ASU Football: Graham still tweaking his defensive lineup

(Photo: Tyler Strachan/WCSN)

For the second day in a row, Arizona State started practice outside of the Dickey Dome, instead venturing onto the Kajikawa Practice fields.

As usual, the portion open to the media was limited to a few ball security drills and a couple of hurry-up, tempo periods.

The first-team offense seems solidified across the board, and redshirt freshman quarterback Manny Wilkins seems to have a beat on the second-string spot.

Defensively, ASU head coach Todd Graham continues to rotate through various lineups, making slight tweaks in the short periods the media can view. After practice, he said his current plans are to rotate through four defensive tackles and three linebackers inside.

The first team five-technique has been between redshirt junior Edmond Boateng and true freshman JoJo Wicker. While Boateng worked at the spot most of spring, Wicker has come on strong in the fall and Graham has mentioned the likelihood of the freshman starting.

“I think Boateng and JoJo are going at it pretty hard,” Graham said. “There’s still some battles. There should be.”

ESPN Analyst picks Arizona State for the College Football Playoff

Early Thursday morning, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit released his annual “Herbie Awards” for the 2015 season. In those, Herbstreit selected ASU to make the second College Football Playoff along with Ohio State, Louisiana State and Oklahoma.

“I’m a fan of Herbs,” Todd Graham said. “I’m a big fan of him now.”

Graham denied the potential distractions are pressure that could stem from such national attention. In fact, he relished it, claiming it means the program is doing something right.

“I think that is respect,” he said. “But you got to earn it… I like Herb, and I appreciate the confidence he put in us today.”

The Sun Devils were picked to finish second in the Pac-12 South, and they landed at No. 15 in the AP Preseason top-25 behind No. 7 Oregon, No. 8 USC and No. 13 UCLA.

Longino ready to lead the defense

A hot topic defensively has been how Graham is going to handle the devilbacker this season. In 2014, Antonio Longino started the year at the hybrid spot, but Graham elected to go with a traditional four front, moving Longino to WILL.

Longino thrived in the role, recording a team-high eight tackles in his first start at the position in ASU’s strong victory over Stanford, also forcing a fumble.

Now, as a senior, Longino has spent time at devilbacker once again as Graham tries to get as many of his talented linebackers on the field. Still a few days away from gameweek, Longino knows the defense cannot afford to have a day off in preparation.

“We got to be elite,” Longino said. “Elite doesn’t go through the motions. We got to pick it up every day.”

The linebackers are deep with talent and experience this season, and it’s clear they have a similar drive as the secondary, who have deemed themselves the “bird gang.”

Given that confidence, Longino mentioned the linebackers have tossed around the idea of nicknaming themselves as well. Whatever title the group comes up with, there is a definitive style they plan on showing off come game day.

“Let’s be physical and fast, Longino said. “That’s what we’re about. We’re going to bring it.”

Practice notes

– Redshirt junior wide receiver Tim White remained in green, wearing a large wrap around his left hand/wrist. White still participated in ball security drills, and Graham said Wednesday that he is questionable for the Texas A&M game on September 5.

You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com

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