ASU Football: Devilbackers leave things to be desired

(Photo: Allyson Cummings/WCSN)

The 1-0 Sun Devils got back to work three days after notching a 45-14 victory in their season opener against the Weber State Wildcats on Thursday. On a hot Sunday afternoon, the team worked inside the Verde Dickey Dome and focused almost the entire media portion of practice on special teams.

After a poor year of special teams in 2013, ASU head coach Todd Graham made an improvement on that aspect of the game an emphasis during the offseason, but that extra work wasn’t evident on Thursday. Instead, Graham singled out special teams as an area where the team wasn’t strong against Weber State.

With the early portion dedicated to special teams, the team did not work through 11-on-11, leaving not a whole lot to be observed by the media as they prepare for a Saturday game against the New Mexico Lobos.

“Devil” disappoints

For the first time since his post-game press conference on Thursday night, Graham spoke to the media about his thoughts on the team’s victory over Weber State. While mostly positive, Graham wasn’t particularly pleased with the team’s inability to get to Wildcats quarterback Billy Green.

“We only had five [tackles for loss] and one quarterback sack,” Graham said. “That’s not getting done. I was not pleased at all with how we got off blocks.”

While he complimented the play of Antonio Longino and Edmond Boateng, the pair that took the majority of the snaps at Devilbacker, Graham said their play left something to be desired.

“They didn’t do anything bad, they didn’t do anything good,” Graham said. “We’ve got to be a lot more active at that position and we’ve got to be able to get a four-man pass rush. That’s something we’ll continue to work on.”

Carl Bradford manned the Devilbacker position for the Sun Devils in 2013, racking up 19 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks en route to First Team All-Pac-12 honors. On Thursday, neither Longino or Boateng recorded a sack or tackle for loss, although rotational Devilbacker De’Marieya Nelson managed to earn half a sack, which he split with Laiu Moeakiola.

In their season opener against the UTEP Miners, New Mexico allowed two sacks and nine tackles for loss. Only three FBS teams (Boise State, Mississippi and UCLA) allowed more tackles for loss on the season’s opening weekend.

Practice Notes

– Carlos Mendoza is still the only significant player in a green jersey, but his progress has been observable. He’s no longer limping and his knee is no longer heavily wrapped, although he wears a small sleeve in its place.

– There were several new faces at practice on Sunday, as a few new walk-ons joined the team in practice, in addition to former Florida International defensive end Paul Crawford. The 6’9 pass rusher stuck out like a sore thumb among the defensive players in practice and worked with Coach Paul Randolph and the Devilbackers. He is believed to have one year of eligibility left after not playing at all during what was supposed to be his senior season at FIU in 2013.

– Observing practice was Jalen Bates, a 2015 three-star pass rushing prospect from Kaplan, La. who is in Tempe for an official visit. He observed the beginning portion of practice, watching the Devilbackers and defensive linemen.

– ESPN is set to record a package on the five walk-on players that received a scholarship from Coach Graham last week. An air date has not yet been announced.

– Freshman Ismael Murphy-Richardson had his first practice with the team after finally earning eligibility over the weekend. He worked with the Devilbackers, while De’Marieya Nelson spent the early portion of practice exclusively with the offense.

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