ASU Football: Spring Practice Report (3/4)

We’re midway through the second week of Spring Practice. With fans and media in attendance for another day of practice, here is what we saw.

Last Practice: Wednesday, March 4

Next Practice: Friday, March 6

Injury Report

Wide receiver Frank Darby sat out practice again but no longer had a compression sleeve on his leg. Linebacker Merlin Robertson was absent from practice with his father’s funeral tomorrow. Cam Phillips is back home in Houston for personal reasons. Safety Willie Harts and tight end Curtis Hodges were in the bubble. Cornerback Jack Jones wore his green, non-contact jersey. Linebacker Darien Butler was limited in practice. Offensive lineman Dohnovan West and Cody Shear were absent. Tight end Nolan Matthews and quarterback Trenton Bourguet were out with an illness.

What Went On

In multiple session of practice the defense looked to take over the practice. In the 7-on-7 sessions and 11-on-11 sessions, the defense was able to force incompletions and sacks on the offense.

In the 7-on-7 sequence of practice, quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Jack Smith threw to the wide receivers against the linebackers and secondary. Between the two, nine completions were recorded. A few balls were dropped or stripped out of their hands by the secondary.

In one sequence of 11-on-11, offensive coordinator Zak Hill told the offense, “We are backed up, we got to get out.” It was a situational drill for the offense as they started with the ball inside the 10-yard line. The offensive line looked to struggle in parts with the snap counts as well as hiking the ball. Snaps were bobbled and handoffs were not coordinated as a few balls hit the grass.

In the final 11-on-11 of practice viewing session, Herm Edwards told the team it was a two minute drill and the offense had one timeout. After a lot of plays were run and penalties were called on both sides, the offense was able to get in the end zone. Daniels quickly handed the ball off to DeaMonte Trayanum with the middle of the lines being opened. Edwards wasn’t pleased with the defensive setups but Daniels joked to Edwards that he saw the hole and had to give up the ball for the score.

With both Robertson and Butler limited and rout for team practice, many linebackers subbed in up in first and second team roles

Depth Chart:

First-Team Offense

QB: Jayden Daniels

RB: DeaMonte Trayanum/A.J. Carter/Daniyel Ngata

FB: Case Hatch

WR: Ricky Pearsall, Andre Johnson, Geordon Porter, Brandon Pierce

TE: Ethan Long

OL: Kellen Diesch, Ben Bray, Ben Scott, Jarrett Bell, LaDarius Henderson/Spencer Lovell

First-Team Defense

DL: Michael Matus, D.J. Davidson, Jermayne Lole, Shannon Forman

LB: , Elijah Juarez, Caleb McCullough/Jordan Banks

DB: Chase Lucas (CB), Jack Jones (CB), Evan Fields (SAF), Aashari Crosswell (SAF), Jordan Clark (Nickel)

Second-Team Offense

QB: Jack Smith

RB: Daniyel Ngata/Demetrious Flowers/AJ Carter/

WR: Keith Davis, Nick Johnson, Tannor Park, Andre Johnson

TE: Ethan Long

OL: Ralph Frias, Jacob Nunez, Unknown, Roman DeWys, Spencer Lovell/LaDarius Henderson

Second-Team Defense

DL: Stanley Lambert, T.J. Pesefea, Stephon Wright, Amiri Johnson

LB: Elijah Juarez, Jordan Banks, Kyle Soelle, Fritzny Niclasse, Caleb McCullough

DB: Keon Markham (CB), Timarcus Davis (CB), Connor Soelle (SAF), KJ Jarrell (SAF), T Lee (Nickel)