall
TE: Jared Bubak
OL: LaDarius Henderson (LT), Cody Shear (LG), Dohnovan West (C), Roy Hemsley (RG), Spencer Lovell/Ralph Frias (RT)
Second Team Defense
DL: Michael Matus, Shannon Forman, Roe Wilkins
LB: Elijah Juarez, Case Hatch, Tyler Johnson,
CB: Jordan Clark, Timarcus Davis
Tillman: Tyler Whiley
S: Alijah Gammage, Willie Harts
Side Note: Along with practice on Wednesday, former five-star cornerback Jack Jones, who formerly played at USC before being dismissed from the program, is expected to make his announcement on where he is playing next sometime tomorrow. Jones played for ASU linebacker coach Antonio Pierce at Long Beach Poly in high school. Follow @HouseofSparky on Twitter for announcement updates.