ASU Football: Practice Report (8/22)

At this time next week, the first game of the Sun Devil football season will likely be just concluding. People will have their early assessments, and ASU football will officially be back.

However, for now, we just had to settle for another Thursday night at the Kajikawa practice fields. It was the first day of classes at ASU, and with it, came another day of fall practice. Here were our observations from a shortened viewing period:

Last Practice: Tuesday, August 20

Next Practice: Sunday, August 25

Injury Update

Junior wide receiver Curtis Hodges, redshirt freshman wide receiver Geordon Porter (hamstring), freshman wide receiver Jordan Kerley (leg soreness), and running back Paul Lucas were all seen going into the bubble.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Stanley Lambert, freshman defensive lineman Amiri Johnson, and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jarrett Bell were all in non-contact jerseys.

Offensive lineman Zach Robertson is still out due to personal matters.

Not in attendance: Tyler Johnson (unkown), Shannon Forman, DJ Davidson

Note: Davidson and Forman weren’t there at the beginning of practice, but showed up midway through. The reasons are unkown.

What Went On

Practice was pushed back to a later, 8:30 start time due to certain players having early evening classes on the first day of the fall semester on campus. There was also a limited media viewing period as the team continues to ramp up the intensity and game plan for the Kent State opener.

College of the Canyons junior college transfer Brian Pierce was at his first practice on Tuesday night after becoming immediately eligible on Wednesday. He had to settle some academic issues, but was cleared to become a Sun Devil just yesterday. He has two years of eligibility.

The wideout with a blazing 4.31 40-yard dash time was seen taking punt returns and wearing the No. 85 with senior Brandon Aiyuk and the other newest Sun Devil Jack Jones.

As for other pre-practice news, the Sun Devils named their captains on Thursday. Senior offensive lineman Cohl Cabral, senior cornerback Kobe Williams, junior running back Eno Benjamin, sophomore linebacker Darien Butler, and freshman wide receiver/quarterback Ethan Long were awarded the honors.

Head coach Herm Edwards addressed the decision, and the idea of having a true freshman as one of the primary leaders of the team:

“He’s a guy that came in as a quarterback and competed at the quarterback position, then found himself in a position to where we could use him at other positions,” said Edwards of Long and the captains. “He was willing to do that, and I just think with this team, we are so young that players really don’t know who guys are. They look at the seniors, and when you look at the group...They kind of cover all the bases and I just think those were the right guys. The way I looked at our football team, I think those guys can make an impact.”

Among other notes, redshirt junior quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole announced after practice that he has no intent of transferring from ASU after losing the quarterback battle to two freshmen, noting that his commitment and bond with his teammates is a big factor into why he is not looking to play elsewhere.

Freshman linebacker Elijah Juarez continued to take reps with the offense at a wing back sort of position.

Media was only allowed to view the beginning of practice, thus, there was no update on first and second team offense and defense.

Nonetheless, it was another practice down, and football season is right around the corner.

“We are a week away from playing a football game,” Edwards said. “You have been practicing since the spring and in the summer, and now it’s getting close. You can tell they are excited about playing. If you are a college football player, this is the fun time of the year. You are going to play in a week.”