ASU Football: Captains’ thoughts on Emory Jones, practice notes from Friday

Herm Edwards likes his quarterback to be a captain, and rightfully so. Who wouldn’t?

Emory Jones is the newest starting quarterback in Tempe, and Edwards also announced Thursday that Jones will join the captain’s room in his first year as a Sun Devil. Captains Case Hatch and LaDarius Henderson spoke to the media Friday, and below is the main takeaways from their thoughts on their new quarterback and co-captain.

Case Hatch - special teams captain

“(Jones) definitely proved himself during this camp as a leader on-and-off the field.”

“He’s always bringing kids up. I remember when he got called to be captain, I congratulated him, and the whole time I was trying to say ‘congratulations, man,” he was like ‘no, no no, congrats to you,” Hatch said. “He’s very selfless when it comes to leadership.”

“I think it’s something we need, someone to come in here and prove themself.”

LaDarius Henderson - offensive captain

“Whenever you can have a quarterback as a captain, you got to do it. Truthfully, as much of a leader as I want to be, a quarterback has to be able to lead this team.”

“I’ve been loving him up the last couple of days, I like that.”

“I actually hosted (Jones) when he came in (for a visit.) The thing about him is he really loves football. He’s a fun guy to be around. You can have serious conversations with him (and) playful conversations with him, but when we are out there (on the field) he is really locked in. He’s ready to work.”

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Notes from Friday’s practice

• On Thursday, Edwards said that defensive back Jordan Clark and defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera are “week-to-week.” There were no more updates to these absences Friday.
• The offense struggled out the gate in Jones’s first 11-on-11 segment as the starter. His first throw hit a wide-open Andre Johnson in the hands on a corner route, but Johnson dropped it. On the next throw, Jones missed Jalin Conyers down the seam, and the ball was tipped into the hands of Ro Torrence for an interception.
• Trenton Bourguet led the second-team offense against the second-team defense, and largely impressed along with tight end Jalin Conyers (with injuries down the tight end depth chart, Conyers also worked with the second-team in 12 personnel.) Bourguet completed four straight passes, including two to Conyers and one highlight-worthy deep ball to Zeek Freeman.
• Daniyel Ngata’s vision as a runner looks to be exemplary. Whether it is a cutback on a stretch play, or wedging himself in small gaps, Ngata is doing a fine job reading what his offensive line gives him, which sometimes isn’t much.
• With injuries on the defensive line starting to mount, the initial front four looks to be Joe Moore, Omarr Norman-Lott, T.J. Pesefea and Travez Moore. B.J. Green II and Anthonie Cooper have experience as depth, but another injury could mean trouble for a group that rotates more than any other position. Freshmen Robby Harrison and Blazen Lono-Wong are newcomers who have made noise in camp.
• Receivers continue to rotate during team drills, but the first to trot out on offense are usually Elijah Badger, Bryan Thompson and Giovanni Sanders. Charles Hall IV and Andre Johnson are frequently the first to rotate.
• Isaia Glass worked with the first-team at left tackle with Emmit Bohle observing.