Arizona State football: 10/24/23 Practice Report

Arizona State football practice report disclaimer: Sun Devil Athletics and ASU football grant media access at certain practices, and we’re grateful for that access. However, there are guidelines in play involving coverage. We cannot comment on specific schemes, playcalls, etc, or injuries. Thank you for reading Sun Devil Daily.

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State football was back under the sun in the Phoenix heat after a break for the grey, cool Seattle weather. The Sun Devils welcome Washington State to Tempe this weekend, and we were at their first practice of the week on Tuesday. Here’s our report.

10.24.23 ASU football practice report

Two deep lineup

First Team

LT – Isaia Glass

LG – Sean Na’a

C – Leif Fautanu

RG – Aaron Frost/Cade Briggs

RT – Isaiah Hullum

QB – Trenton Bourguet

RB – DeCarlos Brooks/Kyson Brown

Slot – Melquan Stovall

WR – Elijhah Badger

WR – Troy Omeire

TE – Bryce Pierre/Messiah Swinson

Second Team

LT – Sean Na’a

LG – Ben Bray

C – Leif Fautanu

RG – Cade Briggs

RT – Isaiah Hullum

QB – Jacob Conover

RB – Tevin White/Kyson Brown

Slot – Gio Sanders/Kaleb Black

WR – Shawn Charles

WR – Xavier Guillory

TE – Jalin Conyers

Field goal

The Sun Devils began Monday’s practice with special teams work. Dillingham had the group practice field goals, and most importantly, field goal protection.

After the Washington game last Saturday, Dillingham explained why he didn’t feel comfortable kicking any field goals late in the game. They simply didn’t have enough healthy bodies for a comfortable field goal protection team.

This practice Dillingham was doing whatever he could to fix that. Even freshman defensive lineman CJ Fite lined up in the field goal formation at times. Dillingham is simply searching for big bodies, and the 315 lb freshman fits that description.

Skill groups

Next, the Sun Devils broke down into position groups for individual drill work. We weren’t able to observe every group, but we checked in on a few.

The offensive line was working on blocking against pads.

The running backs were working on pass-catching with running backs coach Shaun Aguano.

The most interesting group to us however was the defensive line. This is a group that has had a lot of success this season, particularly BJ Green and Dashaun Mallory.

This group began by working on their pass rush, but more specifically containing and pursuing a scrambling quarterback.

Washington State quarterback Cam Ward is extremely mobile, so keeping him in the pocket, and then pursuing him when he scrambled was a big focus here. One guy that really caught our eye was edge rusher Clayton Smith. Smith’s speed will be a very important factor in this pass rush. He has the speed to run with Cam Ward, and I think he could have a big game on Saturday.

Another thing to note is that with this group the staff was particularly emphasizing stripping the ball and forcing turnovers.

Prior to last week’s Washington game, that had been the biggest problem with this defense. They just hadn’t been able to force turnovers.

The tight ends

Then we went over to check out the tight ends working with tight ends coach Jason Mohns. This group was focused on blocking. Coach Mohns was preaching “getting vertical”.

Wide receivers

The wide receiver group was doing a lot of one-on-one work. After Dillingham mentioned the need to be better in one-on-one situations at his press conference on Monday, this wasn’t a surprise.

Dillingham was fully involved in this, even acting like a defensive back at one point. This group was led by a nice one-handed grab from Elijhah Badger and a nice jump ball reception from Troy Omeire.

Wide-recievers coach Ra’Shaad Samples was also giving some pointers on how to go against press coverage.

On the defensive side of the ball in the one-on-ones, Shamari Simmons had a nice practice. He even had one play with coverage so great that Dillingham was enthusiastic in praising him.

Standouts on the offensive side of the ball in this section of practice were Melquan Stovall, and Kaleb Black showed how elite he is as a route runner. That’s a name that many ASU fans aren’t familiar with. However, Black is just a freshman, and he’s been impressive all year in practice. Definitely, a player that Sun Devil fans will get to know over the span of the next few years.

Defensively Demetrius Ford and Keith Abney II were standouts. Abney II is another freshman that Arizona State fans should get excited about.

Practice report wrap up

The Sun Devils then went through some 11-on-0 walk-through action, practicing plays. Then they broke off into some seven-on-seven drives and 11-on-11 drives.

We’ll see how Arizona State’s preparation for Washington State will show on the field Saturday evening in Tempe.

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